Three Weeks

Today has been another emotional day. We learned that Kelson had a few spells overnight, but was resting when we got to the hospital. We received some great news. The morning chest X-ray looked good. This meant that there had been no fluid build up on his lungs after taking out the chest tube yesterday! Also, after spending 3 weeks on his back or side, he finally got to lay on his tummy. He seemed to like the move at first, but his breathing tube would kink when he tried to move his head. After a couple hours of tummy time, he had to go back to his back.

This afternoon Krista and I decided we would leave to run a few errands, but just as we were planning to leave, Kelsons numbers starting dropping. Suddenly there were about 6 people around his bed including the doctor.
They pulled out the intubation tube and put an oxygen mask on his face. As soon as the tube came out, his numbers started to rise. Kelson was breathing on his own. The nurse showed us the tube, and it had some pretty thick secretions in it that had been blocking his airway. After watching Kelson breathe on his own for a while, the doctor decided to try a nasal cannula. This would help him breathe without a tube in his throat. He did well on the nasal cannula, but it was requiring a lot of energy for him to breathe, and he was stressed. The doctor decided it was best to re-intibate, so Kelson would not wear himself out. He is now on the conventional ventilator and doing well.
Throughout all this chaos, we did get to experience a first...his first cry. It was really more of a squeak, but it was the first sound he has ever made. The breathing tube will cause him to be hoarse for a while, but it was pretty cool to hear.

That whole process took about two hours, but to Krista and I it felt like 10 minutes! Needless to say, we did not run our errands...

Since 4:30 Kelson has been resting quietly, and recovering from a big day. If he has a good night and early morning, Krista and I will FINALLY get to hold our son...and we can't wait!