We were able to wean Caydence off of the oxygen. Yeah! No nasal cannula.
The are pumping Caydence full of diuretics, which unfortunately makes her potassium low. So they tried to give her potassium through a liquid version, which she showed me how much she liked it by throwing it up on me. Awesome.
In other news, Caydence hasn't had a stool yet so they are pumping her full of milk of magnesia. Which is nasty and she tries trowing that up too. Fantastic. We are trying to get creative in ways to get medicine in her. We finally figured out to get the Tylenol in her. We crush it and so she doesn't gag on it.
The picture guy gave me a cd from all the pictures he took on Thursday. I will try to upload some tomorrow. They came out great.
We are progressing in the right direction. Echo is tomorrow. She is going to lose her mind when they do it so please pray she won't be scared.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tubes are out
The tubes are out!!!
Caydence was quite the trooper. It went very well. Now this afternoon we got to get her up and walking. We still have not had a stool so we need her to do that as well, which is another reason why they want her to walk.
That's most of the messing with her they will do today. She doesn't want to take her Tylenol and has been gaging it up. Hopefully we can get more creative in getting that in her.
Caydence was quite the trooper. It went very well. Now this afternoon we got to get her up and walking. We still have not had a stool so we need her to do that as well, which is another reason why they want her to walk.
That's most of the messing with her they will do today. She doesn't want to take her Tylenol and has been gaging it up. Hopefully we can get more creative in getting that in her.
Good news/bad news
The good news- the drainage tubes are coming out today! Those are a big source of discomfort so the doctors say she will feel much better once they come out. Once those come out she will be able to walk more and go to the playroom and should be able to eat/drink better.
The bad news- the drainage tubes are coming out and that will be scary for her. They will give her some sedation but she won't be completely knocked out. PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE/COMFORT FOR HER DURING THIS TIME. THEY WILL DO THIS AT 11AM TODAY!
The bad news- the drainage tubes are coming out and that will be scary for her. They will give her some sedation but she won't be completely knocked out. PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE/COMFORT FOR HER DURING THIS TIME. THEY WILL DO THIS AT 11AM TODAY!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday update
OK, they just came around and did rounds. Caydence is going to keep the drainage tubes in for one more day to let them drain just a little more. They are thinking the tubes should come out tomorrow. Once those come out she will feel a LOT better. I imagine I would feel better too if I had two huge tubes draining blood out of me.
We are going to move her Tylenol up from every 6 hours to every 4 hours to help stay ahead of the pain. Can you believe that 3 days after surgery she is just on Tylenol for pain management? Kids are so strong.
So pretty much today we are going to rest, eat, drink, and hang out.
And now a funny story.
Yesterday my Jennifer brought me some cupcakes for my birthday. Last night Joe and I went out to eat for my birthday so the grandparents watched Caydence for us. Now Caydence hasn't wanted to eat at all since surgery so she hasn't ate since Wednesday. While we were gone, she opened her eyes and saw the cupcakes. She pointed at them and said "cupcakes. I want some cupcakes". Grandparents being grandparents gave her some. So her 1st bite of food was cupcakes. Is she my kid or what????
We are going to move her Tylenol up from every 6 hours to every 4 hours to help stay ahead of the pain. Can you believe that 3 days after surgery she is just on Tylenol for pain management? Kids are so strong.
So pretty much today we are going to rest, eat, drink, and hang out.
And now a funny story.
Yesterday my Jennifer brought me some cupcakes for my birthday. Last night Joe and I went out to eat for my birthday so the grandparents watched Caydence for us. Now Caydence hasn't wanted to eat at all since surgery so she hasn't ate since Wednesday. While we were gone, she opened her eyes and saw the cupcakes. She pointed at them and said "cupcakes. I want some cupcakes". Grandparents being grandparents gave her some. So her 1st bite of food was cupcakes. Is she my kid or what????
Friday, May 27, 2011
8th floor
We have left the ICU!!!
We made it to the 8th floor (heart recovery) this afternoon. We are still working on the right combo of pain management+keeping her awake+getting fluids in her. This has been a challenge.
We got the central line out of her neck, as well as another line out of her wrist. This great, but the pain medicine they gave her knocked her out all day and they really wanted her to get fluids today.
We took the dressing off of her chest and so now we can see the incision, and as far as incisions go it looks great.
We are all very exhausted. Please pray that we all get some sleep tonight and get her pain managed.
If you want our room number email me at all4cayde@gmail.com or call my cell.
We made it to the 8th floor (heart recovery) this afternoon. We are still working on the right combo of pain management+keeping her awake+getting fluids in her. This has been a challenge.
