Well, yesterday was kind of a rough day for Charlie. It turns out the reason he was feeling grumpy was because his blood was not getting rid of CO2. One of the primary things that they check for with the preemies is that their blood is oxygenating properly and getting rid of CO2. They check this by taking blood and doing a "blood-gas" test. Since Charlie had been having consistently good results from these tests, the doctors decided that he needed the tests less frequently. The less blood they take from Charlie for tests, the better because he doesn't have much to spare. So, it was a good choice based on the facts at hand, but sadly, it ended up letting him go for a day with bad blood-gas numbers. The respirator technician came in and worked with the nurse to adjust Charlie's settings and a few hours later he was back to normal. It was a good lesson for Shannon and me to not ignore even subtle changes in Charlie's mood.
The good news from yesterday is that the echo cardiogram did show that the PDA, while not having fully closed, is getting smaller. So, even though it has not closed, the fact that it is smaller is great because it means less stress on the heart for the time being. The doctors ordered one more day of the ibuprofen and another echo cardiogram for this morning. So, we'll probably be deciding today about whether or not Charlie is going to need the heart surgery.
Just one picture for this post. They flipped Charlie over to sleep on his stomach, which stressed me out because they had never done this before, but he seems to be very comfortable that way, so that's good. So, here's the first picture of his back:
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4 comments:
What a little sweetie :0) We are glad to hear about the PDA. Let's hope one more day of Ibuprophen will do the trick!
xo
We were so excited to read that the ibuprofen has had the much desired effect of making the valve smaller!!! We will pray for it to complete the job in this next round. Love the tummy time picture too. Say hi to Charlie for us-Joshua, Jenny, and Levi
Shannon/Chuckie:
Our daughter Liz (McDougall)just told us this morning about Charlie's blog. First, wow - what a handsome little chap! Secondly, he and you have gone right to the top of our morning prayer list (and will stay there till Charlie is out of the NICU and at home). Am sure you two are about full up to here by now with too-quickly-acquired technical/medical information about preemies. So, I'll share something completely anecdotal and personal .. we've enjoyed our (formerly premature - cause that distinction fades from reality very quickly) grandson Henry since the day he arrived .. and it's just gotten better and better for us as new grandparents. Though i could go on and on - I won't bore you with more of that. Just showed Charlie's last picture on this blog to a gal that sits next to me at work -- and she said she has a neice that was 1 lb, 15 oz at birth - and has just done wonderfully in 'all aspects' of her life - and will graduate from high school in May ! Hang in there - you all will be just fine. You're already remarkable parents - and Charlie, well he's remarkable just to be here.
Mike/Kathy Freeman (Vancouver, WA)
He is absolutely precious!
I have been praying for peace and wisdom for you two and the medical staff. Charlie is in good hands.
-Sarah (Biederbeck) Martin
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