Our little Morgan is a rock star! Well, maybe not just yet, but she is quite the little princess!
Today, as we had hoped, the doctor was able to wean her oxygen dependency today. He decided it was best to take to baby steps forward instead of giant leaps back, so he only weaned her little. Seth and I will take any movement forward. Morgan has tolerated it like a rock star! In other words, she has been able to sustain breathing at this reduced level very well. In fact, Morgan is has been able breathe at a point that is low end of the scale at this dependency level. She is such a big girl! Go Morgan Go!
Morgan has also been battling an on again, off again fever. She is not acting sick and for various other reasons the team is not alarmed, but they are keeping an eye on Morgan. While fevers can indicate infections, they are also a side effect of her lung condition. It is often time hard to tell which one it is. Today, they believe it is not an infection, therefore it is just part of her condition. The doctor and nurses will continue to monitor her. We pray it is nothing.
Our princess had sweet potatoes today! That is right....she is now our little Sweet Potato Queen! After a few tastes, Morgan realized that the sweet potatoes were very yummy and wanted more. As we did last time, we dipped her pacifier in the food. Each time I put the dipped pacifier in her mouth, her eyes lit up with excitement!
I have been asked several times to clarify her how the oxygen dependency works. While it is too complicated to explain fully, I will try to give you an idea. Morgan is breathing with the nasal cannula in her nose. There are two components to the air going through the cannula. 1. Liters: The amount flow that goes through the cannula, which is measured in liters per minute. 2. Oxygen: Flowing through the cannula is oxygen mixed with room air. The room air that we breathe is 21% oxygen. The air going the cannula can anywhere from 100% oxygen to 21% oxygen.
When they reduce Morgan’s dependency, they can turn down the flow or the oxygen or both. As Morgan’s body tolerates, they will turn the dials down. Morgan wears an oxygen saturation probe to help them monitor her body levels.
Due to Morgan’s recent stint on the C-PAP, the doctor has kept Morgan’s liter flow higher and adjusted the oxygen as she could tolerate it. Today, the doctor reduced her liter flow by 0.5 liter. Morgan will stay at this level for several days to a week until they feel she can handle another reduction. Again, baby steps. When they do reduce her liters, they turn her oxygen back up to 100%. The nurse will wean the oxygen when can based on the saturation levels in her body.
The end goal is 21% oxygen, 0 liter flow.
As I mentioned above, they reduced Morgan’s liter flow, and they have been able to turn her oxygen percentage down quite a bit. She will hang out at this liter flow to allow her lungs to adapt. The nurses will only increase or decrease the oxygen as needed.
I hope that makes sense. If not, leave questions in the comment section.
We thank you for your continued prayers and support!
Love,
Elizabeth and Seth McCoin
We were on just 50 ccs for a long time which was really hard to explain to people! So, you couldn't even feel it coming out at all just a puff every few minutes. Frustrating...but they FINALLY explained to me that she didn't NEED it to breathe at that point. The oxygen was like a natural medication...that allowed her heart to work properly. If she didn't have it then it would put strain on her body...with it everything worked easier. Hope that helps too!
ReplyDeletePraising this progress! You all remain in our prayers.
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