Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A Rough Start

For starters, this post has pictures of Ethan's incision, so if you are squeamish, you may choose not to proceed.

Ethan has been enjoying being home but has had a little bit of a rough start. It started last night with a temperature of 101.9. He already had Motrin on board that I had given him an hour before for pain control. We called PCMC and talked with Bonnie (one of the Cardiothoracic Nurse Practitioners) and she had us given Ethan's Lortab (which has Tylenol in it) early to see if his temp would come down. Luckily it did and he has not had one since. I'm glad that it came down, but it bugs me to not know what was causing it in the first place. Anyway, Annie (another Cardiothoracic Nurse Practitioner) called us back this morning and wants us to come into the clinic tomorrow morning instead of next week to get some blood work done.

I've also been concerned about a pink raised area above his incision that I was told to keep an eye on to make sure that it didn't start oozing or looking like it might be infected. Well, I ended up calling Bonnie again tonight because this "spot" is definitely changing. It is getting larger, darker, and is now hard (where it was soft earlier). It could easily just be a large bruise that is finally showing through (since there are green edges it looks kind of old). However, it seems to be getting bigger and I am afraid that he might have a small bleed underneath. We were told that there was probably nothing that they would do about it, but they would look at it tomorrow in clinic. What do you think?



I took this picture last night around 10:00 pm. It was more pink than it shows here, but you get the idea.


This picture was taken today around 11:00 am. It is starting to have more color to it.

This picture was taken around 5:00 tonight.

And this picture was taken around 7:00 tonight. Although you can tell that it is obviously changing colors, it is hard to tell in these pictures how raised it is. The size looks as if you cut a golf ball in half and then painted it purple. We'll see what they say and/or do about it tomorrow morning.
---Allison


9 comments:

Jenn said...

Oh, ow!! That looks so sore! Poor guy! I'm curious to see what they will say. Sorry I didn't call you back, it was kind of a busy day!

The Gatherum Family said...

it looks so sore. i hope they can figure out what it is. keep us updated. can we do ANYTHING for you guys? i feel out of the loop in that we live down here but we would be MORE then happy to do whatever we can to help. let us know please.

Melissa said...

yikes! That looks bad. I'm glad you are taking him in tomorrow. I hope it is nothing to worry about! I bet it's so nice to be home!

Blake and Jessica said...

In my expert nursing opinion ;) it looks like a HUGE change to me. When I worked on the cardiothoracic floor and took care of chest incisions something that looked like that usually did indicate a small bleed or bruising. But it normally showed up POD #2 or #3, not a week later. I hope everything is ok with him, of course it will be!

Ty and Ber said...

I agree with Jess! That much change in that small amount if time is a little concerning. Also questionable since he has had a temp of unknown origin. I am glad that you guys are going in again tomorrow. Hopefully things are okay.

Kingsford Family said...

Allison,
I hope things go well and you get answers when you take Ethan in today. Wanted you to know that I have been checking your blog often over the last week and praying for you guys...just dealing w/ my own craziness so I haven't had a chance to leave a comment. I'll keep you in my prayers. Good luck!
Michele

Quinney Family said...

Allison,
We also have been checking your blog daily to watch Ethans progress. So glad he is home, but glad you will be getting that checked out today. It will be so good to get this all behind you. Prayers for all. Jennylin

The Gatherum Family said...

thanks! we are excited too. a little scared to have FOUR but really happy! well, i am sorry you guys are stressed. please keep us in mind if you need ANYTHING. we really aren't that far away and i can drive up and even just take gavin off your hands or i could come clean your house or do laundry-anything. just please let me know. i hope things are going well. talk to you soon.

~Rachel said...

Ouch! you can tell in the pictures that it was getting bigger!! I hope everything is ok when you take him in today. I am glad he has an appointment so soon. Let us know what they say. We love you all!