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| Jereth at home on Thanksgiving Day |
We have so much to be thankful for - especially being home together as a family for Thanksgiving.
Jereth is looking much better, not nearly so gaunt as last week. We're trying to find the delicate balance that will allow him to continue to grow. The trick is to provide enough calories for Jereth to grow without causing further stress to his heart and lungs.
He is now taking two diuretic medicines to keep the amount of liquid in his lungs down and another medicine to strengthen his heart. These are to prevent congestive heart failure and get him through until he can have the open heart surgery he needs.
In the hospital we had passive oxygen available to help keep the blood oxygen saturation levels up. However using oxygen too often on a child with a VSD can cause the pressure in the lungs to get high enough that the blood flows the opposite direction through the hole in the heart.
Normally the blood flows from the from the left (oxygenated) ventricle to the right (oxygen depleted) ventricle. This makes the lungs work harder because the volume of blood going through the lungs is increased and oxygen-rich blood goes back through the lungs.
When the pressure in the lungs increases with the use of supplemental oxygen, blood flows from the right to the left ventricle causing oxygen-poor blood to be pumped through the body. Because the blood going to the body does not have the oxygen the body needs, this is a dangerous situation for a tiny baby.
In the hospital we had passive oxygen available to help keep the blood oxygen saturation levels up. However using oxygen too often on a child with a VSD can cause the pressure in the lungs to get high enough that the blood flows the opposite direction through the hole in the heart.
Normally the blood flows from the from the left (oxygenated) ventricle to the right (oxygen depleted) ventricle. This makes the lungs work harder because the volume of blood going through the lungs is increased and oxygen-rich blood goes back through the lungs.
When the pressure in the lungs increases with the use of supplemental oxygen, blood flows from the right to the left ventricle causing oxygen-poor blood to be pumped through the body. Because the blood going to the body does not have the oxygen the body needs, this is a dangerous situation for a tiny baby.
So glad that you are home. Jereth looks so much better in the new picture you posted of him. I hope your Thanksgiving was a happy one for your entire family.
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