Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Liam is asleep and the rhythm of his ventilator is almost hypnotic. I'm here at the hospital as part of my 12 hour overnight shift. 12 hours of taking care of Liam without any assistance from the staff nurses here in the ICU at Hasbro Children's Hospital. A formality for his mom and I since we have no problem taking care of Liam but one that must be completed so that he can finally come home again next week. We have been here far too long. 3 and a 1/2 months is a long time in hospital days.

I'm way too tired to do some sort of history for you. Liam's story is a long one and I don't have the energy or the patience to get into it tonight but I really want to get this blog started. I'll eventually transfer many of the pieces I wrote just after his birth into this space from his hospital carepage. I'm sure that I will eventually put them all together into some sort of page for easy reference but for know I just need to get writing again.

As for the name of the blog; its a mode on most ventilators that assists people who's breathing is not strong enough to keep their lungs fully expanded. Liam has been on pressure support in the past but is mostly assisted by the volume support setting which gives him a constant volume of air to better oxygenate. The title also refers to the support that my wife and family and I all rely on through this most difficult pressure. Taking care of a baby with special needs and disabilities can be very trying and to do it without support would be nearly impossible. My wife is my pressure support, and I am hers.