holding steady

isaac's doing ok on the ecmo. all his vital signs seem to be maintaining. today he was bleeding in a few spots and a couple of lumps appeared on his head and foot where they'd attempted iv's in the past. they have a lot of heperin in the blood which prevents it from clotting. they need to prevent clotting because otherwise the blood as it passed through the plastic tubes and the gizmo that oxygenates the blood would completely clot and clog up the machine. so the bad side to not clotting is that on isaac himself, they have to be completely careful to not cause him to bleed. they had to give him additional platelets to help him clot.

they're giving him an antiviral drug that might be effective against the adenovirus. i guess his cultures grew the virus in record time and in vast numbers; the lab had never seen anything like it. this adenovirus means business and everyone's guessing it's going strong, still. so hopefully this antiviral drug will kill it off and help save his lungs from any/further damage. the drug has had questionable success. they can't tell if it actually works. in some cases, it doesn't work. and others, patients end up with kidney problems. but what if it does work?!

it's an intense scene. the ecmo machine itself requires a fulltime nurse. isaac has a fulltime bedside nurse. and a respiratory therapist shows up from time to time. doctors continually drop by. people delivering drugs and blood drop by. the xray person shows up with their machine several times a day. this is intensive care. but i gotta say... the other rooms i walk by don't look nearly as busy as isaac's.

his bed's raised to about 5 feet high, you have to stand on a stepstool to see him. so i stand there at his head and i touch his head. i stick my finger underneath his. or i put my hand on his chest. i hope i'm doing something good for him.

we brought in some music which hopefully the nurses keep playing. he's getting some good bach, beethoven, brahms, schubert, and mozart in. i really love it when glenn gould's playing cause you can hear the joy in his playing as his music dances from the speakers to our ears...

oh, isaac! you are so my sweet sweet sweet of sweethearts.