All is well in in room 1830 at the PICU-E. For those who aren’t as cool as I and don’t know the lingo, PICU-E stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – Pod E ( yes it’s pod-e, not potty, two different things, although there sure seems to be a lot of potty in pod-e which the doctors say is a good thing). Anyway, enough about pod-e and potty……
The doctors, similar to the two blokes pictured to the right generally have good things to say about Austin’s status and recovery. Personally, as I entered the room today, I noticed the thingy on Austin’s head had been removed. The doctors, nurses, Karla and pretty much everyone else here refers to “the thingy” as a profusion monitor. Also, the arterial line has disappeared (a line cut directly into Austins artery during surgery to monitor blood pressure). I actually heard a rumor today that if Austin does well this week, there’s a possiblility we could bring him home early next week…
Other than the routine ups and downs associated with this type of surgery and living in the PICU-E, everything is going very well at this point. Did I mention that we can’t wait to bring Austin home?
Happy Independence Day! The 4th of July has been a memorable one for Austin. Today Austin became “independent” of the ventilator he has been attached to for the past week. The Bionic Man will be on oxygen for the next few days to regulate his breathing, but the doctor gave him an “A” for extubation.
As Austin continues to recover from the operation, the nurses will be assigning Karla and I some of the responsibilities associated with his care. Today I was told that it would be very beneficial to Austins development if we were to start changing his diapers. This is very exciting news!
Austin had another big day today and was overjoyed at the list of items discontinued, or removed from his body.
chest tubes removed – check
epinephrine discontinued – check
rectal temperature probe removed – check (Austin was the most grateful for this one)
Foley Catheter removed – check
Austin promptly flooding his sleeping area after Foley Catheter
removed – check
Overall, Jeff (Dr. Pearl) was pleased with Austin’s progress, and we’re hoping by Independence Day to have Austin off the ventilator (a step needed so Mom and Dad can hold their baby).
It was another beautiful 108 degree summer day in Phoenix. As I jumped in the Yukon to head down to the hospital I thought I could hear the faint sounds of someone singing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah as they skipped down the street.
As for Austin, his day was fantastic. He started the day by hanging out with Dr. Pearl (his real name is Jeff Pearl, but I don’t think he likes his first name very much due to the peculiar looks he gives me when I greet him as such). At approximately 9:00am Dr. Pearl brought his peeps (some may prefer to call them a medical team) into Austin’s room, closed the curtains and promptly performed a (scheduled) sternal closure. Austin was very happy to have all his body parts intact again. He didn’t however appreciate the nurse trying to give him an aspirin (not orally) and quickly crossed his legs in protest.
Right now Austin is resting and occassionally opens his eyes so that we all have the opportunity to stare at him with our goofy smiles. Austin wanted me to let everyone know that he is feeling a little better and can’t wait to get home.
Austin is really excited that Aunt Kris came to visit today.
We are so grateful for Grandma and Grandpas help. They leave tomorrow but will be back soon. Hopefully with more presents!
If you guessed this was a picture taken from the Star Trek convention that Karla was a keynote speaker at last month, you would have guessed wrong.
This is a picture of Austin’s steroids. Don’t worry buddy, we won’t leak this info to the press if you decide to become a baseball player someday.
Everything is going well with Austin. The doctors have upgraded him from a “C” student to a “B” student which everyone is excited about. Tomorrow is a big day for Austin, if all goes well he will have his sternum closed. It’s normal to leave the chest open for a number of days after surgery until the swelling in the lungs and heart goes down.
Here’s a few pics of Austin posing in his new duds.
I had to look all over the room for Austin before taking this photo. He was hard to find with the camo that Grandpa and Papa bought for him on their shopping trip to Cabellas.
All is well in in room 1830 at the PICU-E. For those who aren’t as cool as I and don’t know the lingo, PICU-E stands for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit – Pod E ( yes it’s pod-e, not potty, two different things, although there sure seems to be a lot of potty in pod-e which the doctors say is a good thing). Anyway, enough about pod-e and potty……
