Changing Circuits

Today, Peter had to be put on a new ECMO machine. They called that “changing circuits.” It was explained to us that the ECMO gets dirty on the inside after a number of days and does not function as well anymore. The machine was apparently starting to consume platelets and other blood products, which is not a good thing for Peter, of course, because it means his blood cannot clot as well. So then they pull out another ECMO and switch him over, and clean the old machine. Unfortunately, this meant that we had a lot less time to spend with Peter. The whole switchover is not supposed to last longer than about 30 minutes (most of which goes into preparing the new machine to all the right settings), but for some reason they had not even started the switch after the forty-minute lunch we had decided to take once they warned us of the impending switching procedure. Despite this interruption we had a good time with our little boy. He woke up for a little bit and also tolerated the “changing of the circuits” quite well. The ECMO has been reduced to about 50% (actually the number seems to stand for 50ml per kilogram, but it corresponds roughly to a percentage, so that’s what they always tell us). The ECMO specialist told us that the actual period during which Peter was not being supported was 38 seconds and that his vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation) did not waver during this time.

Both midwives came by (both Rachael McGraw, our primary midwife, and Maureen Dahl, the secondary one). They were unfortunately not able to see much of Peter because of the ECMO switchover, but we had a good time together over lunch. It was VERY hot today: around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. There was also a very strong wind. A friend of ours, Carmen, had brought us a picnic lunch in the morning and we took it to the hospital.

We also talked to the surgeon. He is the one responsible for the ECMO treatment (and for taking Peter off of it). He said that he was reasonably optimistic about Peter’s health. The lungs still appear somewhat abnormal on X-rays but this is apparently not unexpected in these cases. Hopefully, Peter can be taken off ECMO in a few days. When that happens, Peter will be on a ventilator for a while.

I am very grateful that Betsy is recovering so well. If you think about it, it is almost miraculous that she is almost completely healthy again. She also needed little extra rest even from two days after giving birth, and she has shown few signs of fatigue. A little bit of ibuprofen pretty much gets her through the day as usual—or whatever passes for “usual” at the moment. We were also in church “as usual” on Sunday evening (we were in the hospital in the morning), and the more I think about it, the more I am struck by a comment that our friend Christy made on her blog: “Yes, really!” Betsy really was in church after four days! Do not let us forget those blessings.