Aiden has continued to improve since I last posted. He is still on the regular ventilator, but his lungs are improving. On Monday, Amaraa was able to hold him for the first time in over a month. It was a special experience for Amaraa as they were able to bond again. She had been sick for about a week before Aiden got really sick and Aiden has been sick for nearly a month, so it was a long time coming. I'm so glad he's getting better. He wasn't doing quite as well as he was doing last Sunday, but I expected a bit of a setback since he had made such a vast improvement Sunday. When we visited him on Tuesday, it was my turn. It was so fun to hold him again. He weighed about double what he did the last time I held him -- the day before he got sick. I could have sat there and held him for hours. Tuesday was our third consecutive day of good news about his condition and it seemed that he had finally turned the corner.
On Wednesday, I went to Price to work. On the way through Provo, I stopped to see Aiden. He was still doing really well. His oxygen was at 30% and his PEEP (pressure) setting was at 11. The doctor said that when his PEEP gets down to around 7-8, they can try to take him off the ventilator. Later that night, they tried him without the ventilator, but he didn't tolerate it well, so they put him back on. I was in Price until Saturday, so I had to just get updates over the phone from Amaraa and Aiden's doctors and nurses. I missed that little guy so much! I couldn't wait to come back home so I could see him again. He continued to do well through the week and Amaraa was able to visit him with the generosity of some wonderful friends that arranged to take her to the hospital and watch Sky and Jasmine. Amaraa had our car, but since she hasn't driven on the freeway since her car accident last January, she didn't dare drive herself. This morning, though, she decided she was brave enough to try. She did just fine, but she said she was "white-knuckling it" the whole way.
This afternoon, I rolled back into town and stopped at the hospital on my way home. I swabbed his mouth, changed his diaper and helped the nurse get his temperature and stats. It was so good to see him again. He was awake the entire time I was there. Usually we are lucky to see him with one eye half open, but today, he was wide awake. What a special little guy! Amaraa had a "girls night out" with some of her friends, so I had to be home to watch the kids, so I didn't spend a lot of time with Aiden, but I was there for half an hour or so. I can't wait to go back down there tomorrow. We are planning to color Easter eggs and have an Easter egg hunt for Sky and Jazzy after church, and then we will head down. Things are looking better for our little guy! He's now up to 18 mL of milk every three hours and seems to be tolerating it pretty well. If he continues to do well, they will increase his feedings 3 mL every 12 hours until he is at full feedings. Exciting!
Look at those cheeks! He is so cute.
ReplyDelete