Day 19 summary
Emma’s blood pressure remained distressingly low until mid-day, but eventually came back to normal limits after she was given several medications. There was some concern about her renal/kidney functioning for a while too, although that seems to be resolved now. The results of the echocardiogram were also normal, indicating good flow through her heart valves/vessels/chambers.
Overall, todays post-surgical developments were not unexpected in a preemie of Emma’s size although they mean that she will likely be staying at the Children’s hospital for a while longer until she is more stable (before going back to the NICU at the General).
Prior to surgery, the alarms from the machines monitoring Emma’s breathing and oxygen saturation rate were going off very often, indicating she was having frequent apnea spells (in which she stopped breathing on her own). As I mentioned last night, they hadn’t been ringing since she returned from her operation. While I had taken this to be a positive sign, her nurse conceded that they simply had not reattached the same leads to the monitors. I was disappointed upon hearing this, but Emma’s nurse reassured me that she is breathing much easier now and they will likely be reducing her ventilation requirements over the next few days.
On another positive note, Emma has gained a fair bit of weight… She’s up from 1 pound 8 ounces at birth to 1 pound 13.5 ounces today. Yay!
August 25th, 2005 at 8:55 am
Go Emma Go.
By the time of this report, do your Parents ever sleep?
We are here every step of the way for All of you.
Lots of Love coming your way.
Oma & Opa
August 25th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
Try to get some sleep. Stay rested as much as you can to keep up your strength. It will be a long haul so don’t forget to take care of yourselves. It sounds like Emma is holding her own. Prayers and positive thoughts are ongoing…
August 25th, 2005 at 12:20 pm
I’m so glad to hear about the weight gain. Like Lisa said take care of yourselves…we keep praying fo you all.
Super BIG hugs
Sharon
August 25th, 2005 at 12:50 pm
Get lots of rest Eric and Laurie. You need to stay well and not get run down….Lots of hugs,kisses and love……
Oma and Opa
August 25th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
Like her parents, Emma is definitely a fighter and she keeps on going. To remain strong however, you must make sure to take care of yourselves and rest as much as you can. Great news about the weight gain! Thinking of you continuously….
August 25th, 2005 at 2:40 pm
The weight gain is tremendous news! Emma is such a little trooper, fighting her way thru all of these challenges, as are you all as a family. Stay strong for one another, it will really help. Every time I check the update, I always find myself saying “Way to go Emma! Go Emma go!” and then we always say a special prayer for her. xoxo
August 25th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
The weight gain is certainly a positive sign, keep hanging in there Emma, with love Thelma