Not What We Expected

Chase was taken back for his bronchoscopy this morning around 11:15 AM. The procedure was supposed to last about an hour. We just met with the doctor a few moments ago and were told some devastating news. Apparently the procedure went perfect and Chase was breathing on his own the entire time. Praise God! We knew he might need to be intubated, but if he was breathing well on his own during the procedure, intubation probably would not be necessary.

Unfortunately after the procedure was complete, as they were rolling him out of the OR, his oxygen levels plummeted and they had to immediately return to the OR and begin chest compressions (CPR). They also had to intubate him in order to get him breathing again. They explained that they really don't know why he suddenly had the breathing problem, but they do know the portable oxygen tank in his bed was either missing, empty or not working properly. In other words, our son was perfectly fine until he was removed from the OR oxygen, placed back in his bed and they realized the issue with his portable tank. His blood pressure, heart rate and o2 sats plummeted, causing him to crash. As you can imagine, hubs and I are beside ourselves. This was supposed to be a quick and simple procedure, and it's turned into our worst nightmare. Right now they are in the process of stabilizing Chase in the PCICU, starting an arterial IV line and doing an echo to see what (if any) damage was caused to his heart, lungs, brain, etc. during the chest compressions. We are hoping and praying they don't find any new issues with our sweet boy. He's made such great progress following his open-heart surgery and it's killing me to know what impact this "minor" procedure had on him -- due to failing to verify his oxygen tank was working properly prior to his surgery.

Please take a moment to pray for our sweet Chase as the ramifications of this are evaluated. We know God is in control and is holding our son's life in His hands and we hope and pray He will heal him from this and that we'll return to the road towards complete recovery.