Isaac's Room

Holding Onto Mom

The nurse removed the IV which was on Isaac's left hand today and moved it to his head.  This was the first time he was able to hold Mom's finger.

 Isaac's Room

There are several machines that help him keep breathing.  It is overwhelming and a little intimidating.  There are sensors on his foot and his hand to make sure they are getting blood.

Here's a view of the various pumps.  He has medicine for arrhythmia and blood pressure, "food" (lipids and vitamins), and antibiotics.

The middle machine here is the high frequency ventilator and the machine on the left is his oxygen and nitrogen.  The high frequency ventilator helps him breathe easier.  Instead of a normal ventilator that pushes air in and out of the lungs, this machine oxygenates them more gently to prevent damage.  You can see one of his really nice nurses, Cathy, too.  The nitrogen helps his lungs expand and helps him breathe easier.

They keep lowering his oxygen level.  When he first arrived he was at 100%, but now they have lowered it to 40%.  Room air has around 21% oxygen.  So we are taking baby steps in the right direction.  After his surgery, they will need to raise the oxygen again and other meds so he needs room to decline some.  We are hoping the heart arrhythmia can be fixed with medicine and won't affect his overall improvement.  They keep it dark in his room to help him relax.