First Night

Dr. Hanley came out around 5:30pm to tell us everything had gone as expected and that Clayton would be transferred into the CVICU within the hour.  We were able to see him around 6:30pm.  He looked pretty ragged, but was doing very well.  Soon after though, he started to develop some problems with some of his blood gases, which has postponed extubation for now.  He's lost a lot of fluid, so they're giving him more and more of that in an effort to bring down up his pH.  They also had to start a milrinone drip to help his vascular system relax a little and improve circulation to his extremities.  He's doing okay at the moment, but is not ready for extubation yet.  They're trying to keep him comfortable but not completely sedated so that when his blood gases improve, he'll be able to wake up for extubation.  He's had a couple episodes of flinging his arms around, coughing, and crying, but those have been quickly managed with a little pain medicine.  It's pretty heart wrenching though to see him try to mouth words around the breathing tube.  Ryan and I took turns resting a little tonight, and now I'm back at the House trying to get a couple hours rest before heading up there again.  Then Ryan will return to the House to try to get himself more on a night schedule so that Clayton isn't ever alone.  It was a rough day.  It hasn't been perfect, but things are okay.