One Brave & Tough Little Boy

Sorry for not updating yesterday. For the most part Mason is doing okay with just a few little bumps in the road. I will say though, Mason continues to be one very tough and brave little boy!  The most positive event was that Mason was able to be extubated yesterday morning! He is still in the PICU and I foresee it'll be a couple more days before he is able to move to the third floor.


Wednesday night about midnight the docs got concerned about Mason's RBC (red blood cells)   being too low. It was surprising because we were told that he hardly lost any blood during surgery. Also, it shouldn't have any link to his Parvo virus/red blood cell issue from earlier in the year because his RBC count has remained stable since February. Finally by 2 or 3am it was decided that he needed a blood transfusion. Of course that is never an easy decision for a heart transplant kiddo because of the risk of introducing new antibodies that could fight against his heart. The doctors all concluded that the need at this time outweighed the risks.


Mason also began fevering Wednesday night. This can actually be very normal with any surgery, especially anything dealing with the spine. But, Mason's white blood cell count was also quite high. Slightly elevated WBC is normal after surgery due to stress and inflammation, but as high as Mason's was (26) there was concern of infection. That being said..... blood cultures, a protective brush sample from his airways, and a viral panel were taken to test for any infections. So far they all came back negative except for the brush sample came back positive for Viridans Streptococcus (a bacteria from the Strep family) and Staphylococcus Aureus (from the Staph family). Of course, right?! He is getting strong IV antibiotics to hopefully get rid of these yucky germs go into his lungs.


Trying to keep Mason comfortable has been tricky. His resistance to pain meds is rather high. What do you expect from a little boy that has taken meds such as Morphine since he was a newborn after each of his heart surgeries?! He is on a few different meds right now for pain and anxiety. Controlling his pain is key not only in keeping Mason comfortable and able to rest, but  also in enabling Mason not to hurt when he coughs. Being intubated along with the extra fluids one's body holds on to post surgery almost always makes Mason have an irritated and junky upper airway. Thus coughing up these secretions is important. Due to his junky airways Mason is still on oxygen, but that's okay if this it was his body needs to rest and recover.


Thank you for your prayers, love, support, and meals for my family at home.