Mid-day update:
The doc ordered a venous doppler study on Brandon’s legs to look for blood clots. That test came back negative, so they are now prepping him to go down for a chest CT scan to look for any blood clots in his lungs. If they find clots, it may explain why his O2 levels have been dropping. Would just love to know why all this is happening . . .
Posts tagged ‘Children’
Well . . . . . the docs decided this morning that, since they were having so much trouble with Brandon’s veins and his IV, that the next step is to put in a central line with a port. For those of you that are not familiar with these, it is like a permanent IV that is inserted surgically directly into the jugular vein. Having a port in will allow staff to draw blood, give meds and any other injectable treatments directly into the port. That means, aside from pulling his AGB’s, no more needle sticks while he is in the hospital. This should be a little more comfortable and make giving treatments easier for Brandon. As always, please keep us in your prayers. Thank you!
Not much to report tonight. Brandon’s numbers remain about the same. His white blood cell count is lower than when he first was admitted to the hospital (which is a good thing), but his O2 is still a bit dodgy. He is resting comfortably, but he is still on the ventilator. Dr. Makhoul seemed a bit doubtful that Brandon would be off the vent over the weekend, but maybe at the beginning of next week, depending upon how he does over the weekend. I will be back at the hospital on Saturday, so I will post more then.
Wanted to take a minute and introduce you to our team:
*Dr. Yves Makhoul specializes in Pulmonology/Critical Care. He completed a 3-year Internal Medicine residency at Staten Island University Hospital (NY), a 1-year Critical Care Medicine fellowship at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center (NY), and a 2-year Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care fellowship at NYU-Langone Medical Center (NY).
*Dr. Ahsan Usman is certified in Internal Medicine, with a specialty in Nephrology. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Health System (OH), and a residency in Internal Medicine at USC, Los Angeles. He completed a Nephrology fellowship at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
These guys are the greatest!
It’s a great day day on 7! Good news all around! Brandon’s chest x-ray looks better, and his white count is down from yesterday, but his O2 in the last ABG is a little lower. Dr. Makhoul is not sure what to make of that, but seems generally pleased with the progress we are making. Brandon was able to communicate with us a bit more this morning. He would love to hear from the outside world, so if you want to post any comments or messages or send get well cards to either house, they will be very welcome.