3 Weeks Young!

Well Thomas hit the big 3 week milestone this afternoon. I believe the appropriate gift for 3 week anniversaries is xbox games. I'll just hold on to them til I deem it appropriate for him to play. First, the really good news. He had his second brain scan and it again came back negative. This was very big news and a great relief for both of us. Prior to this week, we were really in a good frame of mind after the first scan. Then one of the nurses said that alot of times things don't show up til the second scan (Kind of a Debbie Downer moment for me. They just can't let you be blissfully ignorant). So we spent the week being a little anxious and agitated (so did Thomas). Which culminated in last night's visit.




This was the picture last night. Thomas was fairly mummied up and really unhappy about it. On his right hand, you will find a PAL (I assume that stands for something medical, but it could just as easily be Puffy Arm Lasso, prove me wrong.) They use this to constantly check his blood pressure, and can quickly and easily give him a blood transfusion. On his left arm is an IV which they were using to give him some calcium because he was a little low. On his left leg was another IV that they were using to give him something else I forget now. On his right foot is a device that tests his O2 mix. On his left side are a couple EKG patches. In his mouth, the respirator and a feeding tube. In his neck, a catheter. Not visible is his exposed bowel in his abdomen and an abscess (fancy name for a sore) on his right thigh.



As you can imagine, Thomas was kind of pissed and it wasn't really comfortable watching him. So this visual, along with the impending brain scan just left us worn out and a little down.



What a difference 24 hours makes.
We got the test results back, there does not appear to be an infection on that abscess, Thomas seems to be handling the milk pretty good (they're increasing the frequency), the mucus/congestion in his chest is getting a little better, they removed one of the IVs and he just seems a little more settled and comfortable.

They've still got his oxygen kind of high (40- 50% plus), and his blood pressure is a little low, but overall things are really good. Just lots of little bumps in the road. Lots of ups and downs. That's just how its going to be.


Whew. That was alot of information with out much humor. I'll try to think of something clever on a future post. For now, we can all just sit back and know that overall Thomas is progressing and is much more peaceful and cooperative today.
Mike