We got the central line out of her neck, as well as another line out of her wrist. This great, but the pain medicine they gave her knocked her out all day and they really wanted her to get fluids today.
We took the dressing off of her chest and so now we can see the incision, and as far as incisions go it looks great.
We are all very exhausted. Please pray that we all get some sleep tonight and get her pain managed.
If you want our room number email me at all4cayde@gmail.com or call my cell.
1st night after surery
Last night was spent on pain management. Caydence slept for small increments and then would wake up in pain.
This morning they came around and did rounds. They said her Xray from this morning looked very good. Her central line in her neck can come out this morning. When she feels up to it she can eat. She was very thirsty last night and was finally glad when they let her have some water.
All in all she is doing pretty good. We are VERY tired. No sleep last night and not much the night before.
There is talk that we may leave the ICU this afternoon and go up to the recovery floor. We shall see. I am in no hurry so whether it is today or tomorrow will be all good. Of course I will let u all know.
This morning they came around and did rounds. They said her Xray from this morning looked very good. Her central line in her neck can come out this morning. When she feels up to it she can eat. She was very thirsty last night and was finally glad when they let her have some water.
All in all she is doing pretty good. We are VERY tired. No sleep last night and not much the night before.
There is talk that we may leave the ICU this afternoon and go up to the recovery floor. We shall see. I am in no hurry so whether it is today or tomorrow will be all good. Of course I will let u all know.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Surgery updates
8:15- they just took her back for surgery. Updates will be every hour to 1.5 hours. Surgery will be 5-6 hours.
9:56- they just called and they have her under and they are starting the surgery. Everything is going good.
11- They just called. Caydence is on the heart bypass machine. So far no complications. They are starting the repair work.
12- Caydence is off bypass. Her heart is beating on its own. Echo looks good. Putting in chest tubes soon. All in all good so far.
1:30- We just saw her. She looks GREAT. They are hooking her up and we will get to stay with her in an hour.
5- Caydence just got extubated, which is great! She just has the nasal oxygen. She is sleeping in and out. Mainly out. Stats are great. She is a rock star!!!
9:56- they just called and they have her under and they are starting the surgery. Everything is going good.
11- They just called. Caydence is on the heart bypass machine. So far no complications. They are starting the repair work.
12- Caydence is off bypass. Her heart is beating on its own. Echo looks good. Putting in chest tubes soon. All in all good so far.
1:30- We just saw her. She looks GREAT. They are hooking her up and we will get to stay with her in an hour.
5- Caydence just got extubated, which is great! She just has the nasal oxygen. She is sleeping in and out. Mainly out. Stats are great. She is a rock star!!!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
A change of plans
So we went today for our pre-op. It was going to be about 3-4 hours. We did the usual bag of tricks:
* Stats (they were good)
* EKG (good)
* Xray (good)
* Bloodwork (level 8 meltdown)
So then we had to wait for the bloodwork to get back. When it got back her hemoglobin level was 17.5. You may remember (or not) when she had her bleeding ulcer she was down to a 7. That was bad. They transfuse when it gets that low.
Well, they admit at 18 and give you iv fluids. So, as a precaution, they admitted us a night early. They will put in an IV soon, and start iv at midnight.
So some of you have asked why her level is so high. Well basically, she is expelling more oxygen and she is expelling more oxygen because it is truly time for her to have the last surgery. This has nothing to do with the ulcer. If she had an ulcer her levels would go down and not up (her average level is 14/15)
The additional problem with a hemoglobin level at 17.5 is that it can increase your chance for a blood clot, which we obviously don't want.
Surgery is still on for tomorrow and we are just trying to roll with the change of plans....like doing doctor work on her teddy bear. see below.
* Stats (they were good)
* EKG (good)
* Xray (good)
* Bloodwork (level 8 meltdown)
So then we had to wait for the bloodwork to get back. When it got back her hemoglobin level was 17.5. You may remember (or not) when she had her bleeding ulcer she was down to a 7. That was bad. They transfuse when it gets that low.
Well, they admit at 18 and give you iv fluids. So, as a precaution, they admitted us a night early. They will put in an IV soon, and start iv at midnight.
So some of you have asked why her level is so high. Well basically, she is expelling more oxygen and she is expelling more oxygen because it is truly time for her to have the last surgery. This has nothing to do with the ulcer. If she had an ulcer her levels would go down and not up (her average level is 14/15)
The additional problem with a hemoglobin level at 17.5 is that it can increase your chance for a blood clot, which we obviously don't want.
Surgery is still on for tomorrow and we are just trying to roll with the change of plans....like doing doctor work on her teddy bear. see below.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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