When we left the PICU last night, Steele's medical team were worried about his body temperature being a bit low. Apparently when babies have a low temp, an infection may be present. It couldn't be the air conditioning or lack of blankets of course? A sample of blood and urine were taken as a precautionary measure before sewing his chest up. The plan was to move forward if no infection was present. The cultures from fluid draws take about 48 hours.
When we arrived this morning, he was scheduled to have the chest surgery later this afternoon. Good news. Steele was put on a warmer and his temps look great so far today.
When the chest incision is sewn up, it will be done in a couple of stages before completing the final closure. The surgeon or assisting surgeon from Monday's operation will perform the procedure. He does not have to be moved out of his room, they will ask us to leave and turn the room into a mini-OR.
There are 5 other children getting a Norwood surgery in the next two weeks up here. Rachel and I are baffled about the increase in these patients. Our medical team indicated that Dr.Shen and Dr.Ashook are the very best and most sought after HLHS surgeons in our area. There are patients from all over the country in here at the moment. We feel blessed to have access to such wonderful specialists and care for Steele.
If you are unfamiliar with the HLHS and the 3 surgeries, this link was really helpful in explaining what Steele will go through in the next 3 years:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/hlhs.html
'Love these good updates & love the precious pictures. Steele is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing all this with us, Brenden. We love you all so much and are thinking about you constantly. We really appreciate the updates. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you all need anything at all. Love!
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