Trip Back to the OR

Well, here is the latest. This morning they came up to 3W to get Caden and take him down to the CVICU Treatment Room. There were three cardiovascular surgeons in the room and two nurses when they tried to get the object out of Caden. They had taken an x-ray with a paperclip on the outside of Caden in order to get an idea of the size and specific location of the object so when they went back in they would know where to look. Unfortunately, after trying to get it out with local anesthesia and pain medications, they were unable to locate the item. So, this means he has to go back to the OR where they will have to intubate him again and do more exploratory surgery to find and extract the item.

Greg and I are devastated. We were almost home! Things had been going really well and now we are having a huge setback. The first time he was on the ventilator, it took 12 days to get him off. The second time he was on the vent, it took five days to come off. We are praying this time will go much faster but we just don't really know. At this point, it is really hard to think we will get out of the hospital by the end of this week. It is so discouraging when we felt we were almost out of here to now be back in the CVICU.

After spending many hours in the treatment room (ie storage closet we were in on Friday before moving upstairs), we were finally moved into a room in the PICU. There were no beds available in the CVICU, but the two units are together. So, we are back where we were last week. It is so frustrating! He will have to remain here until he is off the ventilator again and stable again before they move him upstairs again. And, of course the move is always dependent on bed availability.

It is so hard to believe that after all Caden has been through that he is being delayed in going home due to a defective catheter breaking off and leaving something inside. I mean, seriously, what are the odds of this happening? It can't be that high. But, leave it to Caden. He has been unique from the beginning and I guess he wants to continue to be so.

Right now we are waiting for the OR to open up so they can take Caden in for surgery. It is hard to believe we are in this position again. Please pray that they are able to find the foreign object quickly and get it out without too much trouble. And, please pray that he is able to come off the ventilator quickly and easily this time. We have been through too much for us to lose ground now.