Pleasant Surprise

Well as you can see from my "short" updates, after several discussions with the drs. and Brandt's nurse about the sedation meds, he was finally able to get rid of them completely this morning! Last night when we got back in to see him, he was doing well without the RA line and his BP had remained at a good level. However, the precedex was still at an increased amount, and we really didn't understand why that should be necessary. He was also still really grouchy whenever he woke up...we'd already asked them if we could limit the morphine since he seemed to be having an allergic reaction to it. So the only time they gave him that was for Dr. Bradley to get the RA line out...but his face was still swollen and itchy.

Glenn had asked one of the head drs in the ICU unit about the precedex, and he basically just said, "He still needs it." I was feeling frustrated that he was on a sedation med that was NOT sedating him, and this same dr. at one point told Glenn not to touch or stimulate Brandt again, like that was causing his BP to fluctuate. Then he watched as Brandt got mad and the BP rocketed to over 140 until Glenn finally grabbed a bottle and gave it to him--he's still been eating almost double since the surgery than before it--and he calmed right down and his BP went down again as well. Then the dr. acknowledged that Glenn seemed to know what would help Brandt, but still said he needed the precedex. But when I asked the nurse WHY they felt he still needed it she said in addition to being a sedative it had qualities that helped keep BP low, even though it's not a BP med. But she said he had to be off of it before he could move to recovery, and that they would not even try to wean it until the next day!

So when I called early this morning, his nurse said she had GREAT news. Dr. Bradley had come by at 5am (WHEN does he sleep??) and taken out the chest drainage tube. Also a different doctor had not just reduced the precedex but stopped it and Brandt's BP was suddenly stable. And that as soon as they had a bed ready he could move to recovery! What a turnaround...we certainly felt justified in our concern about that particular medication. I woke Glenn up and said "Let's go hold our boy!" (We hadn't been able to hold him after the RA line was removed because they were still concerned about the BP fluctuations.) We were so thankful and excited, and I wondered if many had been praying for him last night.

When we got to the hospital, we found our real little Brandt. The nurses couldn't believe how happy he was and he'd been entertaining them with smiling and talking, just like his normal self. Previously, Glenn had only been able to coax one little half a smile...again a result of the sedation stuff, I think. We got moved to recovery (now 8D instead of 7C) and just enjoyed getting to hold him. At this point he still needs a discharge xray and echocardiogram, but as long as everything stays stable, we should be headed home in the near future!!

We also had opportunity last night to meet a family whose little 8-wk old had just been transferred here to try to improve his heart function. He had multiple failings of his bodily structure and function, but they were hopeful he could be treated. We got to pray with them, and shortly after that, his mom received the devestating news that they couldn't do anything further for him. She was in shock, but her whole family had come this morning to say goodbye to their son and brother. We felt at a loss to adequately comfort or sympathize, especially as we were rejoicing in God's goodness to grant healing to Brandt. Would we do the same if God granted Brandt an early homecoming to Heaven? But Glenn was able to take some of the older kids up to the Atrium and rejoice with the family that their little one is pain free...he listened, he prayed with them, he cried with them. We just continue to hold them in prayer before the One who can offer the true comfort where our words fall far short.

Around 11:30 Brandt started with some loud crying and wouldn't be consoled with a bottle or nursing or being held. We thought it might be pain but that seemed unlikely since he'd been doing so well on just Tylenol throughout the day. Then he threw up and finally one of the nurses came in and draped him over her arm, which seemed to calm him. The general consensus is that it was gas rather than pain, and we'll see how he does through the night.