Better News

We've got it under control, and we have a plan of attack!

Remember last time around when we were just about to get discharged and Brandt desatted and had to go have a cath done to place some stents in places that were pinched and cutting down on blood flow? Our most solid theory right now (backed by his most recent echo) is that something very similar is happening again. Ironically enough, it's the stent that they placed in the pulmonary artery the first time that seems to be causing the issue now.

Stents, once placed, grow into the wall of the blood vessel they're placed in. It's a good thing for the most part, because it keeps it from slipping around over time. In this case, it's actually inhibiting further growth! The section of artery it was placed in is now bottlenecked, and, just like the same situation on the freeway, it causes backups. Not enough blood can get through there to the lungs and, shockingly enough, that causes low oxygen saturation.

The fix for this is in the form of another catheter, to be performed sometime early this week. We don't have a date yet, because some important people don't like to work weekends (weird, right?), but should know tomorrow sometime. They'll be going in with a balloon and stretching the stent to get the artery back to the right size and allow the right amount of blood flow through there. Hopefully, when he comes back his sats will be where they need to be and we'll be on the way home! 

For the meantime, he's down from 12L of oxygen to 2L, they've turned down the sedation a couple notches, and he seems to be maintaining pretty well on his own. Without the morphine, he's got his appetite back and he's getting closer to his normal amounts. He's been awake and playing most of the day, and is back to his old happy self. It's good to see!

All for now!