April 25, 2009

Ambrose off Vent


Yesterday, in a bout of rebelliousness, Ambrose extubated himself! The plan was to move him off the vent this morning, but since he pulled the tube out last night, he was placed on nasal CPAP. This morning, after a good blood gas, he was placed on high-flow nasal prongs at 4 liters per minute. He also managed to pull the IV out of his scalp. It has since been put into his arm, where he'll receive two more days of antibiotics. He seems to have recovered from pneumonia, which was apparantly the cause for his return to the ICU and the ventilator on Holy Saturday. There's been talk of moving him to an open crib again. So, hopefully, we're back on track towards taking the little guy home.

Ambrose's lungs are continually improving and will continue to for up to three years (that's how long it takes the alveoli to fully regenerate). However, his lungs are smaller than they should be and he will probably continue to have that deficiency lifelong. He also has a ridge from the endotracheal tube pressing against his palate, which may have orthodontic repercussions later.

We have already had a preliminary interview with AzEIP who will be evaluating both boys regularly for their first two years. Even though they are almost three months old, they are really just newborns; therefore they have a three-month developmental delay. AzEip will offer us support and services to help us to close the gap between the boys' chronological and adjusted ages by age two.

2 comments:

  1. Yay Ambrose! I am so glad you are doing better!

    Adrienne H.

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  2. ryan and gina talk with myra yesterday our thoughts are with you two...me and max are cheering for ambrose!!!

    much love max and carrie

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