A bright day...continuation of last post

I wanted to get the last post out as quickly as possible but also wanted to comment on all the news we received today.

His chest x-ray looked even better today...at least for the left side. :) It has almost completely opened and has drastically improved. There is much, much less cloudiness indicating that the inflammation and fluids in his lungs has decreased significantly. His right side is not doing so well. It is showing signs of possible blockage in the airway leading into his lungs preventing enough air from entering to keep his right lung inflated. This blockage is most likely mucus and very sticky fluids that are being secreted due to the infection he is fighting. Please pray that his lungs would continue to open and give thanks for the improvement so far.

The doctors have already reduced the flow of the ECMO pump overnight. This occurred not due to them wanting to begin the weaning process but due to complications in the ECMO circuit. Apparently a leak occurred within the circuit around the oxygenator that was replaced yesterday so they replaced it again overnight. During this time the circuit was clamped off for around 5 minutes. This means that for 5 minutes Jack was completely unsupported by the ECMO circuit. However, during this time he was able to sustain himself with only 65% oxygen on the ventilator! Praise the Lord for his protection! After the ECMO circuit was back up they were able to significantly reduce the amount of flow on the ECMO pump. Not that numbers matter to all of you but we are now at 400 ml/minute. We were at 630 and even over 700 at one point. We will be reducing the flow by 50 every half hour. At 300 they will check his gases (O2, CO2, etc.) and see how he is doing on the lower flows. As needed, his ventilator output will be increased to compensate for the reduction in the ECMO flow. At 100 ml/min on the flow another chest x-ray will be taken to evaluate the condition of his lungs again. If all looks well and he is tolerating the lower flows they will most likely call the surgeons in to begin the surgical removal of the tubes (cannulaes) from his Carotid artery and Jugular vein. This process is called decannulation. Once complete Jackson will be completely off of ECMO and continue his recovery on ventilator support only. Drugs will be administered as needed to keep his blood pressure where they should be until stabilized and the antibiotics will continue for the infection.

Blood cultures have returned an identified organism that is growing and the doctors have changed switched one of the antibiotics. He is now on Gentamicin and Vancomycin (this is more for our medical friends and familyJ). Please continue to pray for healing of the infections he is fighting and that there is nothing we are missing. We are grateful for the information the doctors have received.

Obviously this is a HUGE day for us as our prayers are being answered daily! While we eagerly anticipate the end to the ECMO treatment we know that we still have a ways to go. Please continue to PRAY for answered prayer and to PRAISE our God for his loving mercy. Our heats desire is not only for Jackson’s full recovery but also that the name of Jesus would be praised!

We will keep you posted on the events that occur throughout the day.

Joe