Update

Home now with Callum, I wanted to take this photo, lighting a candle for Reuben. If you're a Mac user, in Photobooth (comic) it would be a lovely gift for Reuben to share candles and give the comfort that similarly came from the little pink ribbons. It was originally the quickest way I could think of recording today, but it has become my symbol of hope for him. Now Callum and I need to sleep...

Well, it really has been a very rough night. I was suctioning about every 10 mins all day yesterday until the Adivin calmed him a little, but there's a balance there because he needs to get the infection up and out and too much sedation will prevent that.

He's being treated with steroids (Pulmicort) for inflammation and albuterol for the constriction to his lungs. One of the residents sketched what looked like an upside down tree with branches descending. The meds will start to work on the lower part of this upside down tree and work their way up the branches (bronchi) so it will take a few days. We're not sure if this is an isolated, first, asthmatic episode or whether he has become asthmatic.  

I'm all too aware that at some point in the future, he'll need a second open heart bypass surgery to remove what's termed a subaortic membrane. When he was 3 months old after 2 months in intensive care, he had his 1st open heart to repair 5 defects and what was then a huge scar on his body and on our hearts, has faded amazingly with time. Yet at times like this in moments of shear panic, the sad realisation of this impending surgery which looms on the horizon comes to the fore again. His heart checked through an echo and EKG, it does not appear to be the cause of his terrible retractions and respiratory failure at present, that's a blessing.

Certainly, he's continuing to retract and his breathing is very laboured.

Kristi...they were "just trying to vent him" and I'm not sure of more than that as it was early days when things were pretty hairy. Maybe they tried different approaches.

Nursie Kristina came to visit ladden with treats and trashy magazines which was great as he haven't seen her for such a long time.

The Signing Times are going round and round...