12/14 6:20pm

 

Ethan was able to sit upright today. I think he liked it.

Today has been BUSY!  Ethan is officially a drunk toddler and needs to be watched at all times. He is a danger to himself. Finally around 5 pm they have gotten someone to come in the room and sit and watch him. This man is 6 ft 6 and built like a refrigerator and just as kind as kind can be. His job is to make sure Ethan does not pull anything out as well as stay in the bed. They are weaning sedation and he is confused and a little delirious but less than before. He can shake his head yes or no to basic questions as well as follow basic commands like open your mouth.

Ethan was pointing that this huge tall man and motioning for him to get out. I said “Ethan, I think he can take you. Pick your battles buddy.”

He got his wound vac removed which was bothering him like a dog with fleas. He had been trying to pic it off for the last few days. The artery repair incision looks great. One of the incisions is about 3-4 inches and the other incision is about an inch and a half. This was from where they removed the cannulas in his leg for ECMO.

He got a bunch of his dressings changed around his catheters. Lots of people came in to examine him today. He has his cath and pressure checks for tomorrow at 10:30 am. I signed our lives away on the paperwork already. We are basically to the point where the form is presented to us and we don’t go over too much, because it is so redundant.

They added another medication for delirium to see if that helps. They have to be cautious as these medications can cause arrhythmias, which he has already had. Currently he has been off pacing for 2 days and doing well. They have not pulled his wires yet though, just in case.

Today was the first day he was asking about food.  He wanted food. It has been 23 days since food has crossed his lips. Wow!  I tried to explain he has been getting nutrition right in his belly. 

Ethans biggest problem is that he has developed Illeus. Illeus is an inability of his intestines/bowels to contract normally to move “waste”out of the body.  So Medically he is full of shit. He belly is distended and likely sore, but he was asking for food, so?????

He is being treated for Illeus with a few medications. They are measuring his gut and is equivalent in my book to being approximately approx 4-5 months pregnant.

Tomorrow will give us information regarding when he can have his breathing tube out. That will be a giant leap for Ethan and they don’t want to rush it. His lung pressures are high and they want to make sure the sildenafil (viagara for those of you who didn’t look it up) are working. 

It was a busy day, tiring, but a good day.