Pray for Aidan

Dr. Black met with me and then Erin this morning. He pretty much said the same thing to both of us:

Another EEG is scheduled for today. Hopefully there will be some improvement from the previous one. Another MRI will happen later this week. Pneumonia is pretty much gone according to the chest x-rays, though they keep getting cultures from his lungs just in case. He will be on antibiotics for another few days (10 days total, so most likely this Wednesday), then taken off. They also removed his Foley catheter and the arterial line they were using primarily for BP checks. The central line will be removed in the near future. Leaving these lines in for too long may result in infection.

They are looking to extebate again later this week or maybe even wait until next Monday. If all goes well, great. If not, Aidan will end up getting a tracheostomy as well as a gastric tube, which means two simultaneous surgeries. If that were to happen, he would have those for several months.

Rehab is looking at 8-12 weeks now. He has recommended we look for in-patient pediatric rehab centers that specialize in children with head/brain trauma. Cities he gave: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, or Denver. This means moving the family to that area, staying most likely at a Ronald McDonald house, and me finding a job in the city we choose to move to. Does this mean a permanent move to that city? I have no idea. (Edit: No, we will not make a permenant move. We will most likely work out some kind of arrangement depending on where we end up.) We also have no idea how we will be able to pay for it. Someone suggested we check with March of Dimes or some of the other charities that specialize in helping families with children. So now, my Internet searches will consist of finding jobs in those areas, as well as finding out about the various rehab centers.

Drs. Cacerras (intensivist) and Farerras (neurologist) are taking over starting tomorrow. We'll see where things go from here with them in charge.