Can you say pneumothorax?

Rule #1 You are not in the way!! If one of the docs/nurses asks you to move you should have an escape plan, but know they will ask you to move when they need to. The best thing we can do for Tyler is spend time with him.

I found out last night how important it is to spend time observing your child up close. When my farther and I got back from eating there was alot of activity and Tyler just didn't look right and his numbers sucked. I got right in there and let him hold my finger. If I hadn't done that I would never have started the conversation with the respiratory therapist about his chest looking inflated and not jiggling right.

The high-frequency ventilator gives his chest a pretty constant bounce. With the incredible team here they would have reached the same conclusion anyway, but having a parent who has watched him for 2 days be able to point out things that don't look right with their child is a prized commodity around these parts.

The first x-ray shows the collapsed left lung. The image on the bottom is after the chest tube went in, the lung is re-expanded and working well.



Rule #2 One number means nothing by itself. I'm looking at an isolet with at least 36 values displayed around him updated every second or so. Any one or two of the numbers can freak out at any time. Yesterday Tyler's UAC (A catheter in is umbilical artery) started reporting a bogus blood-pressure. When I say bogus we're talking freaky stuff like 6/-2. None of the other numbers skipped a beat. They replaced the line and we're getting good numbers. Thankfully that was fixed before he started having problems later last night with his lungs. The numbers are only useful in context. If there is a problem more than one element will change.

Rules #3 ICN Staff Rocks! No two was about it. We have 2 amazing nurses that have chosen to take Tyler on as their primary patient. They know their stuff, and I can leave for some food or sleep knowing Tyler is in the best hands possible. I know I need sleep, If it weren't for people like these I suspect I'd be sleeping in a chair in the ICN.

General Updates:
-Sharron is en-route now. She was discharged from Nashua at Noon. Uncle Guggy and Tim are bringing her up.
-Tyler appears back on track after last night's events. We are again working on weaning his respirator settings.
-I've been told there are too many pics of hardware and not enough of baby. So here's a baby pic. It's harder than it looks to get a pic of mostly Tyler. There is alot of gear in here.