11:00pm: We just got back from a great dinner with both of my sisters and their husbands and it is time for bed! Kristen just got off the phone with the nurse and his oxygen is at 35%. His next gas test is at or around midnight and we are anxious to see what it is. We are crossing our fingers and hoping that we can end such a wonderful day on a good note.


3:30pm: Do you know what is better than holding your son, looking at him only to have him stare back at you and start cooing? Nothing. This has made my day.

Unfortunately, Reid's blood work came back with a gram positive infection. The two antibiotics that they started last night will do the job and he will probably be on them for the next 10 days. Luckily, the can be administered through his central line and doesn't need another IV. With his steroids, his immune system takes a hit and isn't as strong as it could be.

His blood gasses this morning were high and they subsequently went up to 16 liter flow. His last gas was acceptable and they will do another gas tonight.

Dr. Cornish said his xray looked really good and better than before he came off the vent. We are just praying that we can turn this corner and steadily make some progress. His respiratory condition remains steady and is currently at 40%.

10:30am: after the Tylenol kicked in, Reid became a little more active and a little more like himself. His temperature came back down to 98.6. They took another set of labs, but still no results. Oxygen ranged anywhere from 40 to 60% and was at 45% when Kristen talked to the nurse.

A little bit of unfortunate news, Reid' arterial line came out this morning. This was a source of being able to monitor his blood pressure and also a mechanism to getting blood for his gas tests and lab work. Now that it is gone, we will go back to getting his blood from a prick on his heal. Not sure if they will try to get another art line in his other arm.

12:30am: Reid has been fighting a mild temperature for most of the afternoon and evening. They sent cultures to the labs to see if he had an infection, but nothing has come back as of yet (this could be a good sign). His temperature has ranged from about 99.6 to about 101. When I called to check just a few minutes ago, it was right about 100. His heart rate is elevated which usually comes along with a temperature. The good news though is that he is not showing any other signs of sickness. Morphine withdraw can produce these symptoms, and he is about at the time when you would start seeing these withdraws. To be on the safe side, they have started two antibiotics and will follow up with another set of cultures in the morning. They will be able to compare the two sets to see if anything has changed in the time between. They are also prescribing Tylenol to help with the temperature.

Oxygen requirements are still hovering in the 40 to 45% range as they have for most of the day. This is also a promising sign that he is not sick... seems like when he has been sick before, his respiratory stability was usually the first to go.

Dr. Piazza called me this evening but I had missed his phone call. He did, however, leave a message and said that today was his last day of service for the month and that a new Dr. will be taking over on Monday. Just when we were getting used to his styles, we will need to adapt to another style for the month of February. This is life at Egleston and we are becoming fairly used to the rotations now. At first, we didn't like it, but we are now seeing the benefits of being at a teaching hospital with the chance to interact with so many stellar doctors and nurses.

Bedtime for us. Keep your prayers coming and let's hope that this temperature is not a sign of sickness. Good night.