Monday, June 13, 2016

Tummy Issues

Today was not the best way to kick start our week.  Owen is still feeling so nauseated all the time and just not tolerating his tube feeds.  He isn't puking because I haven't pushed him to that point, but his tummy doesn't feel well and he doesn't want to do anything.  He won't eat a bite of food or even a sip of water.  We decided to start him back on his Dopamine to see if it helps.  I cut back his feeds to just a teaspoon or so an hour and we started him back on TPN.. he was already getting Lipids.  We may need to go back on Epi or even increase his Milrinone.  I hate to see him feeling so ick. 

We got some of the results back from the bronchoscopy and one of the antibiotics he was on, Meropenem, is resistant to his Pseudomonas. So we will continue to do the Tobramyacin inhaled antibiotics and we started Ceftazidime.  His chest xray report read "improvement" and that means we are headed in the right direction.  We should be done with all antibiotics by Fri or Sat this week and then (crossing fingers), they will bump him back to 1A on the transplant list.  Technically he should be listed as 1B (based on the new UNOS rules) but due to his fragile state and high risk for future cardiac arrest.. they will submit for an exception to keep him at 1A status.  UNOS recently set up new requirements for the different pediatric heart wait list priorities.  It really changed the priorities so these kiddos that are very critical and can't leave CVICU take priority over those that are more stable.

Owen doesn't like to see his own blood.  During rounds today he said "mom.. come now!"  There was a good amount of blood dripping down his leg and saturated his blankets.  I had given him his Lovenox injections just 45 min prior and he had a bandaid on (they never bleed, the bandaid is for Owen).  Apparently this time I got a vessel but he bled and bled... poor guy.  He was gagging on the smell of his blood and he kept telling the nurse.. 'more pressure, hold more pressure.'  Tonight we used the other leg and did a better job.  It's so hard to give his injections because he literally has zero fat on him. 

Tomorrow will be a new day and I hope he gets a good night rest. One of the lumens on his PICC line occluded last night so the nurses had to turn on all the lights and woke him up.  Then as soon as he went back to sleep they did it again to TPA the line so it was functioning again. Poor guy got restless sleep and the nurses called me at 1am when he woke up and just wanted mom.  He didn't nap today and so I am hoping for a restful nights sleep. 
Back home... Kam and Logi are busy busy.  Carson sent me a package with some clothes today since I only packed to be here two days, I've been doing laundry constantly.  He also said he threw in some mail since he had no idea what to do with it... I love reading mail so I'm stoked. 
Tomorrow is a new day..  Prayers that we get to the bottom of his tummy issues and find a balance of meds so he can perk up a little. 

5 comments:

KrisAnn said...

First let me say that I am not a heart mom, and I have no nursing expertise, but maybe, just maybe I have something that might be worth looking into. I have been thinking about it for days, and finally figured, it couldn't hurt to tell you about it. My son has been on an elemental toddler formula for years to help mangage his issues. The formula is broken down to the basic amino acids, so it is so easy on the tummy. He drinks a tropical flavor, but they also have unflavored for the kids who use it for tube feeding. We use NeoCate Jr. I have a bunch of the premixed small travel packs that expire in July I think (my son wouldn't drink them). I am happy to mail them to you if you want to give it a shot. I"m not exactly sure if you would want those for the tube feeds though, or if you would want the powder to mix. Either way, I'm happy to ship to you whatever you need if you'd like to try it. Here is a link for the stuff we buy. Please let me know if you would like me to send you any more information or the stuff I have on hand. I already have tons of cans that have expired. I'd love to help if I can.
krisannk@gmail.com

KrisAnn said...

https://www.neocate.com/shop/c-9-neocate-junior.aspx?gclid=CKblu5Ljps0CFYZefgodYCIEQQ

KrisAnn said...

Always thinking of you and always praying. Since I know you love getting mail, I'd love to know where we could send you things. My daughter is 7 and she could use a pen pal. :)

cici said...

awwww those nasty tummy issues need the boot!
To get him back on his feet before his real feeds, have you tried little sips of diluted Gingerale,ginger tea, soft jello and saltine crackers with Campbells Healthy kids pasta shaped cartoon character chicken broth? Something about the Cartoon images on the can always made my son love it when he was not feeling up to snuff.
Have they checked him for any stool impaction?
I just want this little man to feel all better.
{{{Hugs for Our boy}}}}

Monica Kapler said...

Oh Owen, I hate to hear that you're feeling yucky! Know what? I almost forgot to check the blog tonight to see how you were doing, but God decided to help me remember. Looks like He was right and you could use my prayers for some good dreams tonight and that your tummy feels better tomorrow. I had a minor medical procedure done today so I should have been super tired, but it's 1 AM here in Minnesota and I was lying in bed wide awake wondering why the heck I couldn't sleep! Then eventually I realized, "I haven't checked on Mr. Owen Simmons today!" (You know I also have a brother named Owen? He's 17 and he's pretty cute too.) So hopefully now that I've checked in on you and said my nightly prayers for you we will both get some great sleep! Love, Monica