Another Day

Well, another day has gone by. Eli actually had a pretty good night and has been stable most of the day with paO2 in the 50s and 60s. They've gone down from checking his blood every two hours to every four hours. Hopefully this will lower the number of blood transfusions he has to get. I'm not sure exactly how many he has gotten but it seems like about one a day on average plus plasma transfusions on several occasions. After seeing all of Eli's transfusions I have a renewed commitment to donate blood. He has actually been peeing a lot too with the help of Lasix (a drug that makes you pee). His swelling was down a bit today and you could almost picture how he looked at birth. He still has at least 3 pounds of swelling or "third spacing" as the doctors and nurses call it. They moved him on his side for a while because they were afraid he would develop a pressure ulcer where his chest drainage tube was digging into his side. They also have to suction his mouth and clear out the phlegm in his trachea several times a day since he is paralyzed (due to drugs) and cannot swallow at all. I talked to a doctor for a while and have a little clearer idea of why Eli's pulmonary vascular hypoplasia is so rare. Basically it is a condition that never (except in Eli's case) occurs outside of a more global pulmonary hypoplasia that affects all of the lungs. Normally children with moderate to severe pulmonary hypoplasia (underdeveloped lungs) don't survive because they are unable to oxygenate their blood at all. Eli's alveoli function good enough and his lungs are normal size - what is abnormal is the size of the distal portions of his pulmonary arteries. Because such a condition has never occurred outside of more comprehensive underdevelopment, no one knows the prognosis. I believe that with the help of everyone's prayers Eli will be able to adapt and recover. We asked the nurses about when Noah will be able to come home. They said that he will probably be in a while longer until he is able to finish all of his feedings on his own and put on weight. Like any good brother, Noah just wants to be there for Eli. With the support of many caring individuals in my academic department I have chosen to wait until January to start classes. I don't know how I would've been able to survive in an intense academic environment with two children in the NICU - especially when one is critically ill. I can't thank them all enough for going out of their way to be supportive of our family - especially my adviser who has been incredibly charitable and thoughtful in his efforts to ease my other burdens. I'm touched by the sheer number of those who have visited our blog and have expressed their love for Eli and Noah and our family as well as remembering them in their prayers. Just know that you have helped to ease some of our burden and that through your prayers Eli has not only survived some very low days, but has become somewhat stable this last day and a half.