When I went in this morning, Eagan had the nurse that did our first NICU consultation while I was still pregnant with Eagan. She has never been Eagan's nurse before but I was very confident that she would do well with him. Unfortunately, I could tell by the look on her face that several things had changed since I was there last night. His nurse brought in the doctor to help explain everything.
At around six this morning Eagan had to be bagged after having multiple bradycardias and a long apnea. From there, he still had several episodes and the decision was made to take him off CPAP and put him on SiPAP. The SiPAP is now taking 20 breaths per minute for him. If the episodes get worse, he will have to go back on the ventilator, but for now he seems to be improving on the SiPAP.
His doctor had some concern that the breathing and heart rate issues could be caused by his PDA. An echocardiogram was ordered and the PDA has now closed!! I could not be more thrilled over this!
Eagan is also extremely swollen and being given a medication to get rid of the excess fluid causing the swelling. He definitely does not look like himself right now, but I just spoke with his night nurse and she does think it has gone down some.
His stomach is extremely distended from excess air being pushed in by the breathing machines. He previously had a vented orogastric tube in place to attempt to remove the air, but the amount of air was increasing rather than decreasing. Eagan's feedings also were discontinued because his stomach cannot have anything else added to it. A transpyloric tube was placed past the stomach into his small intestine to resume feedings with. It takes 10 hours for confirmation of placement on transpyloric tubes so I am still waiting on that. After confirmation of placement on the TP tube, a tube that is specially designed for suctioning will be placed into Eagan's stomach to attempt to get the air out. The stomach is so distended that it is pushing on his diaphragm making it difficult to breath, therefore, causing the breathing and heart-rate issues.
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| Hiding his little face, too much for one day! |
Here is a run-down of his current status:
Weight
2 lb 7 oz - Eagan is still battling heavy fluid retention.
Length
14" - Our first updated length!
Breathing
Eagan is now on SiPAP getting 20 breaths per minute for him.
Vitals
Eagan had multiple episodes last night but seems to be doing better today.
Eagan had multiple episodes last night but seems to be doing better today.
Vein Access
Eagan now has a PICC line in his arm. His arm has to be kept on an arm board now because he is bending it too tightly and it is cutting off the flow of his medications.
Medications
Lasix has been given to help Eagan get rid of some of the fluid he has retained.
Vancomycin is being given for a few more days.
Amphotericin will be given for about a week or so.
His thyroid blood test came back low. He is on Sythroid for low thyroid.
Caffeine has been added to his medications. Caffeine has multiple benefits for Eagan such as reducing his risk for cerebral palsy. The main purpose of the caffeine is to help Eagan to remember to breathe, preventing spells of apnea. He gets caffeine once a day.
He will be getting a glycerin suppository every 12 hours depending on how often he is having bowel movements. It seems odd to be so excited about dirty diapers, but he is peeing and pooping great which means his body is functioning well!
Nutrition
Eagan's feedings are discontinued until the transpyloric tube is in the proper place.
Eagan is still getting vitamins and lipids (a healthy fat).
Transfusions
May 3 - Transfusion #9 was given today because his hematocrit was low.
April 27 - Transfusion #8
April 23 - Transfusion #7
April 22 - Transfusion #6
April 20 - Transfusion #5
April 19 - Transfusion #3 and Transfusion #4 of plasma
April 18 - Transfusion #2
April 15 - Eagan got his first blood transfusion tonight. This will be the first of many transfusions Eagan will need. His hematocrit (the amount of red blood cells in the blood) has been low, which is just one of the many reasons he needs a transfusion. His blood is also drawn for tests quite often. Even a tiny amount of blood is a lot of blood coming from such a tiny baby. The transfusion will also help Eagan maintain proper oxygenation.
Thank you for all your love, support and prayers.
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