Dustin's Withdrawal Treatment

What a day!

First and foremost, Tim and I are praising the Lord for the news that we've received today.

Since much has happened since my last post, let me briefly catch you up:

• On Friday, Dustin was removed from the ventilator—his respiratory rate was high at first and the attending intensivist warned us that we should not be surprised if Dustin ended up re-intubated by morning. By the time I laid down for some sleep that evening, Dustin’s respiratory rate was terrific and he was doing beautifully. In order to remove the ventilator, the sedatives Versed and Fentanyl were completely removed from Dustin’s multi-faceted drug regimen.

• When I woke on Saturday morning, Dustin did not seem nearly like himself. He was barely moving his extremities and was generally less responsive.

• At my request, the physicians performed a neurological exam to determine if Dustin was responding normally. Dustin passed this test on Saturday morning.

• Saturday afternoon/early evening, Dustin's chest tube was removed. (This tube provides drainage of fluid from the lung post-operatively.) The chest x-ray showed that the right side of the chest looks good. The chest x-ray on Sunday morning showed that the fluid in the lung had decreased.

• By Saturday evening, Dustin’s neurological responses were even less than in the morning. The nurse and resident thought that Dustin was experiencing withdrawal. Eventually, they convinced Tim and me to administer the withdrawal protocol.

• Dustin’s neurological functioning continued to decline, despite the administration of the withdrawal protocol. The intensivist on duty at night expressed concern and removed all medications other than Dustin’s antibiotics and Tylenol for fever. A neurologist was consulted.

• The neurologists and intesivists wondered if Dustin was having seizures or if he had a stroke. Dustin’s heart rate had dropped to an all-time low in the middle of the night on Saturday, which is not a typical symptom of withdrawal.

• An EEG, EKG, MRI and head CT were performed on Sunday. The EEG showed slow brain waves, which could be attributed to a response to the drugs that Dustin has taken during his stay at Vanderbilt. The MRI does not show anything that would be indicative of a stroke.

• The attending physician who accompanied Dustin to the MRI said that when the sedative was administered to perform the MRI, Dustin instantly perked up. And, so the new (renewed) thought is that Dustin is experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the big time narcotics that he has been given during the last twelve days and Morphine and Ativan will be administered to wean Dustin from all of the narcotics that he had received during the past week.

I think that brings us to the present. Dustin is relaxing after being injected with his first withdrawal dose of morphine. We are attributing this status entirely to the hand of God. We are so very thankful that Dustin does not seem to have any true neurological defects that are readily apparent to the physicians.

Please continue to pray that Dustin fully and promptly heals from all of his medical care and for endurance for Tim and me. We are also greatly thankful that my mother has been here to help us through this experience. It has provided us with the time to take much needed respites, an alternative perspective and a source of comfort.

There are many children and babies in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at Vanderbilt. Many of these children are in worse shape than Dustin. These children and their families can all use our prayers.

“And Jesus said to him, Go, for your faith has healed you. Instantly, the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.” Mark 10:52 NLT