It was a very stressful day today.. leading to another day of nail biting tomorrow. Brendan just could not get comfortable today, no matter what they gave him and he struggled to maintain his numbers. There were lots of people in and out of his room, and in the ICU that is never a good sign. Right now, he is resting, but still sitting with saturations in the low 60’s.
He went for a CT today and the preliminary reading from the doctors indicates that there are two tiny collateral veins, but they are too small to coil during a cath and insignificant when it comes to the blood flow, so that is not causing his trouble.
The CT did show bad lungs and that is what it boils down to. His left upper lung was totally collapsing again today, even on pressure support. They ordered a chest ultrasound to get a better idea of how much fluid was still surrrounding the lung and what might be involved to drain it off. It may be as simple as drawing it out with a needle, but the fluid may be in lots of small isolated pockets which would complicate the issue.
His tracheotomy is at noon and then we have been warned that the first few days after surgery will be very difficult as it heals in place. Once it gets sealed in place, it will be easier to provide appropriate pressure to his lungs to support him properly. I can only hope that this procedure will finally be the turning point to get on the road to recovery.

I didn’t take many pictures of Brendan today, just one to share.

Someone must have replaced Trevor’s rice cereal flakes with Folger’s Crystals. He was ultra awake-baby today and refused to nap. He would fall asleep with Gramma rocking him and as soon as she went to set him down, he would pop awake.

Just when you think that baby is asleep…

… Haha! Only acting!