Day 53 - August 7 - General Update

My mom, in her infinite wisdom, has pointed out that once I mention something on the blog, it becomes important to follow up with it so everyone who is wondering won't do so in vain. So, in an effort to get caught back up (and keep mom off my back), here goes:

- swollen left arm. They think this was caused by his IV failing because they've put so many in for so long. They moved the IV and the swelling has reduced. This would qualify for a long-term prayer request, as they can't continue putting IVs in indefinitely, but they still need to keep fluids etc. moving. Pray that Connor's veins will stand up to the abuse they're receiving as long as necessary, and that the Lord will provide for that.

- lungs/coughs/hiccups/etc. His saturation levels remain relatively stable now that they've put him back on a different vent setting. This setting is normally used when patients are on the rotating beds, and not the regular beds, so they have concerns about whether they can use his speech valve with these settings. He hasn't had any more hiccups of which I'm aware. His lungs still remain clear, although they are always concerned with pneumonia and other infections.

- MRSA etc. He still has this, in an apparently inactive state, so the doctors refuse to release him from isolation. Some of the staff is trying to get the isolation restrictions lifted, so that's an item for prayer. it would be nice to be able to touch him without gloves again!

- how'd he do with the juice and burger? Connor swallowed everything successfully and without trouble. He is currently restricted to one sip or swallow at a time, with one or two swallows between to make sure everything has gone on down. The therapist's concern is that if his epiglottis doesn't work right, stuff can get down into his lungs, risking pneumonia again. She wants to be extra cautious - even though he passed the multiple-swallows test with flying colors, because of his trach she has no easy way of finding out if it's not working right. So she wants to take the process very easy until she's really confident that he's doing alright. She says she'll wait a few days in this mode before she re-evaluates that decision.

So that's the things I can remember. If I'm missing an update on something, let me know. Also, if you want mom's Macaroni and Cheese recipe, you'll need to make more noise. 8-)