| Corey's Updates |
| (Sorry if there is some confusion with what is said in some of the updates. Some of the terms and more background information will be explained in a different section at a later time.) |
| Previous Updates |
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| 5/12/02 - (8:00pm) Corey has been doing a little bit better today. His oxygen level is still at 100%, but his drops in saturation have not been as often or as severe. Last night they tried him on a different ventilator and his saturation was worse so they put him back on the original one. They have been sedating him so that he stops trying to breathe on his own. If he breathes on his own, he is more likely to shunt the blood in his lungs. This is partially responsible for the desaturation problem. Although they have been using medication to try to sedate him, he often continues to be fairly active and to try to breathe. The doctor mentioned that they may want to give him steroids to help his lungs grow. His feedings are doing well and he is up to 6cc per hour. |
| 5/13/02 - (8:00pm) Corey has been doing a little bit better today. His oxygen level were at 66%. They have also increased his feeding to 6.5cc per hour. He is looking better today then he was over the weekend. He is getting bigger. They weighed him today and he was 2lbs 12oz. The doctor did say that he did not know how accurate the reading was, and that the next reading could be lower. The main thing is that he is gaining weight. |
| 5/14/02 - (9:00pm) Corey has been doing about the same today. His oxygen level were at 70% when we left, but is still going up and down. They have also increased his feeding to 7cc per hour and is digesting it well. They had also done a head ultrasound yesterday and the results were good. They were checking for Hydrocephalus and bleeding. He did not have either one. |
| 5/15/02 - (9:00pm) Corey continues to struggle with his oxygen level and desaturation. It was again mentioned that steriods were a possibility. Nitric Oxide was also mentioned as a possible help. The doctors are going to continue to watch him to see if he seems to need that type of help to get better. Corey's feedings are up to 7.5cc per hour and he is doing well with them. |
| 5/16/02 - (9:00pm) Corey is doing better today. He had a rough night last night, so they increased the size of the tube that goes into his lungs for ventilation. When they tried to stick him back on the oscillating ventilator, he did not tolerate it and dropped his stats. They put him on the Servo ventilator (the one that gives him a more natural 40-60 breathes a minute) and he has been doing well with that so far. This ventilator is a step in the right direction. The nurses said that holding Corey will be easier on this ventilator, so it looks like we may be able to do that more often. Over the night, he tightened his chest muscles which did not allow the ventilator to work. They think that this is a side effect of a medicine that they have been giving to calm him down. They discontinued this medication. They also ran an EEG this morning to make sure that the tightening was not a seizure. The doctors do not think that it was seizures. The results of the EEG should be back tomorrow. Corey was weighed again this morning and he was 2lbs 13oz. A culture was sent Tuesday to check if the MRSA has been taken care of with the antibiotics and 48 hour results were negative. If the final results in a couple of days are negative as well, Corey will be taken out of isolation. Amy got to change Corey's diaper for the first time tonight. He was a good boy and did not shoot her with pee like he has done to a couple of the nurses. |
| 5/17/02 - (10:00pm) Corey is doing better this evening. His EEG test results came back negative, so he was not having seizures! They did decide to give him a treatment of steroids to help with his lungs. They also increased his feedings to 8.5cc per hour and he is doing well with them. He looked a lot better tonight then he has in quite a while. |
| 5/20/02 - (2:00pm) Corey has been doing better the last couple of days. His oxygen was at 50% today. They have been able to wean the pressure and frequency on his ventilator. He has been tolerating those changes well. He received his last dose of steroids last night. The doctor will evaluate whether he needs them again in a week. Corey was weighed last night and he was 2lbs 13.5oz. The nurses were happy that he was able to maintain his weight even though he received steroids. They increased his feedings to 9cc an hour and he has continued to tolerate that well. Amy got to hold Corey today for almost two hours. Corey seemed to like it because he slept well and was able to keep his stats up. This was the second holding and Amy is hoping to be able to do this more often. It is easier to hold him now that he is on the Servo ventilator than it was while on the oscillating vent. |
| 5/21/02 - (9:30pm) Corey has continued to do well on the Servo ventilator. His oxygen was at 45% today. They did have to increase his pressures and frequency on the vent some. A second culture for MRSA was sent in today to double check that it is gone. The results should be back in 48 hours or so. He has continued to do well with his feedings and has been passing stools. It has been a pretty quiet day today for him (which is a good thing). |
| 5/22/02 - (10:00pm) Corey is looking good tonight. He looked very calm and comfortable. He did have to go up on his oxygen level to about 60%. They are now weighing him every other day and today he weighed 2lbs 13.6oz. Mom and Dad got to take Corey's temperature and change his diaper tonight. We were also able to hold him (We touched his head and legs while he was in his bed.) and give him a larger pacifier. (Yes they do give them pacifiers even with all the tubes. We have been giving him a smaller one for a while now and he likes it. The only thing is that he has a hard time keeping them in his mouth.) |
| 5/23/02 - (10:00pm) Corey has been doing better today. He has been sleeping well and has been able to come down on his oxygen to 50%. During the day, Mom got to help give him a bath and brush his hair. Mom and Corey both enjoyed it very much. During the evening, Dad got to hold Corey for the first time. Corey slept really well while Dad was holding him and he kept his blood oxygen up well. He seemed contented tonight which is something that Mom and Dad very much like to see! |