And We're Withdrawing...

Really, today was just about like any other day, but did show some evidence of drug withdrawal. He had some ups, some downs, more time off the paralytic, and a fever that continues to come and go.

It appears that one of the cultures from Mason's lungs has started growing a bug. It is a bug that he has grown before (pseudomonas) and is susceptible to the antibiotic that he's on. It's possible that more or different bacteria will grow in the cultures that are still out, but at least for now we have something to fight. Mason's going to be on the antibiotic for at least 7 days which will hopefully help his fight.

Mason continues to need more oxygen than they'd like him to be on, but that, too ebbs and flows. Generally, he's needing somewhere in the 70's for oxygen concentration and holds his saturations in the 80's. There was a time when he was on 49% oxygen shortly before the fevers started, so I'm hopeful that after we kick this infection, he'll be able to resume needing less oxygen.

Today's paralytic holiday went fairly well for about an hour. Unfortunately, Mason's withdrawal from his narcotics has made him a little more agitated, so he's grabbing at whatever he can find when he reaches his limit. We could tell today he really wanted to rest after being awake for a while, but unfortunately, his agitation would not let him. So, we ended up giving him a bolus of the sedative to calm him down. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the pump starting to push it in or if the drug really hit him that fast, but it seemed right after the nurse hit go, Mason settled down and was able to rest. It would be really nice if we could keep him really sedated while he's off of his paralytic because he really saturates much better. Guess it's just more trial and error. What was really nice to see during his time off of the paralytic today was that he was able to "cough" up some of the goo in his lungs. Yet another reinforcement that we really need to find a way to allow him to be able to move.

The attending intensivist came in toward the end of the day today to give a "week in review" type of assessment. Basically, the gist of the conversation was that although he hasn't progressed off of the paralytics like they would have liked, they are seeing baby steps of progress in terms of his stability, his sedation, and his tolerance for food in his gut. I reiterated with him that Mason has always taught and re-taught the lesson of patience. Unfortunately, my memory is short and I must keep learning. Good thing his a persistent teacher.