Sunday, November 6, 2011

Changing the Chest Tube

Jordan has been able to potty a little bit today, but the kidneys still are not testing well.  There has been a lot of commotion at his bedside for how little is happening.  They continue to watch the ECMO circuit closely.  The culture they took from the blood was a staph infection.  Oxacillin appears to be successfully treating the infection.  If the cultures tonight continue to test negative, they will continue treatment of the antibiotic for two weeks.

During Jordan's first surgery, a chest tube was inserted in the left lung cavity to drain excess fluids in his chest.  Since the organs were removed and the left lung is small, his body naturally tries to fill the cavity with fluid.  The concern is that excess fluid can put too much pressure on the smaller lung.  Also, the site around the chest tube began leaking today.  The tube had clotted and there may be other clots around the inside of his chest.  Jordan is being operated on now to try and replace the current tube with a larger one.  The risk is that the tube has to be placed near the gortex patch and he is receiving blood thinners.  We are currently awaiting the outcome of this operation.

The next 24 hours will be pivotal for Jordan.  The numbers from the ECMO circuit are starting to reflect inaccurately.  This means that either something is going on inside of Jordan, or the ECMO circuit itself will need to be changed.  If the ECMO circuit is replaced, Jordan would take several steps backward.  We are hoping and praying that this won't be needed.

Jordan is starting to wake up a little as the paralytic continues to wear off.  He opened his eyes for Mommy and Grandma today.

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