Monday, August 25, 2008 was the day Mason's chest was closed! For the past few days, each doctor/nurse/nurse practioner commented on how good Mason's progress was. Each day we saw his swelling go down and his chest was coming together on its own. He is such an amazingly tough little guy and is holding his own.
We spend the majority of the day at his bedside. Although he is only 7 days old today, we know he is aware his Mommy and Daddy are there for him. The doctors told us that is was very possible that Mason would have his chest closed on Monday but of course, it was all pending on the surgeon's availability and bed space in the CVICU,(cardiovascular intensive care unit). We were told that Dr. Hanley was not in, but that Dr. Reddy would be the one doing the surgery along with Dr. Maeda one of the Fellows. The surgery would take place in the CVICU itself, not in the operating room. The room is removed of all visitors/parents and non-essential staff and the OR team is brought in. We waited all day for word and heard that around 3:30Dr. Reddy was giving his 45 minute notice to the parents of the patient he was operating on. Around 4:30 Dr. Reddy came in and told me, "looks like he will have his chest closed soon." We were so excited since we thought there was no way he would be set to go today. An hour or so later, the CVICU was closed off and Mason was on his way to closing his chest. At 6:20 pm Dr. Maeda came over to us in the patient waiting area and told us that everything went well. Mason had no problems with his pressure/stats so they were pleased with his results. We were so excited-this was such a fabulous step. His chest is being held together with surgical wire and will be re-opened on his next operation. Those wires will be there for the rest of his life!
This morning during rounds, the Doctors all agreed that he should be weaned from some of his medications, which include the paralyzing agent and morphine drip. The morphine itself can be administered by his nurse if she sees that he is getting agitated. I find myself so tearful wondering if he is in any pain. I can only continue to pray to God that he is watching over this sweet little boy.
When I walked in this morning, the curtains were pulled open and sunshine was bathing him in such a beautiful glow. For the first time since minutes after his birth he opened his beautiful eyes. He was staring right at me-I don't know for sure if he could see his Mommy but it felt so good no matter what! When he hears Daddy his heart rate goes up-we know he can hear us at the very least. Throughout the day he has started moving his limbs around a little at a time. His jerky movements are small but every one is helping his circulation improve. The most uncomfortable thing to watch has been when the nurses or the respiratory staff suction out his chest. Once he was crying, without sound, and started to turn purple due to the fact that the tube that is providing his oxygen/breathes is being suctioned out and he is void of air at the time. My heart felt such pain-I wish I could be there instead of him. Ernie asked his nurse, Anne, if this was typical and she said yes. She assured him that it appeared that Mason was not in pain since his blood pressure and oxygen levels changed during the procedure but shortly thereafter went down/up respectively. This is little reassurance to a mom not wanting any pain to come to her child.
We will be heading back to the hospital shortly to resume our vigil. Nurse Rosalina will be there tonight. She has been in the pediatric nursing field for over 30 years and takes the best of care with this little one. The only way I have been able to sleep at night is knowing he is in her care.
We spend the majority of the day at his bedside. Although he is only 7 days old today, we know he is aware his Mommy and Daddy are there for him. The doctors told us that is was very possible that Mason would have his chest closed on Monday but of course, it was all pending on the surgeon's availability and bed space in the CVICU,(cardiovascular intensive care unit). We were told that Dr. Hanley was not in, but that Dr. Reddy would be the one doing the surgery along with Dr. Maeda one of the Fellows. The surgery would take place in the CVICU itself, not in the operating room. The room is removed of all visitors/parents and non-essential staff and the OR team is brought in. We waited all day for word and heard that around 3:30Dr. Reddy was giving his 45 minute notice to the parents of the patient he was operating on. Around 4:30 Dr. Reddy came in and told me, "looks like he will have his chest closed soon." We were so excited since we thought there was no way he would be set to go today. An hour or so later, the CVICU was closed off and Mason was on his way to closing his chest. At 6:20 pm Dr. Maeda came over to us in the patient waiting area and told us that everything went well. Mason had no problems with his pressure/stats so they were pleased with his results. We were so excited-this was such a fabulous step. His chest is being held together with surgical wire and will be re-opened on his next operation. Those wires will be there for the rest of his life!
This morning during rounds, the Doctors all agreed that he should be weaned from some of his medications, which include the paralyzing agent and morphine drip. The morphine itself can be administered by his nurse if she sees that he is getting agitated. I find myself so tearful wondering if he is in any pain. I can only continue to pray to God that he is watching over this sweet little boy.
When I walked in this morning, the curtains were pulled open and sunshine was bathing him in such a beautiful glow. For the first time since minutes after his birth he opened his beautiful eyes. He was staring right at me-I don't know for sure if he could see his Mommy but it felt so good no matter what! When he hears Daddy his heart rate goes up-we know he can hear us at the very least. Throughout the day he has started moving his limbs around a little at a time. His jerky movements are small but every one is helping his circulation improve. The most uncomfortable thing to watch has been when the nurses or the respiratory staff suction out his chest. Once he was crying, without sound, and started to turn purple due to the fact that the tube that is providing his oxygen/breathes is being suctioned out and he is void of air at the time. My heart felt such pain-I wish I could be there instead of him. Ernie asked his nurse, Anne, if this was typical and she said yes. She assured him that it appeared that Mason was not in pain since his blood pressure and oxygen levels changed during the procedure but shortly thereafter went down/up respectively. This is little reassurance to a mom not wanting any pain to come to her child.
We will be heading back to the hospital shortly to resume our vigil. Nurse Rosalina will be there tonight. She has been in the pediatric nursing field for over 30 years and takes the best of care with this little one. The only way I have been able to sleep at night is knowing he is in her care.
No comments:
Post a Comment