Here's the update for Baby Levi today. Some encouraging news, but he'll need prayers ramped up for the next two days to Wednesday.
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2008, 10:53 A.M.
Ok. We got good news, which has the potential to be great news. Dr. Gandhi said that Levi's heart looked very good and that the pressures were pretty good for the 5 minutes he was clamped off on ECMO. If not for the kidney and another new issue, he would have been able to completely come off today. Because he was so full of electrolytes from not getting rid of waste, Dr. Gandhi didn't want him to start off life without ECMO behind the 8-ball, so he is going to hook up the actual dialysis filter to the ECMO machine and filter Levi fully. There was a new issue that has developed with his lungs, which may or may not be serious, which involves little air pockets (called bleps) which develop and run the risk of possibly bursting and collapsing his lung under the pressure from the excess air. Because Dr. Gandhi now knows this situation exists, he can plan accordingly when he goes to take Levi off the ECMO machine. This will happen on Wednesday. Sometime that morning, probably 8:30 again, they will take Levi off ECMO and see how he does. Since the kidney should have fully went through dialysis for 2 days at that point, and because the doctor is aware of the "new" lung problem, and most importantly, because Levi's heart is doing so well, Levi should come off the machine in good condition. There is one caveat to this: there is no going back on the machine; if Levi can't make it, then God has a new little buddy in heaven. The rest of the week will be difficult, especially the watching and waiting while monitors go nuts after coming off ECMO (as the nurses and doctors figure out what levels to set the little guy at). Thank you all so much for your prayers. God has worked a great miracle here. Dr. Gandhi didn't expect him to get this far because of the weight and kidney issues, but he feels pretty good about Levi's chances of coming off ECMO on Wednesday. There will still be bumps in the road as we wait for the kidney to return to function (1-4 weeks), and as we wait to see how the lungs perform (complete unknown). Keep praying, and as we keep seeing, God will do the rest!!
Mike, Carrie, Arthur, Caleb, Clara, and Levi
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2008, 10:53 A.M.
Ok. We got good news, which has the potential to be great news. Dr. Gandhi said that Levi's heart looked very good and that the pressures were pretty good for the 5 minutes he was clamped off on ECMO. If not for the kidney and another new issue, he would have been able to completely come off today. Because he was so full of electrolytes from not getting rid of waste, Dr. Gandhi didn't want him to start off life without ECMO behind the 8-ball, so he is going to hook up the actual dialysis filter to the ECMO machine and filter Levi fully. There was a new issue that has developed with his lungs, which may or may not be serious, which involves little air pockets (called bleps) which develop and run the risk of possibly bursting and collapsing his lung under the pressure from the excess air. Because Dr. Gandhi now knows this situation exists, he can plan accordingly when he goes to take Levi off the ECMO machine. This will happen on Wednesday. Sometime that morning, probably 8:30 again, they will take Levi off ECMO and see how he does. Since the kidney should have fully went through dialysis for 2 days at that point, and because the doctor is aware of the "new" lung problem, and most importantly, because Levi's heart is doing so well, Levi should come off the machine in good condition. There is one caveat to this: there is no going back on the machine; if Levi can't make it, then God has a new little buddy in heaven. The rest of the week will be difficult, especially the watching and waiting while monitors go nuts after coming off ECMO (as the nurses and doctors figure out what levels to set the little guy at). Thank you all so much for your prayers. God has worked a great miracle here. Dr. Gandhi didn't expect him to get this far because of the weight and kidney issues, but he feels pretty good about Levi's chances of coming off ECMO on Wednesday. There will still be bumps in the road as we wait for the kidney to return to function (1-4 weeks), and as we wait to see how the lungs perform (complete unknown). Keep praying, and as we keep seeing, God will do the rest!!
Mike, Carrie, Arthur, Caleb, Clara, and Levi
thanks for the update. i was hoping everything went well!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds hopeful. I will keep little Levi in my prayers.
ReplyDeletePraying for Levi.
ReplyDeleteHow is Braska's Granulation?
We'll continue praying for him. Thanks for the update!
ReplyDelete