12:30pm
Besides almost giving us a heart attack watching him move like a maniac all night, yanking on his feeding tube, Asher is having a great day!
They measure the circumference of his head everyday and he is currently on track for his age. Abnormal increases in size would be a sign of increased bleeding in his brain. Looking good!
They did a blood draw today and had a blood transfusion on standby. He was able to regenerate his own blood and avoid the transfusion completely. This, along with his hematocrit (percentage of volume of red blood cells) and his ability to regenerate platelets on his own is also a good sign.
When these are low, it’s a sign of brain bleeding. We’re praying that since they’re normal and self managed now, that the bleeding is subsiding. We’ll have a brain ultrasound on Sunday to see where the bleeding is at. All in all, great progress.
He’ll finish out his acetaminophen treatment this Sunday and will have another X-ray to examine his heart. If the “old valve” that supplied oxygenated blood through the umbilical cord has closed, he’ll soon be removed from the ventilator and we’ll be able to hold him 😭😭
If the first round of treatment doesn’t cut it, they’ll run a second acetaminophen treatment. Worst case scenario, he’ll need surgery after round two. The surgery will be through his back and they’ll simply (tongue & cheek) close off the “old valve”.
If this happens, it can come with some work to get him stabilized using his new, forced, closed circuit of oxygenation. We’ll keep you updated on all of this.
They’re currently moving his position throughout the day as his X-ray for his lungs looked a bit “hazy” today. One side wasn’t getting enough pressure to keep one lung as open as the other. Since air rises, they have that side of his body up, and the other down, to equalize the pressure.
Closing the above mentioned “old valve” will also help regulate this pressure. His lungs aren’t quite ready to function without a complete collapse on the exhale. It’s a weening process with the ventilator. Soon, he will have that functionality and will be in our arms.
If you didn’t see the the Potato head post on IG, FB, etc, check it out. I’m amazed at the heart behind that organization. It was absolutely amazing to open the package they put together for us!
Even though yesterday felt like the dreaded “one step back” they keep telling us about, we’re in good shape. Our son has purpose. God’s hand is on his life. We’re simply here to bear witness to His glory through Asher’s journey.
