Gabe is continuing to do well. His oxygen saturations continue to be in the 90's on room air and his respiratory rate is staying 40-60's. He has increased work of breathing only with feedings at this point. His color is good... some mottling, but no blue episodes. They were saying in rounds that he doesn't appear to be showing signs of heart failure anymore. So the big question is what happened last week? No one totally knows for sure, but here are some theories that have been bounced around. Gabe was stressed from something and his heart just couldn't take it causing him to work really hard to breath and have difficulty recovering. He may have been stressed from something viral, not being able to tolerate feeds due to poor pacing and reflux, or getting to the point where he required cardiac meds and went into distress quickly (even though this is not typical). Nothing he has shown has really been typical. The blood they drew looking into potential enzyme deficiencies is still pending so we're still waiting to see if there is another diagnosis out there, but b/c he is looking so good, they're thinking he has recovered and it just took him a long time to bounce back and there may be no other diagnosis. They are hoping we will be able to go home Friday or Saturday. He will still have a feeding tube. We tried giving him a bottle very slowly today and paced him every 4 sucks to catch his breath. Gabe can't suck and breathe at the same time, so he needs breaks from sucking to recover. He just took 2oz by mouth! They want him to have 70ml per feeding, so we're putting the rest down his feeding tube. Home Health will come to our house to check on the tube feedings. He will also stay on Captopril, Lasix, and Zantac once we go home. The docs are acting like the plan is back to where it was which is fatten him up as much as possible and aim for surgery around 4 months. Gabe is the most wide awake he's been in over a week. He's tracking with his eyes and playing and acting himself again. It's crazy to think how a week ago he was so sick and we were so scared.
Yay! He looks so great in that picture!
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful picture!! With all these leaps, I think he should be a frog for Halloween!!
ReplyDeleteSide note: I talked to my sister Monica this evening and she mentioned how a few children she's cared for exhibited severe reflux problems as new borns. She mentioned that they showed significant feeding improvement after their pediatric doctors had their formula changed. Is that something their considering for Gabe, considering his reflux issues? I know every baby is different, but I figured I'd ask. I'm learning things for the future :P
He looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteIt's incredible to hear about his progress this week.
What a great picture! Glad to hear some good news.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that things have turned around for you. Hoping that all goes well and that you get to go home soon.
ReplyDeleteThank God! Love the picture -- it's almost like he's looking for me. :) Let me know if you need anything this weekend. I'm not a good cook, but I am an excellent delivery person/errand runner.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to read this!! He is so cute! We will be continuing to pray for him!
ReplyDeleteMissy
we are super glad to hear about the improvements! Lots of love and prayers coming your way!
ReplyDeleteWe are so happy to hear this wonderful news! We will continue our prayers for all of you.
ReplyDeleteAndrea & David
That picture is so cute-I just want to kiss those cheeks! So glad to see you and Gabe looking so much better. May blessings continue to come your way.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you guys. You continue to be in our prayers!
ReplyDeleteLuke and Missy