Today was Boring

The best day in the ICU is when nothing bad happens. We had that kind of day. And after yesterday, we ALL deserved that kind of day. We arrive shortly before 8am this morning. Alistair looked 100 times better than he did the night before. He was so much less swollen and his color looked better. He had woken up late in the evening enough for him to open his eyes and respond to verbal commands. He wiggled his hands and feet when asked. They then gave him some pain meds and he went back to sleep. This was excellent news as they were concerned about neurological damage sustained from his cardiac arrest the day before. The concern was low, but everyone was going to feel much better once they were able to confirm those few things. 

Rounds occured shortly after 8am. Everyone who entered the room observed outloud how much better he looked. At one point there was the 4 of us and 9 care providers standing around the room. And besides the obvious differences of us wearing street clothes and them wearing scrubs, you would be hard pressed to point out who were family and who were medical staff. Everyone in that room had a genuine look of care and concern for Alistair. I truly think he scared the SHIT out of everyone yesterday...his sudden arrest was so unexpected and it just threw everyone into a tailspin. The care Alistair has received has been top notch and we have felt nothing but support. They include us in conversations, they take the time to explain stuff and they look out for us in addition to Alistair.

Alistair spent the day maintaining. There were some balancing acts being performed with pressures and liquids pertaining to his ECMO and drying out his lungs and getting the extra water off his body while trying to maintain a decent blood pressure. His sodium levels continue to be higher and they have been flushing his stomach with free water to try to lower them. His blood sugar has been higher, which is expected with this type of trauma to the body. Everytime they ran his labs today, his blood sugar levels dropped a little more. The plan right now is to take him into the OR tomorrow morning. They are going to attempt taking him off ECMO. If he tolerates it, then the next step will be closing up his chest. If they are unable to take him off ECMO, then we should not see it as a failure. It is merely an indication that Alistair still needs time to rest and recover. They most likely will not attempt it again until Tuesday to be able to give him a better chance to be succesful. Either way, while they are in the OR tomorrow, they will use the opportunity to clean his chest incision. It will build up blood clots on the surface which can attract bacteria and cause infection. 

It is very surreal to sit and look at Alistair. He has so many wires and tubes coming out of him from everywhere. He has to be moved by the nurses every few hours to prevent pressure sores and promote blood movement throughout his body. They do range of motion with his extremities to keep them moving. When they do this, he grimaces and furrows his brow. He isn't really awake. They say he can hear us and we talk to him, tell him what people say to us for him. They say he isn't in pain or won't remember all of this later...which is good. I was showing the nurses earlier some photos of Alistair to show them what he usually looks like. It is strange to think it is the same person. He is our baby and we have done this before when we was a baby. It feels weird to be back in the same boat, but it is familiar and less alarming this time. It isn't our first rodeo, unfortunately. But we are hopeful it is our last! I would like to hang up my spurs and lasso and call it good. We know he is safe and in good hands, but the whole thing makes you feel very helpless. 

Seth's Aunt and Uncle came down to visit this afternoon and to have dinner with us. It was nice to have a little distraction and conversation beyond the activities at the hospital. They are taking over care of Gillian tomorrow. Our very good and generous friends Gabe, Ranae and Sully have been so awesome this week in having her at their house and keeping her happy and entertained. I know Gillian had a blast with them and we are so thankful for them. I know Atlas (their dog) will miss Gillian and vice versa, but I also know Riley (David & Judy's golden who is staying with BJ & Joe) will be so happy to see Gillian and probably vice versa!