Monday, October 24, 2005

ANOTHER OPINION, MORE TESTS AND OUR FIRST WALK

So the new pulmonologist (the attending rotates every week) is quite concerned about Mr. Max. He thinks he has been slipping the past few days. His bicarb level was up and so was his respiratory rate...often in the 100s and 120s... over the weekend. He also was concerned with his slow weight gain, however, I reminded him that he just recently started full feeds again. He chuckled a bit at me...I am always defending Max! But I do want them to see the full picture and sometimes little (but important) details are missed. In our nightly weigh-in, Max gained 20 grams today (which is perfect) so of course I jumped out of our room to tell the doc, "hey hey guess what, Max gained 20 grams"...told you so, told you so. :) I think they get a big kick out of me...at least I keep them entertained.

All of this is certainly concerning but I'm not sure I agree that he is "worsening", but we will see. I did notice that he is breathing faster, but I'm hoping that is just a "blip." (Tonight when I was undressing him for his weigh-in, his chest retractions were a harsh reminder of how sick he is...just breaks my heart.)

The doctor is hoping I am right about Max not slipping, and that we will prove him wrong. Let's hope so.

Today they ordered new blood tests (which Max is getting TOO used to, he didn't even cry today, not even a whimper)...and another echo for his heart and another xray of his chest. For the chest xray, he had to go upstairs and I got to carry him all the way there. So while it is not good news that he had to get another xray, I did enjoy the journey. It was so exciting! First time to carry him around the hospital! (Of course a nurse was with me carrying his oxygen tank, but still...this was a big deal for Max to be out of his crib and away from his monitors.) And he was amazing even while we put him in all the awkward positions for the xray. He just looked at me calmly, probably thinking..."mom, what are they doing to me this time???"

The doctor came in a few minutes ago to talk with me and said the xray didn't look great...he thinks something is going on. It could be the heart, but he has not seen the results back from the echo yet. Wednesday's care conference should be full of disagreement between the two specialties, I'm sure. I'm not sure what my opinion is on the timing of the heart surgery.

He has been fairly fussy on and off today, and I finally just got him to sleep so I am going to head back downstairs to make sure he stays asleep. He needs to chill out and let his body heal! I keep telling him that, but already Max is proving to be a "McKinley" and doesn't take well to orders! :)

1 comment:

Drew said...

Keep up that weight gain Maxwell. You need to get big and strong. Amy, keep those docs working! You guys are always in my thoughts.

Drew