Uncharted Territories

When I called this morning I was very pleased to hear that Maxton was being weaned down on his oxygen to about 94 and he didnt have any episodes overnight. However, when I got here this morning the nurse was telling me that they may have to put chest tubes in. apparently, Max's left lung now has a hole in it. This is not uncommon in CDH babies, but the typical treatment is a stay on ECMO. As I have already said, MAxton is not really an ECMO candidate. Yesterday his head ultrasound showed that his brain bleed was still a stable grade 2, but it had not improved any. The doctors are sort of confused as to what treatment would be best. A few doctors still recommend ECMO so as to not further damage the lung, but the risk for brain damage because of the preexisting bleed is still very high. Another set of doctors feel that perhaps a "chest" tube should be placed in the abdomen to allow the air to escape. Typically, a chest tube is inserted between the ribs, but with Maxton's organs still being herniated this is not safe. They would like to be able to just repair his hernia and then put in chest tubes, but they feel like the amount of swelling on Maxton would not allow for a good repair of the hernia. They have been debating since early this morning trying to figure out what to do. David and I feel like the tummy chest tube is the best option as we would not want MAxton to have a huge brain bleed on ECMO resulting in death or severe brain damage. The doctor we met with agrees, so hopefully the surgeon will agree as well.

In the meantime Maxton is doing very well being weaned. I am so proud of him and feel like the prayers and pep talks David and I have been giving him are definately working. He hasn't had an episode today and his oxygen is now at 78 and he is still satting 100 both pre and post. His vent setting is still high but they are hoping to wean that starting possibly this hour. His bi carb drip is gone and his dopamine is down to 10, which was the goal from yesterday. His vitals are right where they want them. If it wasn't for this hole in his lung we would be having a good day. I appreciate everyone checkin in on us and have read everyones comments. I wish I could reply to you all individually, but know that I have been reading your well wishes!! I will hopefully update later about what the doctors decide!