The Vent is Outta Here!

Will is finally off the vent! It was a bit of a struggle to accomplish that today, but cheers rung out late this afternoon when they finally pulled that puppy! The Doctor that has been with Will since he arrived at U of M rotated out today and another Doctor took over Will's case. Well, the new Doctor wanted to proceed very conservatively since he had not had much experience in treating Will and he wanted to leave the vent in "just in case". While we appreciated his concern, the vent was also causing fluid to collect in Will's lungs and that's not a good situation either. So, after a rather long and frustrating day, the vent finally came out late this afternoon. Will is on a cpap and so far his blood gas levels have been excellent. Will's latest heart tests also showed an improvement in his ventrical activity so he was able to stop one of his meds. Will is on TPN for tonight since the cpap can cause air to build up in the stomach. But, if his blood gas levels stay as good as they are now, he should be off the cpap soon as well. And then the boy can eat again! He is a little agitated today, but I would be too if they cut my food off.