First 48 Hours

Cully Charles Kuhl

10/27/13

10:55 AM

6 lbs. 12 oz.

18.5 inches

Cully was so excited to begin his journey that he came 16 days ahead of schedule at just over 37 weeks.  He weighed in at a healthy 6lbs, 12oz and was 18.5” long. He briefly met his mother before going to the NICU. 

He was monitored very closely over his first 48 hours in the NICU exceeding expectations throughout.  By Monday afternoon the doctors had removed his CPAT, allowing him to breath without assistance. He has continued to keep his oxygen saturation levels well above the 75% minimum, keeping them closer to 85-90% regularly.

On Tuesday, Cully received his first CT scan in the morning and was transferred to Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit (CVCC) at 1:30pm.  CVCC will be his home for the foreseeable future. The CVCC unit has many great features including a larger room, television and large monitor that displays all his vital statistics (Carl’s second favorite) and best of all we get to hold him!

CVCC is keeping him comfortable and closely monitoring him until Wednesday evening when they begin to prep him for his first surgery, the Norwood Procedure, Thursday morning at 8am.   We have discussed his care plan with a few of the doctors that will be treating him in the coming weeks since arriving at CVCC, all are very confident about his prognosis. 

Cully’s echocardiogram and CT scan have revealed an additional anomaly, his pulmonary veins took a different path than usual to his heart.  This anomaly is not causing any problems currently but could become an issue if the vessels restrict the flow of oxygenated blood into his heart.  The cardio team is currently discussing the options for treatment, including correction during the first or second surgery, less likely the pulmonary veins will not need to be corrected.  A final determination will not be made until surgery has begun and they are able to clearly assess the size of the pulmonary vessels and blood flow.

We are both very confident in our care team and very encouraged by Cully’s fighting spirit.

We apologize for the delay in updating the blog, but it has been a bit of a whirlwind with him coming early.  It is our intention to post updates on a regular basis.