A small step back

Just so everyone knows, if a nurse calls you at 7:30 in the morning and tells you they had to chemically paralyze your daughter, it is not as bad as it sounds.

Camden's O2 and blood pressure has been looking great, but her CO2 got pretty high. One of the biggest reasons is that she is trying to breath over the ventilator. Typically this is a very good thing, our baby girl wants to breath. But with this type of ventilator it actually decreases the efficiency of the ventilator. So to help her not fight the machine (and it is great that she is showing a bit of a fight) they gave her a muscle relaxant which in effect makes her muscles not respond to the signals they are getting from the brain (hence paralyze). Right after they did this and made some adjustments to the ventilator settings, her CO2 dropped in half within 2 hours which is great. The muscle relaxant they are using is metabolized very quickly so if they decide she does not need it any more, they do not have to wait long for the dose to ware off. So far the follow up CO2 tests are looking good, but they are going to maintain the muscle relaxant for a bit longer. She also back on the photo-therapy light for jaundice which she is expected to go on and off while she is there.

We also just got word that she is going to be getting the PICC line today. Good news, though since her veins are not that prominent, she has to get it through the scalp. This is actually a preferred connection than the arms or legs from a medical point of view, but less appealing. Either way, this is good news for Camden.

It is actually a little bit of a good thing that we are not worrying about a rise in CO2. Her first couple of days, the CO2 was fluctuating a lot, but there was other things to worry about. Now, the minor problem has become the major problem because our original major problems have gone away.

On a lighter note, there was a small miracle on Tuesday night. We have friends gracious enough to allow us to barrow their truck so Cary's grandparents can use our car. Well, on Tuesday night I was running a little late to take Cary's mom to the airport and ran out without my wallet. Well about a third of the way to Seatac Airport the low fuel light came on. Again, we were running late so I push ahead for the airport, drop off Rhonda, and head back towards the hospital with no money (btw, I don't think Rhonda realized the light came on or that I did not have my wallet else she would probable given me $10, otherwise we need to talk =). Well, the miracle is I somehow was able to drive ~40 miles in a F-150 with the low fuel light on, make it back to the APT, get my wallet, and fill the tank. Thank God for not being stranded on the highway at midnight.

Paul