Today starts the fourth day Linc has been on ECMO. The machine is oxygenating and pumping his blood for him so that, hopefully, his pulmonary hypertension will subside. Today the docs tried to wean his flow rate on the machine a little, and Linc's vitals suffered a bit. So they went back up to the original rate. It seems like he is not too fond of fast changes, but that's ok. We just want him to be able to come off sometime. We don't need to rush him at this point.
One of the side effects of ECMO is edema. Linc is slowly getting more swollen everyday. His kidneys also are not getting the natural signal from his heart to trigger urine production, so the docs are giving him something to help him pee, which has been working but he still looks puffy. Even though he looks uncomfortable, we know he isn't feeling pain.
It has been bitter sweet having him on ECMO. We know that he is very ill, but we love the fact that we can interact with him now. I have been able to change three more diapers so far. Two of which were poopy! (I never thought I would be so happy to change a poopy diaper!) Knowing he hears and sees us is a wonderful feeling. For now, it is mostly a waiting game. The docs will make small tweaks, but overall we are waiting for Linc's daily x-ray of his lungs to clear. That will be the sign the docs look for to let them know Linc is ready to wean and start doing more of the work himself. In the mean time, we are trying to rest more ourselves and enjoying being with our son.
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