No More ECMO!

When we got to the hospital this morning we were anxious to talk with Dr. A and see what the plan was and if we were ready to come off ECMO. The nurse told us that he had come around earlier and he wanted to give him a few more hours and take him off sometime later in the day. We waited around all day and finally the surgical cart rolled in around 4:30. We talked with the surgeon first and made sure we were all on the same page with everything. We decided to put the dialysis catheter in while taking the ECMO cannulas out just in case we needed to go back on dialysis. It is better to do it all at once since it is a surgery and we can avoid having to go down to the OR later if we did need dialysis and hadn't placed the catheter. They came out around 5:30 and said everything went well and that they were cleaning up and we could go back in a few minutes. A little while later we went back to be with him and he was doing good. His sats were down a little but were coming back up. He was knocked out! I was glad too because I just wanted him to rest. He stayed asleep the rest of the night and was asleep when we left at 10. I am hoping that he will rest well through the night and for the next few days while he adjusts to all of the changes. They did a gas after we were off and it wasn't very good so they went up a little on the vent. They gave him a drug to paralyze him during the surgery so Dr. A said he thought this was preventing him from being able to do the work and get rid of the Co2. His next two gases were better so we are praying that they will just stay good and we will be able to come back down on the vent a little.

The plan now is to see how Levi can do over the next few days and if we can wean a little on the vent then Dr. A wants to do his surgery Thursday or Friday. This all depends on if he is ready. So, please be praying for good gases, good sats, and for Levi to be able to go down on the vent. God is so good! He is really working a miracle with Levi before our eyes! I am telling you, last week no one expected Levi to get any better. I could see it on the nurses' faces and hear it in their voices and now we are off ECMO! PRAISE THE LORD!  We still have a long way to go, but this is a huge hurtle we have just passed. Keep praying! Keep praising God for ALL of our blessings, not only with Levi! I am so happy that you are all supporting us and following us on this journey!

A little swollen after the surgery

No more ECMO!

More space! Yay!