Skip to main content

Garrett- medical expert

Because of the amount of time he spends in the hospital, Garrett knows things most 8 year olds don't.

He knows nursing mnemonic devices like "white on the right, smoke (black) over fire (red)" will lead to correct EKG lead placement. He knows what type of iron infusion to request so it won't feel like it's burning going through his IV. He knows the different buttons to push on an infusion pump if the line is occluded or if the syringe is empty and tells nurses when he thinks it's time for them to "flush his line and not just do a reset." 

Lately, he's also been a lot more hands on. He removed his own feeding tube, has done a lot of the work to take care of his own ostomy, "helps" the nurses change his lines, and tonight even got involved to the extent it was safe in removing his PICC line! The PICC removal was a big step forward toward discharge. 

While we wish Garrett's natural curiosity and intelligence were being exercised in ways other than gaining hands-on medical skills and vocabulary while still in elementary school, we are really proud of the nuanced questions he asks doctors and nurses and how he has risen to the challenges he faces. 

And maybe all this knowledge will be put to use one day for a future career! 



Helping his nurse with his lines. 



Explaining to Gibson (and me!) via FaceTime where a PICC line goes in his body. 


Removing his own dressing in preparation for PICC removal.
He brought his own adhesive remover to CHOP so tape doesn't get pulled off his skin and hurt! 

 

Comments

  1. I generally check this kind of article and I found your article which is related to my interest abouthealth care pricing Miami. Genuinely it is good and instructive information. Thankful to you for sharing an article like this.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ultrasound and ice cream

Yesterday, Garrett’s right arm and hand began to swell below his central line and there is a significant difference in size between the right and left side. I asked for an ultrasound.  The ultrasound was very painful for Garrett. The sores on his body hurt to touch and he has quite a lot of large ones where the ultrasound probe had to be pressed. He screamed through most of the ultrasound prolonging the process.  Garrett does have a small clot, but it is not fully occluded. Typically, an anticoagulant would be started, but in a post-op IBD patient, the protocol is not as straightforward. Hematology and surgery are meeting this morning to determine next steps.  They want to save the central line in order to provide nutrition for Garrett, but need to determine the best course of action.  In the interim, he is on pain medicine for his arm (in addition to his abdomen and skin) as the swelling in his hand has now become significant and very painful. He can’t close his hand without crying. 

Garrett has left the building

After 17 days at CHOP, Garrett came home tonight. It was a very long stay with a lot of ups and downs, but he’s back with Mommy, Daddy and Gibson. Happy to be in his own bed again, Garrett quickly fell asleep tonight. More to come...

Garrett's Home!

Garrett is back home! Though tired, he wanted to try and catch the tail end of the school day at HFS. We thought it better that he just come home; he's already had some pizza and is relaxing in bed playing Roblox by himself. Gibson is not home from school yet, and all Garrett wants to do is play with his brother! Jill and I are happy that our house will be full again tonight. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support this week!