Off to See the Wizard

I was aware the news could get worse but didn't actually expect it to -- there are certain mind games I've found I play with myself nowadays in order to function. But I'm beginning to feel like poor little Calder is falling apart.

Very early yesterday morning, Calder's lungs collapsed. Both of them, at different points. After forcing them open again, though, his lungs were no longer responding to the jet, so he is once again on the conventional vent.

During this time, his CO2 increased to dangerous levels, which if experienced for long periods can negatively affect the brain.  He had a head ultrasound yesterday afternoon, though we have not yet been given the results. The doctor assured us that the levels had been high for no longer than two hours and that if there were any major hemorrhaging, he would be able to tell without an ultrasound. When the results come back, we'll know whether there are even any bleeds in the brain, big or small.

As of last night, his tiny little hands were big as balloons. They had been sticking him for the last several days to try to insert a peripheral line with which to draw blood for his blood gas tests, but to no avail. Although on two occasions they'd had success at inserting the line into the vein, within an hour or two, the vein would constrict and the blood stop flowing. So much so so that when they removed the line, there was no mess whatsoever. The problem, they think, is that he is SO little that his veins spasm when the line is inserted; the catheters are nearly the diameter of the vein itself.

As of this morning, the doctor was concerned that the PDA medication was doing too much damage to his kidneys. The murmur was still present, indicating that the PDA was, too, so they stopped the meds and ordered an echo.

The nurse didn't have many details on the results of the echo this afternoon other than that his PDA was still there, and was still big. As a result, he is being transferred to Inova Fairfax Children's Hospital and scheduled for surgery on Monday or Tuesday. And so, it's off to see the wizards at Fairfax. We've heard only phenomenal things about Fairfax's NICU and cardiology unit and hope that the docs there can work some magic.