Oxygen Home Study

Yesterday, a respiratory therapist from Children's Home Care Services came over to bring us an oximeter monitor and to show me how to use it. She spent about an hour explaining to me what this test was all about and why we were doing it. Then she spent the rest of the time training me on how to use the machine. When Ethan fell asleep, I was to put the probe on his toe or foot (the probe that usually goes on his toe and emits a red light in the hospital). This oximeter machine would measure Ethan's oxygen saturation level as he slept. I put the probe on him as soon as I got home from soccer, around 11:30pm. I have to change the site every 4 hours since he could get a blister if the probe is left on too long. I'm not sure how it would give him a blister though. He actually slept pretty well last night. I was a little worried because she said the machine would alarm if he moved around too much because the movement might effect the machines readings, but it never did. The machine was only set to alarm if his sat level dropped below 90. The heart rating alarm was turned off. He woke up around 4:00 am and I changed the site at that time and he slept until about 8:00 am. At that time, the machine went off and I looked at it only to realize it wasn't reading anything. I looked over at Ethan and he was holding the probe in his hand. He had pulled it off as soon as he woke up.

If this test turns out well, then we will be able to take Ethan off of oxygen at night and it could be a possible indication of how well his next sleep study would go, although the oximeter machine doesn't test his CO2 levels, which is one thing that indicates sleep apnea and the fact that he stopped breathing.


-Dina