BiPap

Tater is off the ventilator and on a BiPap machine. He got off the oscillating ventilator on Wednesday and was switched to the regular ventilator. They were able to wean him off that fairly quickly and he seems to be tolerating the BiPap fairly well. Dr. Mama, in addition to being an intensivist, is also a pediatric anesthesiologist so she has knowledge about drugs that aren’t typically used in the PICU. She thought Tater might have some trouble being weaned off the traditional sedatives they were using on him and she switched him to a sedative that is used in surgery and wears off immediately. It did the trick-they were able to stop the sedative and take him off the ventilator at the same time so Tater was able to take over a lot of breathing on his own. He had an up and down night without much sleep (for him or Mr. Awesome) but is doing okay and taking 20-30 minute catnaps now.

The next 36 hours will be critical for Tater as it will determine what the next step is and what help Tater needs to breathe well. The plan is to wean him down on the BiPap to 14-16 hours a day with Oxygen support the rest of the time. If he’s unable to be weaned off the BiPap and it looks like he needs it 24/7 then it’s likely he will need a tracheotomy. We had actually decided last week to go ahead with the tracheotomy once he was over the RSV but Tater’s doctors wanted to give him one more chance at a non-invasive treatment (see why we love them). Doing BiPap 24/7 is possible but it means he wouldn’t be able to be moved around-literally laying in a bed all the time. It’s possible that with a trach he will only need oxygen and would be able to go about his normal routine with therapies and being too darn cute. I know tracheotomy and tracheostomy are scary words but we’re good with this. It means a little more maintenance and precaution but Tater can handle it and we think we can too. We have a good support group and we’ll have home health care to help us out. And I will definitely be getting a home health nurse to come in for relief a couple of days a week.

Leeda is still here and when she leaves my sister and her family are moving into our house to keep Toser there. Toser is getting so much love he won’t know what to do when things settle down and it’s just mean ol’ Mommy and Daddy there with him. When I walked in our house last night he and Leeda were snuggling on the couch. He saw me and said, “I don’t want Mommy,” or maybe, “I want Daddy.” Either way, can’t you feel the love? 2 minutes later he was crawling in my lap but it’s that initial moment of panic where you can tell he thinks the vacation is over. He’s still the sweetest booger alive and tells us he misses Tater. I miss Toser so much and would love for him to be driving me up the wall right now. Instead I’m watching Little Einstein for the umpteenth time because it’s the only thing that’s chilling Tater out right now.