February 24, 2021 "Wound vac change #3 "

February 24, 2021 (Day 41 in the hospital)-3rd vac change

They came an hour early to take Rayden for his 3rd wound vac change this morning. Everything was fine until the people started coming into the procedure room. He looked at me with tears in his eyes whispering, "I don't want to do this." The anesthesiologist quickly grabbed the propofol as I rubbed his chest calming him down. It only took a second for him to fall asleep so we lowered him down. That is the moment Michael and I leave the procedure room. I hate that he is getting more scared with each of these vac changes. 

Dr. Damitz stated that there was no cloudy fluid today at all, unlike the past 2 vac changes. She believes the AlloDerm patch is finally doing what they want it to do. It doesn't look moist or weepy like it did before. It's nice and dry. The red tissue is beginning to grow through the peripheral. Now she wants that to grow OVER the AlloDerm. Then we could do the wet to dry dressing and go home. Although she is happy with the progress, it isn't going as fast as we all hoped. She placed him on the schedule for vac changes ALL NEXT WEEK as well. 

Rayden woke quickly this time ready to eat. The nurse taking care of him told me they huddled before his procedure because the floor doctor wanted them to remove his PICC line and insert a regular IV. The plastic surgeon and all the nurses disagreed. She said she looked for IV access but his veins just aren't there. She changed the PICC line dressing and told the floor doctors she recommends keeping it. (She actually put it in, so she knows his history.) 

It was a gorgeous day today so the nurse allowed us to take Rayden outside to grab some sunshine. We had a pass to leave the floor (not the hospital) for an hour. We took him in a little wheelchair to the patio just outside the Starbucks. We found a corner where the sun was shining so brightly it actually began to feel hot. Rayden walked all over the patio a couple times with his walker. He felt free, if only for that hour. His favorite nurse, Alissa Dunn, came to the patio as well. She remembered how Rayden liked the caramel in daddy's coffee one time so she got him a little cup of it. He enjoyed sipping it a little but of course it's too sweet to just eat straight caramel. 

Our science activity today was diffusion with Skittles. Rayden enjoyed watching the colors bleed off the Skittles into the water and run toward the center.