Wednesday, June 20, 2007

More Progress

Mason has been off blood pressure meds for 36 hours now. He is still doing well and his blood pressure seems to be just high enough that he is continuing to urinate well. This is important for him because he gets a lot of fluid through his IV. If he does not get rid of the same amount he will get puffy and bloated and some of this fluid will collect in his lungs. So far so good...

The docs are continuing to wean Mason on the vent pressures. His pressure is now at 28. This is great considering he came off of ECMO with a pressure of 33. The docs will continue to wean him down by 1 notch every day (as long as his blood gases come back ok). His oxygen is now down to 45%. The nurses and respiratory therapists are able to wean the oxygen down to 30% at their discretion without doc approval. They seem to feel comfortable trending him down by 5% every couple of days.

When Mason is weaned to a certain point (not sure what this is yet), he will go onto a vent setting that will let him do most of the work while the vent will back him up if he forgets to take a breath or gets tired. When he begins to breath well with consistency, he will be taken off. We are probably still a couple of months away. Getting off the vent is going to be Mason's next big hurdle.

I have some new pictures to post, but I will have to wait until I get home to download them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is so exciting to hear about Mason's progress! We can't help but think he is doing so well because of all the love and prayers he is receiving. We miss being there with you but know that the three of you are always in our hearts. Give Mason a big kiss for us. Love Ya, Dad and Mom Ellinger

Anonymous said...

Wow, what an inspiring little person he is. Keep up the good work Mason!!!!!!

Aunt Jacquelynn