Two Steps Back

We had a followup appointment in Denver today where Landon's xray showed a significant amount of pleural effusion (fluid around the lungs) on one side.  It was enough that they decided to readmit Landon to the hospital and put in a chest tube to help drain the fluid.  We were bummed to have to be readmitted but not totally shocked.  Landon has not been sleeping very well the last few nights and has been very agitated at home the last few days so we were afraid there may be something like that going on. 

It was a little bit of a rough afternoon since right when they decided to put in the chest tube, we had to put Landon on npo (no food or drink) immediately until the procedure was done which was from about 2:30 until 9pm.  They had a tough time getting an IV in him and after 4 or 5 failed attempts opted for getting an anesthetic in him with a shot and got the IV done after he was under.  Everything went as planned and with some "expediting" of the drainage a lot of fluid has already drained out so we are hoping that will help Landon sleep a little bit more comfortably tonight.  It's a different type of chest tube than he had in surgery and will hopefully not be as uncomfortable.  He was already excited about the playroom when we mentioned it to him today so we hope to be up and about quite a bit tomorrow to help encourage his body to get rid of the fluid.  We are in CICU since he had the procedure for putting in the chest tube tonight and plan to move up to CPCU in the morning. 

Unfortunately we came totally unprepared to be readmitted so Gary went home late tonight to get some of our stuff.  Gary's mom, Connie just got in town yesterday a few hours after my mom left so they have traded places for the time being and we are so grateful to have their help while in the hospital.  When we talked to the doctor yesterday he said the minimum amount of time before we could go home would be 3 days or so but that could vary greatly based on how the fluid drains and if there continues to be more. 

Like I said we are bummed to be back in the hospital but glad to know what the issue is and hopeful that Landon will be able to go home again soon!  This is a fairly common issue for post-Fontan kids so it's not too much of a surprise to anyone and we are grateful there is a set treatment plan in place.