It was confirmed yesterday that Elijah's left diaphragm is paralyzed and that the muscle is pushing up on the left lung. He is breathing very fast to compensate. He should have 30-40 breaths per minute but he is much higher, even in the 100's at times. His oxygen levels are still good, which is amazing considering how much work he is doing to breathe. At this point, the goal is to not have to intubate him. We won't know for sure what the next step will be until Monday. I am almost positive that he will need an additional surgery to pull his diaphragm down and pin it in place. The ICU doctor can't confirm the surgery right now because that is a decision made by the surgeon. I am hoping they will be able to operate on Monday, but I doubt it will happen that fast. It is so sad to see him so miserable and working so hard to just breathe.
He is really, really fussy right now and we think that he is having headaches. We were warned that this will happen as the body, specifically the head, gets used to the new circulation. It's odd because the coloring in his feet is much better, but his nose is more dusky than before. They tried to advance his NG tube today into his intestines so that they might be able start feeding him through the tube tomorrow. He hasn't eaten anything since Sunday night. They don't want to put any food into his stomach for fear that he may throw up or cough and then aspirate. They will take an xray tomorrow to confirm the placement and then begin the feeding.
So for now we just wait.
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