May 19, 2009

The calm before the storm

Demetri had his surgery yesterday and is doing well. It was scheduled for 3-3:30, but they called at about 11 am and were ready for him early!! He did very well, as did the surgeon. He was able to do the fundoplication and the gastrostomy tube using the laproscope... which is great. The gastrostomy tube that he was able to put in is the "Mic-Key" button. So it is not a tube a all, but a little button on his stomach. It looks kind of like a the air valve on a beach ball.

Demetri is back in the NICU, still on the ventilator. He was having alot of pain yesterday and through the night and needed pain medicine often to keep it under control. He also had a couple of blood gases through the night that were not very good and they were not able to wean his settings (the rate of the breaths and the pressures used to deliver the breaths to him) on the ventilator. This morning he looked a lot more relaxed and comfortable. Chris and I were able to stay at the hospital with him last night and had a room in the Ronald McDonald Family Room to sleep in on the floor just below Demetri.

Today they have been able to decrease his ventilator settings slowly. He is waking up more, but he is not at all happy about the breathing tube being in. Hopefully they will be able to extubate him (take him off of the ventilator) tonight or early tomorrow.

The surgeon said he could start getting small feedings through the g-tube since he had bowel sounds and clear output from the g-tube (and he stooled!!!) So he got his first feeding of 10 ml breastmilk at 2pm. Then the plan is to increase by 5 ml each feeding as he tolerates it to reach his full feedings by tomorrow.

His hematocrit and hemoglobin are also quite a bit lower since surgery... he may be getting a blood transfusion before the end of the day.

Demetri also has a new "girl friend". Kristin has asked to be his primary nurse at night this past week. She is taking excellent care of him also.

All in all we are doing well. He just looks at us and tells us that he is definitely ready to get off the ventilator. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Without your support we would not be making it through this. Demetri is stronger thanks to all of you.