Too Much Too Soon

That's what I think, anyway. Dakin has, for the last few weeks, had to be on oxygen during the night. This is extremely unusual for him, as his oxygen levels are usually 99-100% all night, every night. I have been getting worried about this, as it can be an indication of some rather unpleasant things--namely, Dakin being sick.

Well, he's not sick. There are no signs or symptoms of illness. He's perfectly normal during the day, and then when he falls asleep, his sats take a nose dive.

So what's going on? That's what we're trying to figure out. I have a few theories:

• The trach: Dakin may need a bigger one. When he falls asleep he just relaxes so much that his leak is too much to keep his sats up.
• The usual suspect: the weather. We are transitioning into summer, and it's been dry as a bone around here.
• The one I don't want to consider: He's getting weaker. This, though, seems unlikely, as he needs no extra help while he's awake, and he's not even on O2 all night long.
• The more likely: We have been nothing but go go go the last few weeks since we got our van, and he's tired. I think this is a possibility, since for the last two years, we haven't really gone anywhere, due to lack of car and difficulty in moving Dakin. With the van, it's easy peasy to move him, and we have been taking advantage of it. As much as Dakin acts like there's nothing different about him, he does have some physical limitations. I think going out so much is too much for him--as I said, too much too soon. Too much sensory overload for a child who has spent his entire life in our living room--though obviously not for lack of wanting to expose him to the whole world, just by virtue of the fact it has been too dangerous/difficult to have him out.

So Nurse Jane and I decided to scale back the going out and we'll see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed.