Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tuesday February 22, 2011

Well another day has come and gone! Ethan had a pretty rough night last night and had a hard time getting comfortable. My Dad and Tim were up for a while trying to calm him while my mom and I tried to catch up on sleep. Tim got too tired and went to sleep while my dad stood next to him from 3am until 6am rubbing his legs to keep him comfortable. He spiked a fever and his heart rate was at 205. As long as my dad would rub his legs his pulse would stay lower around 165. Then we rotated and my mom and I took over.

His fever continued to rise to 41.8 degrees and so they opted to give him some Tylenol (they didn't give it to him earlier because he has been on so many drugs they were worried about his liver). The Tylenol took about 40 minutes to kick in and it dropped his temp. to 38.8. He continued to have an on/off fever all day that was quite high. To be safe, they added an antibiotic to his I.V. in case of an infection. Our doctor also wanted us to do a urine and blood culture to see if there was an infection. Ethan has had a lot of blood work done since we got here and only has one site to draw it from on his left foot (his other foot and both arms are completely bandaged). Two lab technicians came in and poked his foot but had no success so they tried a different spot on the same foot. Still no luck! They decided to come back in 10 min, which they did but still couldn't find. Spot so they opted not to poke him yet. 10 minutes later another two technicians came in and poked him two more times but still no luck. So they might have to put a PIK line in him when they do his next dressing changes on Thursday.

We have had a hard time getting him to drink or eat today and so we had to put another feeding tube in his nose which he absolutely hates and keeps trying to rub out. He also has oxygen running through his nose and so we have to constantly fight him to keep his hands off his face so that he won't rub off his burned skin. He also had problems with his catheter not flushing and so after several attempts to flush it
and no success they decided to remove it and put in a new one. So the day has been pretty rough for him and yet he has been such a trooper. He has tolerated so much but is sure to let the nurses know when he has had enough by saying "ewwee" or by giving them a wack with his heavy, bandaged arm.

On the good side of things his burn on his face is starting to heal and he opened both eyes today! This is a huge victory since his eyes have been swollen shut since the accident and he has been very frustrated not being able to see things. We won't know if is eyes were damaged until an opthamologist looks at them hopefully tomorrow or the next day. We also were approved for a room in the Ronald McDonald House and so that has been a huge blessing. They will allow up to five people to stay, will provide good home cooked meals once a day and have given us a few food vouchers to grocery stores and gas vouchers as well. No more sleeping in chairs!
So thats the update for today and we are continuing to pray for a miracle that Ethan won't need any skin grafts. Dr. Harrop our plastic surgeon is unsure if some of the burns on his arms and head are third degree and so we just wait to see what will heal on it's own and what won't.

5 comments:

  1. Man, sounds like little buddy has had an incredibly hard day! We tried calling tonight....hope you are all able to get a bit of rest. Thank goodness for mom and dad being there. Can you give us an address up there to send cards, etc?

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  2. I'm so sorry. Jenn told me the news. He and your family are in my prayers!

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  3. We will be praying for undamaged eyes that there will be no need for a skin graft. We love all of you!

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  4. Our prayers are with you and your family. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for all of you.

    From Bev and Ken Rees

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  5. I thought I would let you know how much we have been thinking of little Ethan and your whole family since we heard the news. I am glad Ethan is in the care of such wonderful doctors and Nurses and that you have family to support you through this. Dr Harrop is a wonderful doctor. I'm sure you know this already. He was Kate's plastic surgeon when we lived in Calgary. Stay strong. We will continue to pray for miracles.
    Alison and Adam

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