Day 71 - New Settings + Inhaler

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Morning:  Since James has been staying 60 on his FIO2 and his CO2 came back at 78, the best thing for James is a few small adjustments. He will be starting Albuterol and Pulmicort today.

Albuterol can treat or prevent bronchospasms. 

Pulmicort works directly in the lungs to make breathing easier by reducing the irritation and swelling of the airways.

Both will be taken twice per day until no longer needed. 

Along with the steroid inhaler and the anti-inflammatory, the doctor made a change to the mode of ventilation to a NAVA setting. This is the best synchronized setting to help James be more comfortable.  The PEEP will remain the same at 11, the rest will adjust. 

Neurally adjusted ventilator assist (NAVA) ventilation utilizes James’ neural respiratory drive to synchronize ventilatory support on a breath-by-breath basis based on his ongoing needs. (Fancy Google Search). Essentially, this means that when James exhales and inhales, the vent notices and doesn’t force a breath and the same time as James. This ensures that James isn’t going against any “breaths” the machine gives him to avoid any unneeded stress to his lungs. (Pretty neat technology!) 

Other updates:  James is tolerating his feed extremely well and is growing daily!  He is up to 46 ML.  He weighed in at 2325g or 5 pounds 2 ounces last night. His body PH of 7.3 has corrected up to offset the high CO2, which shows that James has the capability to self-correct naturally.  We are hoping he can do the same with his lungs.  #BreatheEasy



P.S. You can email James your love and support as often as you’d like:  JamesWestonAbramowitz@gmail.com