Good Start

Parker is still with us this morning!

I wrote everything below before Dr. Morrison (the Critical Care Specialist) called me to come down to speak to him. I got a SMILE from him!!!! He said, and I quote: Well he is certainly improved today as you can see from the heart rate and temperature.....

All that information is below, but the main thing he said was they will be performing a tracheotomy on Parker, probably tomorrow. Dr. Morrison doesn't think Parker will be able to come off the respirator successfully, and he has had the tube down his throat almost two weeks now. The tracheotomy will allow him to come off the sedation, he'll be able to sit up, and while he won't be able to talk well, he will be able to see me and hear me and respond and he will NOT have the panic of the ventilator tube down his throat!

I KNOW with every thing that a mother can feel, that is going to make the difference in his healing. I know once he stops using his energy to fight the vent tube his body will have the ability to get better. I don't know all the facts ... like how long it stays in, what the risks are, etc. But I know Dr. Morrison felt it would enhance his healing and make him more comfortable, so let's get it done!

Below is what I wrote before Dr. Morrison called me down:

I woke up at 3:30am and emailed Parker's Dad, asking him to call the nurse when he got up in the morning, then email me with the report of how Parker did overnight. I was only down the hall from him, but I couldn't make myself go down there to check myself first.

Remember that movie The Green Mile? That's what it feels like, walking that hallway toward his room, turning that corner and waiting to see the expression on the nurse and/or doctor's faces when I get there. The expression that I keep hoping will tell me he is on the road to recovery. For real. But is so frequently grim.

Last night Parker's temperature was still hovering around 105.3 (to be approximate) at 7:15pm. By 9:15 it had come down to 104.2, which gave me hope for the night. At that time Audra (his nurse) told me she was putting the cooling blanket on him and had started him on some Tylenol. I made sure his fan was still blowing like he likes it. His heart rate at that point was still around 160, which was better than 184 right before the surgery, but still cause for a lot of concern. His white cell count had gone from 16,000 just before surgery to 22,000 when Audra got to work at 7:pm. I went to bed ("bed" meaning my recliner in the corner of the waiting room) knowing there was nothing I could do, it is in other's hands now.

John emailed me back about 5:30am TX time and said Audra told him he'd had a good night. His heart rate was down, temp was down, etc. I didn't wait for the 6:am visiting time, I ran down that hallway as fast as my aching feet would let me (in the midst of all this my feet have both decided to have the most painful flare up of plantar fasciitis I've ever experienced!). Audra smiled when I got there. Parker's temp was 100 (with the cooling blanket over him ... but still!!!). His heart rate was in the 120'S! his blood pressure is still a little low, but that could be from the sedatives. Audra said he had the most restful night he'd had since he has been here. She said when he would wake up, he would look around, then allow himself to just go back to sleep on his own. Rather than fighting the restraints and the tube.

Yanos said his white cell count was down to 20,300. It is still really high but going in the right direction. Good news day!

The photo is of Critter, who I have already written about, and Angel, the figurine a stranger gave me yesterday when I thought I was losing Parker again, just before his 5th surgery in 9 days. :-)