Ok guys, I left yall off the list today.... got sidetracked.... and I know yall understand so here goes... When we left the CICU last night about 10pm Joel was still on the ventilator. It was doing all the work of breathing for him. He was taking his own sweet time coming fully out from under the effects of being under anesthesia for 10 hrs. Although they had orders to keep him sedated that was not with IV sedation, it was short term sedation medication that was not putting him totally our but just barely under in order to try and keep his blood pressure from continuing to rise (which was what happened every time he started come awake)... they also had to work on getting his blood gases balanced as his blood PH became acidic. They got it balanced and during the four hours after we left he started breathing enough on his own over the ventilator that they were able to stop the ventilator and remove the breathing tube. This morning when we came in we also found out that they had been able to get his blood sugars down around 120 so they were able to stop the insulin drip. He has been on 2 or 3 pain meds, & meds for nausea. They finally gave him a morphine drip and it has helped with his pain management which helps lower his blood pressure.... however, he is in more pain that the amount of morphine he can have for his weight and size so they are trying to play a balancing game of what else they can give him and when. They have to be careful because the other meds can make him bleed more and thats a no no right now. They have been watching his hematocrit which basically checks the concentration of red blood cells in his body and they have been dropping over the last 12 hrs or more. The lower his concentration of red blood cells the more his heart has to work to pump to oxygenate the RBC he has to circulate oxygen to his cells. They are prepared to give him a transfusion of packed red blood cells if it continues to drop. They are having to play a balancing game in that if they do the transfusion - the increased blood volume will raise his blood pressure - his blood pressure has been hard to control and lower & must be lowered to protect the heart and all the sutures so they can totally heal up so there will be no more internal bleeding from the sutures. He is pale and has been ever since he got to the CICU. Itll be nice when he starts picking up some color. He is in and out right now. He needs to wake more and try to move around more but the pain is so intense at times that he has to medicate for pain which thankfully knocks him out. Sleeping through the pain helps him get through it faster as it isnt foremost in his mind. In spite of all of this, we know that God is in control. It may make us stressful at times but its only because we cant make him better with a comment or touch. I may sound fearful at times with certain comments I make but be assured fear has no place here. I appreciate the prayers going on around the nation for him. Although what he is going through may be normal for someone who has gone through the surgery he has just gone through it doesnt stop being serious and he doesnt stop being my son. So I will keep informing everyone because in my mind hes my number one priority and there will never be too many prayers said on his behalf. I appreciate everyone who is keeping track of him and praying. Thank you!
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 01:44:55 +0000
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