Jereth went through two tests and got tubes put in his ears today. He's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke's Boise at least until he has all of the anesthesia out of his system and is considered stable enough to return home - possibly longer.
Showing posts with label St. Luke's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Luke's. Show all posts
31 January 2011
16 December 2010
16 December 2010
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| Ready to make a trip to Utah |
Dr. Walker came by this evening to love on Jereth before we go tomorrow morning. She expressed her confidence in the team at Primary Children's. She is grateful they recognized the struggle he is facing and the need to get his heart repaired so he can start to grow.
We're supposed to be leaving here at 9:00 am. Once we get to Salt Lake the doctors there will evaluate Jereth and start the process for scheduling his surgery. Until the doctors there see him in person they can't make a final decision about when the surgery will be best for him. There are a lot of factors to consider which is why I'm grateful that a team of experts will be calling the shots.
15 December 2010
Surgery Update
It looks like our most important Christmas present this year will be a mended heart for precious baby Jereth.
Dr. Walker called this morning. Jereth's surgery is scheduled for next week in Salt Lake City, Utah. St. Luke's is arranging for an air transfer on Friday to Primary Children's Medical Center which means Jereth and I will be flying to Utah. Dad and the rest of the family will drive down later.
Dr. Walker called this morning. Jereth's surgery is scheduled for next week in Salt Lake City, Utah. St. Luke's is arranging for an air transfer on Friday to Primary Children's Medical Center which means Jereth and I will be flying to Utah. Dad and the rest of the family will drive down later.
14 December 2010
14 December 2010
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| Jereth's Gift from Santa |
The Boise Fire Department brought Santa Claus for an early visit to the pediatrics floor of St. Luke's hospital today. Jereth got a stuffed animal (I think it's a cat, but I can't be sure) from the big man himself, but I forgot to get the camera out until after Santa had already left.
13 December 2010
13 December 2010
Scope Results
The scope of Jereth's upper respiratory tract confirmed a moderate case of laryngomalacia or weak walls of the larynx. When he breathes in the moving air creates an area of low pressure in the larynx. Since his larynx walls are weak, the larynx collapses and makes it difficult to breathe.
Dr. Beck who did the scope said he appears to also have mild tracheomalacia or weak walls in the trachea. Both are conditions that are made worse with reflux so the treatment for reflux he is getting should help. Neither condition is severe enough to need special treatment and the walls should get stronger as he gets older. To confirm the tracheomalacia would require a scope with Jereth sedated so the scope can get past the vocal cords. Since the treatment would not change with a confirmed diagnosis there's no good reason to do a sedated scope.
The scope of Jereth's upper respiratory tract confirmed a moderate case of laryngomalacia or weak walls of the larynx. When he breathes in the moving air creates an area of low pressure in the larynx. Since his larynx walls are weak, the larynx collapses and makes it difficult to breathe.
Dr. Beck who did the scope said he appears to also have mild tracheomalacia or weak walls in the trachea. Both are conditions that are made worse with reflux so the treatment for reflux he is getting should help. Neither condition is severe enough to need special treatment and the walls should get stronger as he gets older. To confirm the tracheomalacia would require a scope with Jereth sedated so the scope can get past the vocal cords. Since the treatment would not change with a confirmed diagnosis there's no good reason to do a sedated scope.
12 December 2010
12 December 2010
Today has been a quiet day, letting Jereth sleep as much as he will. His weight has increased slightly while here, from 3.0 kg (6 lbs 10 oz) to 3.1 kg (6 lbs 13 oz) and he is breathing much easier with the forced air therapy.
Tomorrow Doctor Beck will scope his upper respiratory tract to see how much damage there is from reflux and how much of his breathing issue comes from malacia, weak walls in the airway.
Once she has the results of the scope, Dr. Walker will contact the doctor at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake with that information as well as the results of the echocardiogram he had on Friday. She expects to hear back from that doctor quite quickly and they will determine how soon the surgery can take place. We're hoping to know something a little more definite about the timing of the surgery by Wednesday.
Tomorrow Doctor Beck will scope his upper respiratory tract to see how much damage there is from reflux and how much of his breathing issue comes from malacia, weak walls in the airway.
