Not a good day . . .

We were moved up to the Heart Floor yesterday late afternoon, because Tyler actually peed a few times; and for the most part, his recovery thus far had been rather uneventful. Unfortunately, Tyler has made me a bit of a skeptic when it comes to doctors and nurses try to comforting me with odds… Because if it’s a complication that can happen during the recovery process, Tyler will want to play with it!

After yesterday, a day spent of gradually introducing his feedings again, this morning Tyler’s nurse noticed a cloudy substance draining thru his Blakes. It is being coined by his surgeon and attending CV surgery nurses as Chylothorax. This is a risk of open heart surgery, but whether or not it occurred during the actual surgery process or not is unknown. One guess could be that it is the result of trying to get a central line in and they must have pierced a lymphatic vessel. The second guess could be that during surgery, part of his nearby lymphatic pockets were ‘nicked’ causing fat from Tyler’s formula to drip/seep into his chest cavity.

Chylothorax is a condition that results from lymphatic fluid (Chyle) accumulating in the pleural cavity. Its cause is usually leakage from the thoracic duct or one of the main lymphatic vessels that drain to it. Simply what’s happening is this: Chyle, a form of fat found in your diet (in his formula), is draining from the Blake drains in his chest (which means it’s starting to surround his lungs) and it’s causing him to experience a diminished lung capacity, making it harder to breath and keep his oxygen saturation above 70.

From what we’ve been told and what information we’ve read so far, is that it could take anywhere from 1 week to 12 weeks to fully heal from this and that it can be hard to manage.

To correct Chylothorax, he has been placed on a formula called Portagen. The fats found in Portagen have already been broken down, making it next to impossible for the fat to continue seeping thru. It is unknown how soon or how long it will take Tyler to recover from this condition, but should recover nonetheless – eventually. Hopefully the vessel that is injured will repair itself quickly and we can resume his regular formula again.

I am unsure of the exact amount of liquid surrounding his lungs right now that’s just waiting to come out, but we’ll know if the Chylothorax is getting worse if his weight jumps significantly overnight and/or if his respirations continue to rise.

Please, please I beg of you all, to keep my baby boy in your prayers to make this condition go away. Personally, I’d much rather be back to just praying for pee. It’s been a very stressful day… God only knew this day was coming.