Saturday, May 2, 2009

Another Try

First, no picture today, because I seem to have misplaced my camera. I had it at my nephew's birthday party, and can't lay my hands on it right now. It's either at my sister's house, or hiding in the disaster that is my car. Sorry! Will post today's picture tomorrow, if I find the camera.

We had a big surprise when we went to see Andrea today. She was off CPAP again, and back on nasal cannula. We really thought the doctors would give her a few days on the +5 CPAP and see how she did, but last night they decided to give it a shot. We have to admit, she looks more comfortable with the cannula, and seems to have an easier time resting. Her blood gases were good today, but we have to see what happens over the next few days. Last time, she lasted about 48 hours.

Andrea's weight is up to 1340 grams (2 pounds, 15.3 ounces). She's 10 grams away from tripling her birth weight, and 21 grams away from 3 pounds. She's had no changes in her feedings, although today she yanked out her feeding tube, so was delayed in getting her 9 a.m. meal. Of course, then she was crying because she was hungry, and didn't get fed on time.

One of my good friends, and the first blood match we had for Andrea, donated another pint of blood today. We used the one she previously donated, and are now drawing on a pint donated through Ken's job. Now, we have this one "in the bank", which should take Andrea through discharge. Her marrow is catching up to her, and the doctors have to draw considerably less blood, so she needs fewer transfusions. We are so thankful to have the blood in reserve. We may not need it, but it's a relief to know it's there.

I met a new NICU dad today, whose daughter was born on Wednesday. Parents in the NICU waiting room swap stories of how each wound up on this surreal journey with our babies. I get some kind of perverse pleasure in seeing how people react to Andrea's story. No one can believe her beginnings, and reactions range from sad to horrified to intrigued to amazed. Of course, now the reality of Andrea is so far from her beginnings, she's not even the same baby. I try to use our experience to provide encouragement to these new families. I know not everyone will have the experience we had, and some of them will have great sadness. Still, I believe that hearing about Andrea, and how well she's doing, can only make people have more confidence in the chances for success for their own babies.

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
Jimmy Dean

1 comment:

  1. When you write your inspirational book, you'll be able to share your extremely amazing and positive energy with so many who ended up on a similar journey.
    Andrea is truly a miracle baby on a road to an amazing life!

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