It seems that Andrew's progress will continue to be, "Two steps forward, one step back." Fortunately, that pattern seems to be repeating quickly, so he's able to end up better off each day. I mentioned yesterday that his ventilator had to be brought back up to its original value of 36, from a trial period at 34. Well, he was doing almost TOO well at 36, so they turned him back down to 35. They also turned down his nitric oxide to 5% (from 10%).
As of last night, they were down to 32 on the vent....as of this morning, they had come down to 30 and then back up to 31. They've also brought the nitric oxide down to 2.5%. They'll decide tomorrow whether to continue with a slow wean or turn it off entirely. The other fun news is that they started feeding him this morning! They put in a new NG (nasogastric, from his nose to his stomach) tube this morning and gave him a tiny bit of food, just to see how he'll respond. If he does well, they'll continue....if he doesn't, they'll stick to the IV method for a bit.
We haven't talked to a doctor in a couple of days, but it seems like he's doing really well and making good progress. His oxygenation has been consistently good, and it's just a matter of getting his carbon dioxide down (that's what the hi-fi vent is helping with). I'll let the doctor make any predictions, but I'm definitely positive about the way things are going.
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