Update on Michael

We had some great news today and it seems we have turned the corner in Michael's care here at Primary Children's Medical Center. He was put on a ventilator (the same thing as a respirator) in the early morning hours of last Saturday because he kept failing to breathe. Monday morning they tested him to see if he would breathe on his own without the ventilator. They wanted to see him breathe well for 2 hours before they would consider removing the tube. He breathed for only 5 minutes on his own before failing. Tuesday morning they tested him again and he lasted for 10 minutes, so we began adjusting to the possibilities of a much longer hospital stay. But the nurses were very hopeful and saw a lot of improvement through the day. They were optimistic that he would do well very soon. During this morning's test he steadily breathed on his own for the full two hours so the ventilator was removed a few hours later. He has done really well today and remains quite stable, though he is on oxygen. He continues to breathe well and they are trying to reduce the amounts of oxygen he is receiving. Everyone is impressed with how well he is doing on his own, so hopefully he will be out of the ICU tomorrow. The milestones they want him to pass before releasing him from the hospital are to be removed from oxygen, to have less mucous buildup in his lungs, and to be finished with the course of antibiotics for his pneumonia. We are hoping we will take him home by week's end. He is eating well now and we are able to hold him so that makes all the difference for us. We gave him a pacifier after removing the tube because they wanted him to wait a few hours before eating. They will be removing the yellow feeding tube soon. We are very grateful for today's progress and for all the love and support we have received.