Sunday evening has arrived.  So we are almost one week from the incident that we believe set all of this in motion.  Seven days in now, and Landon has made great progress, particularly since Thursday morning.  I handed the job of keeping Landon company off to my dad.  It is hard not being there, especially when I know I’m not running right back.  But if Landon can’t be in my hands, it is hard to beat Papaw’s.

Landon is on full feeds, is stable, and his secretions are getting thinner and clearer.  Now we just have to get him off of the breathing machine…or extubated.  That’s not something you rush in to, so Saturday morning, Landon started doing Extubation readiness testing (ERT).  His first test, he lasted 15 minutes before needing additional support.  Sunday morning he lasted 90 minutes.  After the 90 minute attempt, they decided during morning rounds that Landon would likely need “sprints” to help get him back up to strength.  In other words, they will “sprint” for up to two hours, challenging his lungs to see if he can handle BiPAP settings.  For this evening’s sprint, he lasted 45 minutes.

So Landon is slowly getting better, stronger.  But it is hard to predict at this time how long it will take to get him up to full strength and off of the breathing machine.  In the meantime, his settings are pretty low.

40% oxygen

5 peep (that’s a minimum setting)

rate of 8 (he’s breathing over it for an acceptable 20-40 rpm)

So it’s up to Landon to set the pace.  In the meantime, all of this running talk has me hungry, so I will support him the best way I know how – I’m carbo loading.

I’ll keep you updated as the sprinting continues.