March 17, 2010

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 9:22 AM, CDT

I just got back from seeing my Liam. I'm being cautiously optimistic right now. His oxygen saturation is good right now and the oxygen is back down around 30%. I've decided he's going to fit in our little family just fine as he is so stubborn...he may give Xander a run for his money! Even with sedation, he is still trying to out-breathe the ventilator - they don't want him doing this just yet until his oxygen sats are better. They did have to add the second blood pressure medication last night. His pressure in his heart has been too high which is causing his body not to oxygenate well, so they've been having to keep the blood pressure in the rest of his body higher than normal - and higher than the pressure in his heart - to help him oxygenate. All this medical stuff is so confusing to me...Anyway, he's on antibiotics for the pneumonia. They are saying the pneumonia is not the big issue right now - it's this lung/heart pressure issue - which, like I said before, isn't something they normally see in micropreemies...making it difficult to treat. In addition, they've had to switch him to a stronger phototherapy light b/c his bilirubin levels are a little higher today than before. They're also putting a PICC Line in today - please pray they're able to get that in his arm b/c if they can't it'll have to go in his head.

I did get to change his diaper and take his temperature for the first time around midnight this morning! If I go back around noon today, I can change his diaper again - I barely missed getting to do it at 8 AM. I felt like I was going to break him while changing his diaper...he's just so tiny. Oh, and they gave me one of his diapers to put in his memory box...and, yes, it's a clean one... :)

I want to say that Shane and I appreciate all the prayers from everyone. I know it' s a lot to ask, but please keep them coming. Our roller coaster ride has only just begun and I'm wondering if I have the strength to handle all this.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 9:37 PM, CDT

Today has been a very touch and go kinda day for Liam. One minute things are looking much better only to have things looking a little worse the next minute. At the beginning of the day, he was back down to 27% oxygen but that was increased to 33% which has since been increased to 40%. They've also had to increase his blood pressure medication and he had a plasma transfusion this afternoon to help stabilize his blood pressure. That makes 2 blood transfusions and 1 plasma transfusion so far. The good news is they were successful at getting the PICC line in his arm and his head ultrasound came back with no changes (a good thing). He also gained weight, but unfortunately, it's fluid...he's very puffy today.