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.

Ethan and I in the Lethbridge Hospital waiting to be airlifted to Calgary Children's Hospital.
When we arrived in calgary emergency, trauma unit, this was how Ethan looked. A little more swollen than when we had last seen him in Lethbridge.
Ethan is much more swollen and looks pretty rough but was actually doing much better. He sure loves the nurse, and she calmed him right down by singing to him his ABC's.
Grandpa Bart and Uncle Steve came to visit. Tim's parents Bart and Sue came and helped out so much. We were so greatful to have them with us those first 2 days. Steve was very proactive in trying to give Ethan the very best care. I will explain more about that later.
Tim, Ethan and I. He loves to be snuggled by Tim or myself and it will usually settle him right down. The only problem is that he weighs a ton due to all the added fluid in his body and so we have to take shifts holding him. Sleep is hard to come by these past few days and so we try and sleep by taking turns, one of us always by Ethan's bedside.