He got his RA lines (central IV lines, directly in his heart), pacing wires and chest tube out today!! He has his art line (right hand) in, for blood draws and constant blood pressure monitoring (although he's been working on pulling it out, so it wouldn't surprise me if he list it any time soon) and his new PIV line (left hand) for his precedex and general access if need be. Doesn't he look practically naked now?
He is now off milrinone (which aided the squeeze of his heart) and taking his lasix and spirnalactone (the two diuretic meds he was on pre-Glenn) and omeprazole (a digestive med he was on pre-Glenn too) and dilaudid and clonidine (narcotics) by ND (feeding) tube! His only drip is a minimal dose of precedex (a "calming," anti-agitation med) and that's really to just keep him from ripping off his scuba mask. I can hardly believe it!
These are all great changes and I'm so happy for him that he got his "chest stuff" out. He will be so much more comfortable now!
He is still on a great, great deal of respiratory support. And his heart-lung balance is certainly insufficient, so he's not getting out of the hospital any time soon, but it's fantastic to remove several annoyances for him (and reduce the risk of infection)!
No comments:
Post a Comment