Yesterday we woke up expecting them to wheel Elijah back to IR and place yet another chest tube. They thought that either the current tube was clogged, or the fluid in his left lung was in a place that the tube could not reach. At about 11 am a surgeon came into the room to make sure that we understood the procedure. During that visit, she did a hail Mary and attempted to pull the fluid out one last time. And who would have guess that the clot came out and so did a boat load of fluid that had been building in his left lung. This meant that we did not need to get another tube placed. To add to our good luck, we had a great nurse who was determined to get Elijah up and moving. We went on a little walk and Elijah got out of his room for the first time in over a week. That really seemed to lift his spirits. I actually saw him smile last night.
Today was much of the same. Heart-wise, he is doing good. He is on oral medications and has been weaned to 1/2 liter of oxygen (the lowest they will go while there are chest tubes in place). During rounds, the doctors said that we are basically waiting for the fluid to stop draining. They can't estimate how long it will take because quite honestly, Elijah has taken his own route on this. We did learn that his fluid output is not fatty. Apparently when they have this much output, and it is fatty, there could be bigger issues.
We were moved to CV Acute, the stepdown unit today. I know that this is considered a good thing. We are no longer needing the CTICU team and that is definitely a good thing. However, the care in the CTICU is excellent. Elijah has had so many major setbacks, I am fearful of leaving. The doctor came into our room to talk to me one and one and make sure that I was okay with the move. He has been with us through this crazy ride and I think he knew I would be hesitant. So here we are, in a shared CTICU room. Hopefully it will be peaceful and everyone will be able to sleep!
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