Andrew had a great day today. His oxygen was all the way down to 45% and he is completely weaned off the NO2, so that is one less machine. Once he gets down to 21% on the oscillating ventilator then he can switch to the regular ventilator, which will simulate more realistic breathing patterns and he won't vibrate like he does now.
The doctor said that he is very impressed and encouraged by Andrew's progress today, and that yesterday he thought it was the beginning of the end for him. Not so for my little fighter! Now the doctor is starting to think about things other than his lungs. He has some concerns about whether Andrew has neurological damage and what his brain activity might be since he has not yet moved any parts of his lower body. They might do an EEG on his brain to see if they can get a better idea of how much brain function he has. The doctor is also starting to think about his scoliosis. He said that some babies with congenital scoliosis have their backs curved so that as his lungs grow, they will eventually be squashed by his ribcage and run out of room to grow. This could happen soon, or at 6 or 9 months, or as a child. Lungs grow until age 8-12, so we have to pray that the curvature of his spine will still allow his lungs to have space to grow and keep up with him as he gets bigger.
But despite all this, I am just thrilled with his breathing progress today! We are taking baby steps with his care so I'm remaining focused on his lungs for now since that is the most iminent to his survival.
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