Carver and Kinnick seen their pulmonologist today. Carver has been doing well on 1/8 lt oxygen during the day. However, he has been having some strange de-sats at night. He drops his sats to the low 80's for a few seconds at a time and then returns to the mid to upper 90's. He wasn't doing this when he was on 1/4 lt. She said to put him back on 1/4 lt at night for now. She really didn't want us to make any changes until after the end of April. Carver had been on 1/4 lt oxygen since we came home from the hospital in late October. He was consistently satting in the upper 90's. I believe he was ready for the change. I'm going to put him back on 1/4 lt at night for a short while and then try again. My guess is that he just needs the break at night to make the adjustment. Once he has had time to make the adjustment, I'll try again. I'm guessing a couple of weeks to a month should be plenty of time. I asked her how you know when they are ready to lower their oxygen. She said when they are consistently satting 96% +. When I asked when you should increase the oxygen, she said when they are not able to maintain 93% + consistently. Carver met those guidelines a long time ago. Outside of the few seconds a couple of times at night, he is easily meeting these sats even at 1/8 lt. I don't want to stress his body out in the middle of cold season, so I will put him on 1/4 lt at night like she suggested - I just don't plan to leave him their till the end of April. At that rate, my child will be on oxygen for a very long time. Kinnick is still doing well on 1/2 lt. We were told that we could discontinue her albuteral treatments. She'll just do pulmacort treatments twice a day. We'll have to add the albuteral back if she shows an signs of respiratory distress.
Kinnick's tummy is still not acting right. She just looks bloated all the time. She has good bowel sounds and has been having small stools, so I'm trying not to panic. I'm hoping it's just gas. She sees her doctor again next week.
My new Home Health Care agency sent a new weekend nurse this past weekend. I really liked her. She'll be a positive addition. I'm not sure who they will send for my Thursdays and Fridays. Hopefully she'll be equally as good. Their is a shortage of nurses and an even bigger shortage of good nurses. The good nurses don't have a problem getting placed and those that have them, don't give them up. Oh...and my new agency will send nurses to my home to take blood work or give shots. I'm loving this!! A nurse came last Friday to give Synagis shots. She weighted both babies. Carver is now heavier then Kinnick. He is 14 lb 9.5 oz. Kinnick is 14 lb 7 oz. Carver had been consistently a full pound behind Kinnick. He's finally starting to look like a little chunk! I'm not sure how - he's still a little pill when it comes to eating.
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3 comments:
Hi to Kinnick and Carver's family! I'm so happy to hear that the kiddo's health is stabilizing and you're settled into a good routine. Good nursing coverage is very hard to come by these days so I completely understand your frustrations...I've been dealing with this for 7yrs now and I'd love to tell you that it gets better but it doesn't! The shortage of good competent care will always be there, but your strength, confidence and of course love is what will bring you and the children through! As you found out this weekend, there are good nurses out there it's just a matter of finding them! And no, you can't have mine!!!! But I will share her on the weekends! She is great and has been a blessing to me and my daughter! I would love to talk to you more so whenever your schedule is free (like that ever happens!) you can call the work directory, I'm sure you have the number...I'm on T7. Take care and hugs to you all....K. Lindner
Glad to hear it's going a little better and you found some good help! If you have time, post a picture of your little chubbers!
Love,
Neva
Just came to check in...I'm glad to hear about the weight gain...always a good thing in preemie life...just not so when it comes to their Mommys...lol.
As for the O2, I know about sloooow weaning...our pulmonologist is the king of slow, but I am glad considering we found out with a quicker wean Edwin developed pulmonary hypertesion *strainon his heart) and with the slow wean his last EKG was normal! So even though it's tough, you have to wait it out sometimes. p.s. with Edwin's pul hypertension his sats were high, so it can be deceiving...make sure pul follows up with EKGs just in case :)
You're doing an amazing job!!!!
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