Shane is a fighter. He has been since day one and he's not stopping now. The big picture is that his docs say he's improving, which is huge. For the past 24 hours, just keeping him from slipping backward was the big win—now we can hopefully start moving forward.
The CT scan that we thought was going to happen today was called off—primarily due to the fact that it would have meant rolling him out of the room. Instead, his docs opted to keep him put, calling for an ultrasound procedure to get a better look at the swelling around the front half of his neck, as they were concerned about blood clots. Thankfully, results came back normal, ruling out the immediate need for clot intervention. They will continue to monitor whether or not he requires a CT scan.
The most definitive news today was that his blood cultures came back positive for infection, looking like the strep family (but not necessarily the same bug that causes strep throat). They still haven't narrowed down exactly what bateria they're trying to kill, so Shane continues to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics which seem to be helping. The overall swelling and redness of his neck has gone down considerably from last night.
From time to time, Shaney silently and painfully coughs up junk from his lungs into his breathing tube. This requires the nurse to suction out his tube, which is not a fun process for Shane. He usually wakes up during the suction procedure and begins to cry (again, silently, due to his breathing tube). His eyebrows arch upward and tears stream from his eyes—it's more than Ky and I can bear—but we just reassure him and hold his hand, letting him know we're there and we'll get through this together. He has also discovered that kicking is more effective in these situations than trying to wield his cloth-restraint-bound arms. I told you he's a fighter.
The good news, however, is that he's breathing almost completely on his own (last night, the ventilator was basically breathing for him, today not nearly as much). The oxygen being fed down the tube is at 30%, room air is 21%—and this is maintaining Shane's oxygen saturation at around 97%. These are all good numbers. Every once in a while (during/after tube suction) they have to bump his oxygen supply to 50%, but when he's stable they bring it back down to 30% to slowly ween him off the machines and support.
It's been a long day—but we are loved, Shane is stable and the food here is actually pretty good (and so are the candy and treats we snuck in!) We love you all and we'll update more tomorrow.
-Chris&Ky
Here's the view from Shaney's room:
This is an amazing place and we are in great hands.
Posts
Trace & I are in tears reading this - both in the experience of Love, for shane, for you & kylee, for the community around you, and in the experience of sadness over how painful the last few days have been. We love you guys. Thanks for setting up a blog, we'll be reading and praying and cheering you on. with so much love & hope from anaheim, B&T
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you remember us (Steve, Pam, Lori, Steve Goold) but we were in your church in Burbank back about 15+ years ago...I knew you when we were young. I saw this blog on your mom's facebook page and checked it out. Know that I will be praying and interceding on Shane and your family's behalf. Cling to Jesus.
Lori Goold
I am so amazed and thrilled to see Shane with no feeding tube! God is soooo good.
ReplyDeleteonce Kimmie called me and asked for me to get Shane on the pray chain at my church, I was at once feeling your pain and praying for God to heal his little body. Know this...Cornerstone in Simi Valley has been praying and will continue to!
I get e-mails and phone calls daily asking how he is doing....what a beautiful boy! again I am so happy to see his little face smiling and I cant wait for the day I get to meet Shane,Kylee,Chris and the rest of the Coleman clan in colorado! May God give all of you His peace and comfort during this hard time. with love, Kelly Harman (kimmies lil sister)