Thursday, October 15, 2009

Big improvement for Luke

Since starting his steroids Tuesday afternoon, Luke has been doing much better! His blood/gas levels still fluctuate quite a bit, but they are averaging over 100 (vs. the 50s he had for a while). This morning he was up to 190, which is great news.

Since these numbers have improved, they are starting to slowly wean his oxygen down. His oxygen has been around 100% for a few days, and normal level is around 20%. Hopefully they will take their time slowly adjusting oxygen and steroid levels so Luke adjusts well and does not have any problems.

Luke's breathing tube either came out or moved around too much this morning, causing his breathing and heart rate to drop. They quickly changed his tube and before long he was doing great again.

Sorry Jack - I know your brother has been getting most of the updates and attention lately. Jack is almost 3 pounds now and is doing well with his feedings. Each day or two they increase his amount, and it is still bypassing his stomach and going straight to the intestines. His next step is to move the feeding tube into his stomach and after a while of tolerating that he can start trying normal milk. Jack is very active now - lots of arm and leg movement. He opens his eyes a lot and follows our voices when we talk to him.

The Barnes grandparents will be here Saturday and stay for a week. It will be their second trip to see them, and they will be surprised at how much Luke and Jack have changed in just 3 weeks.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Rachel and Ken,

That's great news about little Luke. We are pulling for him up here in Pennsylvania. Between your mother's face book page and your blog, we are keeping pretty close to the series of improvements as they occur. I hope you two are getting a little bit of rest here and there. Momma and Dad need to be healthy too.

Uncle Jack