This morning we had Emerson's weekly cardiology appointment, and have some not so great news.
A chest X-ray confirmed his lungs have filled with an extreme amount of fluid. This is expected to happen with his heart defect, so he has been on a diuretic as a preventive. The diuretic he is on is not working effectively. With this much fluid in his lungs, it has him struggling to breathe. He is breathing much faster, and when he is taking feedings this is causing him to take less amount of milk in twice the amount of time. The doctor best described it like he is running a marathon on an empty stomach. The longer he takes his feedings, the more he exerts himself and burns more calories. This causes his heart to work even harder. This was one of the major signs that his surgery would be needed sooner than later.
Our cardiologist had Emerson admitted to the hospital right after our appointment. They are going to find the best type of diuretic meds to release the fluid from his lungs. This could be combination of things so they need to monitor him during this process. With the issues with his feeding/breathing, they have him back on a feeding tube to make sure he continues to get the nutrition he needs to keep gaining weight. He will be on a feeding tube until his surgery.
They are saying that they hope to have him in better condition in 3-5 days. If they do, he will be released and we will continue the meds at home and learn how to handle tube feedings at home as well. We need him to hang on a few more weeks so we can get as much brain development as possible! But worse case scenario, if he does not respond well to the new meds, than we will go to surgery. The cardiologist reassured us that his heart is ready at this point to handle the surgery. Just taking it one day at a time.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
A chest X-ray confirmed his lungs have filled with an extreme amount of fluid. This is expected to happen with his heart defect, so he has been on a diuretic as a preventive. The diuretic he is on is not working effectively. With this much fluid in his lungs, it has him struggling to breathe. He is breathing much faster, and when he is taking feedings this is causing him to take less amount of milk in twice the amount of time. The doctor best described it like he is running a marathon on an empty stomach. The longer he takes his feedings, the more he exerts himself and burns more calories. This causes his heart to work even harder. This was one of the major signs that his surgery would be needed sooner than later.
Our cardiologist had Emerson admitted to the hospital right after our appointment. They are going to find the best type of diuretic meds to release the fluid from his lungs. This could be combination of things so they need to monitor him during this process. With the issues with his feeding/breathing, they have him back on a feeding tube to make sure he continues to get the nutrition he needs to keep gaining weight. He will be on a feeding tube until his surgery.
They are saying that they hope to have him in better condition in 3-5 days. If they do, he will be released and we will continue the meds at home and learn how to handle tube feedings at home as well. We need him to hang on a few more weeks so we can get as much brain development as possible! But worse case scenario, if he does not respond well to the new meds, than we will go to surgery. The cardiologist reassured us that his heart is ready at this point to handle the surgery. Just taking it one day at a time.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
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