What Next?

We spent a lot of time at the hospital today...no, not THAT hospital. In fact, we didn't get to see Andrew at all today. Instead, we spent several hours at the Scripps Encinitas Emergency Room. On Tuesday night, D spiked a fever, so we got a prescription for antibiotics and went to bed. In the morning, the fever had gotten worse instead of better and her doctor was unavailable, so we were advised to go to urgent care. Five hours later, we headed back home with an additional antibiotic prescription, an IV bag of saline and two syringes full of antibiotics in D's bloodstream, and a diagnosis of mastitis. She's already much better, controlling the fever with Tylenol and the rest with antibiotics. Cold compresses, hot compresses, extra pumping....we're doing everything we can to speed the process along. It'll probably be a couple of days until she's back at 100%, but we can go see Andrew as soon as she feels well enough, as she's not contagious.

It was sad that D's illness and our interminable ER wait ruined what would otherwise have been a good day. Andrew spent most of the day (from 9am to 10pm) on a conventional ventilator. Apparently he wasn't quite up to staying that way (his CO2 levels were a little too high in the 80's), but just trying it out again is a sign that the doctor's have regained some confidence in him. He was on his belly for most of the day and tolerated it well. They also turned his head several times...it doesn't sound like a big deal, but head direction indicates which lung is getting the most oxygen, since the ventilator tends to "point" at the far lung. By making him face to the right, it means his nubbin got more air than usual and his right lung less than usual, yet they didn't see any major desaturation. After putting him back on the hi-fi vent this evening, his CO2 levels are coming back down. His settings are where they were before he switched vents, which means he went through all those manipulations without any problems that required fixing.

I'll definitely go down and see him at some point tomorrow, and D will see how she feels. Rest is a very important part of recovery, so she should take it easy for a couple of days. I'll be her (and your) eyes-and-ears at the hospital. Once again, thank you all for following along.