After the weekend where Owen was resting and starting to wake up, he was even more alert Monday and continuing to improve. They removed his chest drainage tubes which made Owen more comfortable and also allowed us to hold him again. He had been showing obvious signs of his desire to be held prior to his tubes coming out, so this was a welcomed development. There were still many wires and tubes to navigate around, but Michelle could not get him out of his bed and into her arms fast enough.
Things were progressing well until Monday afternoon when Owen had his first episode with tachycardia and an irregular heart beat. His pulse would shoot up to close to 300 beats a minute before steadying back down to a normal rate. It would continue to spike for a short period of time and then return to a resting rate. The doctors began to give him some medicine that would even out his heart beat and keep it at a regular rhythm. They explained that one of his atriums was firing very rapidly which was causing the fast hear beat and irregular rhythm. This trend continued through Tuesday evening and each episode brought some frightening moments. Along with the irregular heart beat, his blood pressure would drop and his oxygen saturation levels would drop as well. There was no real answer as to why this was happening, but the doctor's thought/hoped it was being caused by inflammation in the heart from the surgery. The hope was that the medicine would help steady him and his heart would continue to heal from the surgery and we would get it under control. They also explained that the medicine took some time to get to work as it has a long half life. It would take a couple doses to build the medicine up in his system to get to the point where it would consistently work and then it would be given at maintenance levels from that point on.
Tuesday was a tough day for all of us as we watched Owen struggle with this. We so desperately wanted to hear some good news and to see the light at the end of the tunnel that would take us out of the hospital and have Owen back home, but it didn't seem like any of that was on the way or even close.
After Tuesday, Owen slowly started to progress. His heart became stable with the medicine and they were able to slowly turn down his oxygen. It was such a relief to see him react positively to the medicine and to stabilize. He continued to progress a little more each day and on Thursday Owen was allowed to start taking milk again. He also had some more sensors removed, including the one on his forehead. He also got a line taken out of his right arm, which at least freed up one of his arms to move around and grab things.
On Friday, they removed a line that he had in his groin. It was a good sign seeing all these wires being removed from our little warrior. It made it easier for us to hold him and let us know that he was progressing. Now Owen was down to an Arterial line and a PICC line in his left arm, oxygen and a feeding tube in his nose, and the standard sensors on his chest and foot.
The next goal for Owen is to start tolerating his feeds again. He has been a little slow with taking them but has been showing signs of progress. After not eating for almost a week, his stomach needed time to expand.
On Saturday, Owen continued to feed, but we noticed that he was looking a little pale. They drew some blood to check the composition and test the levels to see if everything was ok. It turned out that he was low on some levels in his blood and it was determined that they would need to give him some blood. We were not thrilled about learning that our little warrior needed a blood transfusion, but it was a small amount of blood and it should rejuvenate him and get some color back. In order to do the transfusion, they had to shut down some of the other fluids that he was receiving at the time. About an hour in to the transfusion, Owen had another episode of tachycardia. The transfusion was stopped and he was given some more medicine to try and calm down his heart and get it back in the right rhythm. We had hoped that Owen was passed these, but it wasn't that simple. They weren't sure why he slipped back into it, but the abrupt shut off of his other fluids may have been a contributing factor. His glucose level was very low, along with some other measures so they worked to raise those levels before continuing with the transfusion.
After that episode settled down, Owen took his largest feed by mouth since the surgery of 27 ML's. We were happy to see the progress in his feeding. The doctor's let us know that the determining factor as to when we could leave the CICU would be when he tolerates his full feeds and they feel that he has stabilized. Owen did show that he was able to breath on his own and the oxygen was removed. It was so nice to get one more thing off of his sweet face. Unfortunately, after the episode, they did have to put the monitor back on his forehead to watch the oxygen in his brain.
Saturday night around midnight, we got our biggest scare to date. Owen slipped back into tachycardia and this time stayed in it for a couple minutes. There were about 8 people in our room rushing to stabilize him and to calm him down. Doctor's were on the phone and ordering medicines and immediate echo's. It was terrifying to watch and the feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. He finally stabilized and was given some different medicines to lower his heart rate and maintain a consistent rhythm. They aren't exactly sure why Owen is experiencing the tachycardia, but there are numerous doctors thinking about it and trying to figure it out. It seems just when we are full steam ahead on the path to recovery, we have a set back and are left to wonder when Owen will finally get to leave the hospital and go home.
Even with the setbacks, Owen continues to show his warrior spirit and fights through the obstacles in front of him. We continue to recieve such wonderful and thoughtful support from so many people. We have had some more delicious meals from the Killinger's, Nicole Barattieri, and Cheryl Polaski. We have received very special gifts for Owen from Mike and Alicia Graham, Geoff and Marcy Gloeckler, my former coworkers Eric Eaton, Jerry Laffey, Joei Tribble, and Jenna Class, The Dirr's, Natalie Herrmann, Megan Smith, Angela Tuttle, Abby Spears, and Brigitte Morton, and Justin, Jess, and Andrew Harnist. Each item and word holds a special place in our hearts and helps lift us up when we are feeling down. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.
Hoping that today has been a better day for sweet little Owen. We are thinking of you guys often. -Mike and Sara Schroder
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