Christmas Eve Update #3

What a long day it has been! We just got home from the hospital. Josh read Will "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and I read him "A Charlie Brown Christmas." It was very special.

Well, it does turn out that Will has a bacterial infection in his trachea. It is too early to tell exactly what kind of strain it is, but they have already started him on an antibiotic. They don't know if this infection had anything to do with his respiratory problems, but it is a possibility.

We also had a small scare with his pic-line (this is his IV line where they draw blood and administer his various medicines). The line became clotted, which prevented them from drawing blood and giving him his medicines. They tried his feet, legs, hand, and arm for a new line without any luck. But, they were able to use a blood thinner in his pic-line, and it cleared up the clots, so now it works without any problem. If it hadn't of worked, it could have potentially become an emergency situation.

Doctors changed the mode of the ventilator, and so far Will has done well with it. They did have to take his setting all the way up to 36, which is the highest they can go for him. They hope that by "tweaking" his ventilator settings, they can fix his problems. His last blood gas was great. (Blood gas is where they check PH, CO2, and other levels in his blood to see how well his body is working.) They will continueto get his blood gases about every 4 hours or so, and if they continue to be good they can wean him down on his rate.

We wish we could be with all of our loved ones in Memphis, but know that our hearts are with you.

Merry Christmas!