Day Five Post-Glenn - Sunday, May 17, 2009

"He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40: 29-31

Tyson's chest x-ray from this morning showed some improvement and his saturations have gone up! The sats now sit in the low to mid 70's. The respiratory therapist also tried something different on him today. It's kind of hard to explain but we will do our best. It's a t-piece tube that connects to the tubing off the ventilator. It gives Tyson less CPAP pressure but still gives him oxygen. They sometimes use this as a test to see if he would be ready for extubation. Unfortunately, because Tyson was still intubated for the process, it was almost harder for him to breathe using this t-piece, since the intubator tube still goes down his throat and it is almost like having to breathe through a straw. Tyson was also quite agitated when they tried it so he wouldn't calm down enough to let us see if he could handle this well. So after ten minutes they replaced the t-piece with the normal ventilator tubes again and will try again tomorrow. Hopefully by then his sats continue to improve and he has less secretions in his lungs.

It is difficult for us to keep seeing Tyson in this condition because he always looks so sad. Sometimes when Brian or I stand by his bedside while they give him a deep-suction (to get the secretions out of his lungs) it seems like Tyson gets more upset because he just wants us to pick him up. He gives us this look in his eyes like, "Why aren't you helping me, Mom?" He does a lot of crying too when we stand by and stroke his face, the tears are streaming down his cheeks and his face looks distressed but there is no sound coming out of his mouth.

It is hard because we remember Tyson as being a lovable, smiley guy who now does not smile at us anymore. We can't blame him much, there really is no reason for him to smile at us right now. I think he is pretty confused as to why we aren't helping him or picking him up when he cries. I did get to hold him for a while yesterday afternoon because I couldn't wait any longer. I thought I could wait until he was extubated but who knows when that will be. It is a complex process for them to move him from his bed to my arms because of all the tubes, wires, but the ventilator is the biggest obstacle. I think his nose hurts when it gets moved around too much and I am sure it is pretty sore and raw by now.

The chest tubes were removed yesterday and the central line that went into his neck was also pulled out. This is a relief because they cause a fair amount of discomfort for him too. But once that breathing tube is out, he will feel so much free-er I am sure!

We are definitely ready to see Tyson extubated and move on to the fourth floor. It is difficult to see our son like this and we would really like to have the old Tyson back again. But on the plus side, Brian and I are getting really good at Sudoku puzzles!

Until next time,

Brian and Mel:)