CHLA Day 5

 First, lets go with the good news. The good news is that Elijah is off of the high flow oxygen and the medication that comes with it. This means that Elijah can eat and drink! Although his first meal consisted of only a few bites, his second meal was substantial. I am hoping that this will help him gain some strength and also help him rest more peacefully. The other good news, at least for now, is that they have stopped the epi drip. I say "for now" because his lactate levels have increased and there is a possibility that they may need to resume the drip. More good news, Elijah's sats have been great and in all honesty, he has never looked better color-wise. He is pink and the swelling is going down.

Now for the not so good news. Day 5 actually means post op day 4. That is important to know because each day signifies something. For example, Fontan patients often have a fever during the first 1-3 days post op. Elijah had a fever until yesterday. Fontan patients typically slow down their chest tube output during the first several days post op. Elijah has not slowed down his output. In fact Elijah has increased his output to such an extent that they are walking a very fine line trying to replace his fluids. We have had several doctors today express concern over the amount of fluids he is dumping. Dr. Starnes came by this morning and said that he believe there was a 80/20 percent chance that they would have to go in and redo the fenestration. Meaning 80 percent we don't have to do it, 20 percent we will have to do it. We thought this was positive. However, throughout the day, the dumping has increase. The doctor this evening went over his concern at length and said that he agreed that it was either 80/20 or 70/30 and that he believed that this was actually significant in that 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 that that they will need to fenestrate. He actually said that he was "concerned." This is a word I have learned to dread when it comes out of a doctor's mouth. Ugh. Please pray that Elijah's body will figure out his new physiology and in turn his out put will decrease. And pray that Elijah will be without pain and will be able to rest peacefully.