Shunt Tap and Fussy

They tapped the shunt and found some elevated pressure so tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. he is having a shunt revision surgery. Please pray that this will go well and relieve his irritability (he's been very irritable which is a sign of shunt malfunction). Also pray that he will be able to breathe well after extubation (taking the breathing tube out after surgery), and recover quickly. I (Carrie) am staying with him tonight and am anticipating a very long night with his fussiness, but am praying this will not be the case.

Extubation and Oxygen Levels

(This is Erika again)

Toby got his MRI last night and the results didn't really tell them anything they didn't already know. His brain wasn't compressed too badly and spinal fluid was flowing around the brain which is good.

Although the MRI went well, the night was very rough. Toby was finally extubated (the breathing tube was removed) around 2am and after that he was very agitated. A combination of coming off the anesthesia and a tube down his throat to take the air out of his stomach, made Toby irritable. Once he settled down around 4am, Carrie went back to watching his monitors. Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep!

Toby was again agitated this morning. Finally, the doctors agreed to take the tube out of his throat. They will measure his stomach to make sure it is not filling up with air. If it does, they will have to put the tube back in. Sodium levels are up at normal ranges still which is a good sign. He is back on C-PAP and a little bit of O2, but is still having a few apneic episodes.

The doctors want Toby's sodium levels to stay at normal for at least 10-14 days so that his brain has a chance to heal. I guess when his sodium levels dropped so much they said his brain was very sick. They want to see what happens after his brain has a chance to heal. If he is still having the same issues, they will inspect his shunt and make sure that is not the cause. If it isn't, the last resort will be to trach him. Of course, this is hard news to hear!

Now it is just a waiting game to see what happens. Pray, again, for strength, endurance and that God would work out all the details with Conor and Garrett's care, too!