Mom describes this past week as a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. She says she got that from some book. I AM OKAY, but it was a little rough for everyone involved. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I sure do have a lot to be thankful for! So here goes nothing:
Monday: I had had a pretty good week the week before. I was doing well in my big boy bed, regulating my temperature, gaining weight, and it seemed as though my breathing episodes were getting better. Vapotherm was down to 1.5 liters, I was moved to my own little room/area (hasta luego mi amigo!), and I thought for sure I was heading in the right direction.
Tuesday: The clock hit midnight and I was a very bad boy. I kept having back to back apnea and bradycardia episodes and I really couldn't help it. The episodes were all bad enough to where I would not start breathing again until the nurses gave me manual breaths with that 'ol bag thing. Mom got a call at 1:30 am, she nearly had a heart attack, and I later got a spanking. The doctor was concerned with my episodes so they checked my Hematocrit, my red blood cell count, and found that it was at 22 when they like it to be 30. Basically, I was working with 2/3 of a normal blood supply which was making it hard for me to oxygenate and
start breathing again. They bumped me back up to 3L on the Vapotherm and gave me another blood transfusion early that morning. Mom and Dad came for a visit first thing in the morning and stayed for a good while. Mom left the hospital and got a call from the doctor telling her that I had a few really bad episodes once she left. The doctor suspected I was sick so they did a blood culture to check for infection, immediately started me on some antibiotics, stopped my milk (grrr), started me on fluids, and turned the Vapotherm up to 6L...I seriously thought I was going to blow away. Just FYI - they watch the blood culture over the course of 5 days. If bacteria begins to grow, they send it off to determine what the organism is and then adjust the meds accordingly. Mom and Dad came back that evening and while they were there, the iv in my arm infiltrated (came out of my vein and was pumpinlugluids into my hand and arm). Dad is the one who noticed that the tape looked really tight, he is my hero. I literally looked like Popeye, muscles and all. They immediately took the iv out and treated the burns/blisters on the top of my hand. Then, the nurses had to put my iv back in. That turned into about a 2-3 hour long process which consisted of them sticking me 8 times and it ended with the iv in a vein in my forehead. I did not cry once so Dad nicknamed me "Tough".
Finally, I was resting comfortably.
Wednesday: The blood culture came back negative at 12 hours, yay! Mom came to visit during the day and right as she got home, the doctor called and informed her that the blood culture started growing something at the 24 hour mark, and they were going to have to do a spinal tap to make sure that I did not have meningitis. They also did another blood culture in case there was a contaminant in the first. Pretty scary for my parents. That night I wasn't regulating my temperature very well so they put me in a warmer. I highly recommend one to all of you cold blooded people out there!
Thursday: Happy Turkey Day!! Can't a baby get some turkey around here??? I thought Mom would have at least smuggled me in some dessert or something...gees. Good news - all tests were negative at this point.
Friday: Happy Gameday! Geaux Tigers!!! I was doing well, I was out of the warmer and back in my crib, and they started partial feeds (ab half of the amount of milk I was getting before...such a tease!). The organism came back from the first blood culture and it was a type of strep, the kind that is found on the skin. Sooo, Doc said it was possible that it was a contaminant but since I WAS symptomatic, they were going to switch my antibiotics to
penicillin. My iv started leaking that night so they took it out and re-started it in my forehead. Too much cheering during the game, I guess!
Saturday and Sunday: The iv is now in my left hand, the burns on my right hand are healing, I am back on full feeds (45 mL every 3 hours, watch out!), I have only had a max of 1 or 2 episodes in a 24 hour period for the past few days, and the spinal tap and other blood culture results are negative...whew!!! I am still on the penicillin for a few more days; better safe than sorry. All in all, I am doing really well considering the week I just had. Did I mention that I am weighing in at 5 pounds 7 ounces?!?!?! Not too shabby if you ask me =).
Sorry I was so long winded, but in between the blood tests, attempting to rest, and the nurses messing with me constantly, I couldn't really find the time to blog. But I am here now and going strong! Hopefully we will not have any more weeks like this one, although I know that my journey here in the NICU will have its' ups and, unfortunately, its' downs. Things could always be worse, and my family and I are so thankful that I have made it this far! We are also thankful for all of you and your support! Love ya!
Beau
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