Once she has the results of the scope, Dr. Walker will contact the doctor at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake with that information as well as the results of the echocardiogram he had on Friday. She expects to hear back from that doctor quite quickly and they will determine how soon the surgery can take place. We're hoping to know something a little more definite about the timing of the surgery by Wednesday.
11 December 2010
11 December 2010
Back in PICU
We started the day with a trip to Dr. Walker, the pediatric cardiologist. Jereth had another echocardiogram then we met with the doctor. She had considered doing a sedated echocardiogram but since the doctor at Primary Children's will need to do that procedure before the surgery she chose not to do it here, too.
When Dr. Walker saw how much Jereth was struggling to breathe and considered that he still has not gained much weight, she decided he needs more help than he was getting. She sent us back to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise.
We started the day with a trip to Dr. Walker, the pediatric cardiologist. Jereth had another echocardiogram then we met with the doctor. She had considered doing a sedated echocardiogram but since the doctor at Primary Children's will need to do that procedure before the surgery she chose not to do it here, too.
When Dr. Walker saw how much Jereth was struggling to breathe and considered that he still has not gained much weight, she decided he needs more help than he was getting. She sent us back to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise.
23 November 2010
23 November 2010 (pm)
We'll be here at least one more day, possibly more. There was more fluid on Jereth's lungs in the X-ray taken today than the doctor was comfortable with. He is consulting with the pediatric cardiologist about increasing the dosage of the diuretic.
Here's the dilema: We need Jereth to grow. In order to grow he has to take in Calories. To get the Calories he requires fluid. The more fluid in his system, the more likely he is to get excess fluid in his lungs. The more fluid in his lungs, the harder his heart has to work. The harder his heart has to work, the more Calories are burned just keeping his blood pumping. The more Calories burned by his heart, the less Calories available for him to grow.
Here's the dilema: We need Jereth to grow. In order to grow he has to take in Calories. To get the Calories he requires fluid. The more fluid in his system, the more likely he is to get excess fluid in his lungs. The more fluid in his lungs, the harder his heart has to work. The harder his heart has to work, the more Calories are burned just keeping his blood pumping. The more Calories burned by his heart, the less Calories available for him to grow.
23 November 2010
Jereth gained another 50 grams today. He's finally back up to his birth weight of 2.8 kg (6 lbs 2 oz). He should have been at this point four weeks ago, so this is a big step for our precious little one.
We should be able to take him home today, but we haven't seen the doctor yet. The target time for discharge is this afternoon and I expect to see the doctor anytime now.
We should be able to take him home today, but we haven't seen the doctor yet. The target time for discharge is this afternoon and I expect to see the doctor anytime now.
22 November 2010
22 November 2010
Jereth gained weight again today, 50 grams (just under 2 ounces)! As long as he continues to grow we'll be home tomorrow.
We moved out of PICU onto the pediatric floor as planned.
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| View from PICU room window |
We moved out of PICU onto the pediatric floor as planned.
21 November 2010
21 November 2010
Jereth gained weight!! He weighed 2.55 kg (5 lbs 10 oz) when we brought him to the hospital, and the same on Saturday morning, but this morning he was up to 2.7 kg (5 lbs 15 oz). If he continues to gain weight without any other issues, we'll take him home on Tuesday.
Mom and Dad have some learning to do before he comes home, though. We have to learn to insert the feeding tube so we can change it when it needs changed and reinsert it when Jereth grabs it and pulls it out - like he did this morning (I had my first try inserting the feeding tube then). There is a pump used with the feeding that we will learn to operate. We also need to be comfortable mixing the formula and supplemented breast milk at the right concentration for the Calorie count the doctors want.
The PICU doctor and nurses have commented on how alert Jereth is when he is awake. He was watching the doctor this morning while we had our consultation. It was as if Jereth wanted to understand everything the doctor had to say.
Mom and Dad have some learning to do before he comes home, though. We have to learn to insert the feeding tube so we can change it when it needs changed and reinsert it when Jereth grabs it and pulls it out - like he did this morning (I had my first try inserting the feeding tube then). There is a pump used with the feeding that we will learn to operate. We also need to be comfortable mixing the formula and supplemented breast milk at the right concentration for the Calorie count the doctors want.
The PICU doctor and nurses have commented on how alert Jereth is when he is awake. He was watching the doctor this morning while we had our consultation. It was as if Jereth wanted to understand everything the doctor had to say.
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