A Minor Setback

Last night around 12:10 I got a phone call from Ethan's nurse; this is not exactly how I like to be woken up in the middle of the night! She was calling to tell us that Ethan had been having some desaturations (low oxygen levels) and was struggling to breathe. They tried to stimulate him and get his levels up, but it didn't work. In the end, Ethan ended up going onto CPAP.

This is not full ventilation like he was on, but it's supplied by the same machine (which I'm lovingly referring to as the Blue Monster). It's basically a small tube that goes into his nose and stops just short of his vocal cords (so we can still hear that sweet raspy cry!) It supplies a little bit of pressure to keep his lungs open, and some additional oxygen as well. It is much less invasive than the vent, and the goal is to get him off of it today. His pressure level is currently set to 9, and it needs to get down to 5 or 6 before he can come off. They also need to watch him to make sure he's not having a hard time breathing and that his oxygen levels are staying where they should be.

We need your loud and mighty prayers again today! Pray that Ethan's lungs would strengthen so that we can get rid of the CPAP and back onto the nasal canula. Pray that he would continue to cough up the junk in his lungs as this will improve his oxygen levels. Pray that the team of doctors and nurses will make the best decisions possible for our little boy. The sooner we can get him stable with breathing on his own, the sooner we can move to a step-down room, and the sooner we can go HOME!

This isn't the "end of the world" by no means, but just a small hurdle we need to jump! Thank you for praying; you guys are really good at this! :)