Hope had a fairly eventful day today. She seemed to have some difficulty remembering to breathe, which led to her heart rate falling multiple times, and got her way more attention form the nurses and respiratory therapists than is healthy. After the third episode, they consulted with the resident on staff and decided to put her back on the Vapotherm. This is a bit of a setback for Hope, as she has been off of the Vapotherm for a few days, but hopefully it will be temporary.
One of the causes for these episodes seems to be the preemie infant variety of asthma - the doctors think her lung tissue might have started contracting and spasming. They have inhaler medication to treat this, and she has been having this 3 - 4 times a day for a while now, but they have decided to up it to to 8 times a day.
Because of her episodes today, the doctors also checked her blood to make sure that she didn't have an infection (again). The blood test results indicated that she was not sick, but they did show that her blood levels were low so she is receiving a blood transfusion tonight. Hopefully the additional red blood cells will help Hope with her respiratory issues as well.
Hope weighed in today at 1930 grams - up 30 grams from yesterday. This is really good growth for her, and means she will hit 2000 grams in a few days if she keeps up at this rate. This is the milestone the doctors have set for her reconnection surgery, and the sooner she is ready for this the better. The doctors will leave Hope on her powerful antibiotics and will not feed her breastmilk until her surgery is complete.
No comments:
Post a Comment