04/12/2007

Okay, quick lunchtime update. I wanted to be able to clarify some things. Please forgive me for last night's update. I had a vicious headache and couldn't stand to look at the screen. Anyway, yes Emery's move to bay 2 is progress of sorts. He had been high up on the list to move from bay 1 to bay 2, but Dead-head Dagle wasn't in any hurry to do it because everyone knew Emery very well in bay 1. All of the nurses and docs knew his quirks and habits and there were 3 open beds so there really wasn't any hurry to get him out of critical care. Well, obviously that changed. The beds filled and last night they got a transport so Emery was moved. So yes, he's made progress.. a LOT of progress, but he's considered in critical but stable condition. He's still on a significant amount of life support. If I were to pick him up and walk out the door with him, he might make it to the parking lot before he coded. He's got a long way to go. The good thing about bay 2 is they are used to babies like Emery in that they can work developmentally very well with sick babies. Emery's rate went down to 26 today and his O2 needs went up a bit, but they are going to try and wean him and see how he does with it. I haven't been able to go and meet the new docs or nurses yet. She asked me last night if there was anything I wanted them to know over there, and I'm thinking "well, how can I cram 4 months into this phone call," but his night was okay. He's still doing okay. He has 'back-slid' a little in that his respirations are a little higher than usual but he has to learn how to do the work of breathing more. On Tuesday night he was inconsolable, and I felt so bad because all I wanted to do was throw drugs at him and leave and then come back when he felt better. It's hard being the mom of a sick baby. He is still getting frequent sedation and morphine for pain for his poor nose. We are still not sure if he will rebound from the steroids. He had one rebound 7 days post steroids, and today marks 7 days post steroids, but one of the RTs felt it was possible that Emery could have the rebound later since he has been doing more work himself. I guess if he can make it about 10 days post steroids then we'll have an idea of what he's going to do. Yesterday Emery had another brain scan to check for periventricular leukomalacia (it's something wrong with the brain that can lead to cerebral palsy and is most common in preemies with lung problems) but his was 'unremarkable.' His brain looks good. A friend asked me last night what Emery's next big goal is. I have a hard time with that because I don't really know. It took 4 months to get Emery to a place that takes most babies a few weeks to get to. I guess for one he needs to stay free from infection. The next would be that grows new lung tissue and gets off of SIMV and to CPAP and that he continues to grow well. The next time we start screaming with joy like we did with him getting off the vent would be getting him to nasal cannula, which could very likely take as long, if not longer, as it did to get off the vent. We will likely be in bay 2 longer than we were in bay 1.... just for some perspective, BUT, by the time he gets to nasal O2 he will likely be transferred back to Genesis... Have a great day! Sarah