Other than the Vikings losing this afternoon, Austin had another great day!
Dr. Fugate was in this morning. He said his chest x-ray is improving, but sternly reminded me that he still has significant pneumonia. He also said his CRP (infection/inflammation marker) is now at 4. He's going to change his chest x-rays to every 2-3 days and will consider decreasing the settings on the BIPAP tomorrow! He estimates we will be here another week....ugh!
Dr. Kevan also stopped in! She has been popping in and out to see Austin periodically. We're currently increasing Austin's feeding rate by 1mL every 12 hours. She also started him on budesonide in his G-tube. This will take some explaining. Budesonide is an inhalation (liquid) steroid. (Max uses it in his nebulizer every night to prevent respiratory infections.) When Austin had his surgery on December 31st, the colonoscopy showed some inflammation and lesions (little sores) in his small bowel. By putting the budesonide in his g-tube, it will act as a topical, coat the lining of his GI tract and hopefully clear up the lesions. With the small bowel healthy, his absorption will improve and his hemoglobin should stabilize. He did get a one time dose of iron in his IV today to help with his current anemia as we need to give the budesonide a few weeks to work.
Austin's activity level continues to increase! He is playing with his toys frequently and I even got to hold him in the chair for about 45 minutes today. This is the first time he's been out of bed since last Sunday! It was wonderful!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Continued thanks and appreciation for all your thoughts and prayers!
Hugs,
Brian and Tara
Max and Austin
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