post-op and french lovers

please excuse the delay in updating - we're tired. but since we last spoke, Ford had his diaphragam re-plication (i've noticed the importance of the "-" as it surely isn't a replication) and is recovering nicely.

they didn't take him in until about 7pm friday night so the day was a long one of waiting and patting his head reassuringly that the intubation would be short lived. indeed it was - when we arrived saturday morning it was out and he was back on high flow! yay!

so far, it seems the procedure was a success - his respitory rates have been excellant since friday, in the 30-60s instead of 70s, 80s, 90s... so that is wonderful.

he has, however, since the procedure, had quite the oxygen requirement - 40% in his high flow. this is unlike him. obviously prior to being put back on high flow he was breathing room air (21%), but for the almost 2 weeks on it, he hovered around 21-25%. and before the prongs can come out, he's got to be back down to that.

they think it is because of atelectasis in the left lung, meaning lung collapse/his left lung can't inflate fully. while the diagphragm, since it came undone, was keeping the lung from fully expanding, it got a bit stuck there even though now the diaphragam is out of the way. there's a bunch of mucus caked in the lower lobe, keeping it from expanding. a few doses of sildenafil and rigourous physio therepy, preceded by ventolin, seems to be helping clear it out and hopefully within a couple days we'll see his sats increase along with the lung reclaiming it's space.

i, christa, on a side note, was well pleased that Ford's physio therapist, Fredrique, is married to the neonatologist Ahmed that we loved in the NICU. i like to imagine that we're in an episode of ER and when the young attractive staff are involved with each other, it helps perpetuate the day dream. they're a very cute couple, returning to their native Montreal at the end of the summer once Ahmed has finished his exams. Aw.