You'll notice his trach tube in his neck, but it's capped.
That is because he's not connected to his ventilator.
He is now using his diaphragmatic (breathing) pacemakers
several hours every day.
(see earlier posts to learn what the breathing pacemakers
look like and how they work)
Josh is enjoying being freed from the ventilator more and more!
We periodically check Josh's CO2 level
by placing a connector to his trach (after we remove the cap)
and have him breathe through it a few minutes.
If his CO2 numbers are within normal ranges (30s to mid 40s)
he is good to go. If the numbers are higher,
he must reconnect to the ventilator.
What an End Tidal CO2 monitor looks like:
We also check his blood oxygen level
with a monitor that goes on his finger.
He has mostly stayed in the upper 90's there, so that is great!
What a finger pulsoximeter monitor looks like:
We have noticed that when he does get back on his ventilator
(he's always on it when he sleeps)
that his volumes are getting bigger and bigger.
We think that is because his diaphgram muscles are building
and helping him get bigger breaths. That is great!
We still have to monitor Josh's temperature
and encourage him to drink alot
to keep him from becoming dehydrated
(he is also still taking his DDAVP nosespray
to help him retain some fluids overnight
and early in the morning).
And we continue to give him growth hormone shots
6 nights a week.
He had labs drawn at his last endocrinology visit.
They showed most everything normal.
However, his testosterone level is pretty low.
We are supposed to talk more about the possibility
of having to give Josh monthly testosterone shots
as he nears his 14th birthday...
so almost another year till we worry about those.
I also still give Josh supplements of calcium, magnesium,
zinc, b-complex and Acetyl L Carnitine
(which is suppsed to boost memory -
and it sure has seemed to help Josh).
Halloween Photos
Me - I've got a cold
Josh dressed as a Ninja
See the white cords
from his pacer antennas
under his black shirt?
the white cords go to
his diaphragmatic pacemaker transmitter,
which he carries
in that small black backpack - cool, huh?
We went to our church's annual Fall Festival.
Josh played lots of games,
we did the cake walk,
and we enjoyed some yummy hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos
and home baked desserts (most of which my sister made)
One of Josh's nurses,
Jenny Judy... and her family,
went to Fall Fest.
Weren't they cute!
Oh, Here is my sister,
Amanda (the angel)
in my kitchen,
baking up all sorts of goodies
some of what she baked for Fall Fest:
(Mississippi Mud cake and Peaches n cream pie!)
UP NEXT
I've been working on a fund raising project... involving stethoscope covers.
I'll show off some of them and give you all the details in a post coming soon!
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