After a helter-skelter two days, Peter enjoyed a very calm day today. Cardiologist Dr. Baker came by and said he was impressed how well he responded to the pleurodesis. He had expected him to have a much higher fever and be much sicker in general. In fact, Peter did not seem much different to us at all. The chest output has diminished greatly and we're hopeful that this will be the beginning of the end of the chyle leak. Let us pray that this is so. It is by no means certain.
The doctors expect that Peter will need to be on the ventilator for several more months, at least part of the day (esp. at night), mostly to help counteract the chyle leak (through the pressure of the ventilator on the lungs). If the leak stops soon, they will consider a tracheostomy (moving the breathing tube from his nose to a small opening in his throat/neck). This sounds somewhat scary to us but it would make Peter more comfortable and he would be able to go home with that (they would probably leave the tracheostomy in for about one year).
Peter spent a good time during our visit awake. As usual, he looked around eagerly at anything other than the boring ceiling: his mobile, his parents, a piece of cloth with interesting shapes and colors. Tomorrow, we will introduce him to his grandparents (oma and opa), who arrived from Holland early this evening.
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