Blood Transfusion #4 - 4 weeks old

It is hard to believe, but today marks Reid's 4th week in this world. It has been a rough time for him, but he remains strong and is fighting his uphill battle. It has to get better from here on out... I didn't make a post yesterday, so let me see if I can fill in the details:

Reid had his 4th blood transfusion yesterday. His counts were a little low so the doctors made the order. This is the week (30 weeks gestational age) where his bone marrow is supposed to take over his own blood production, but they felt that Reid needed to be "topped off" with blood. Their main goal, in addition to the intubation, is for him to feel rested and regain his strength that he has lost over the past few weeks of having to work hard at his breathing. Having full strength should also help with his independence from the ventilator in days/weeks to come.

We also got a call yesterday from the NICU about 4:30 with news about his patent ductus arteriosis still (PDA) not being closed. "Patent" means "Open". If you read back through my blog, you will probably find an entry that talks about how he is given medicide to help close this artery. For those that don't remember, I found this blurb on the web that can help you understand what is going on:

"Once a baby is born, his first breath initiates changes in the function of the heart. Suddenly filling with air, the lungs expand, the blood vessels within the lungs relax or dilate, and blood flow increases, allowing for gas exchange. Blood flow to the umbilical cord and placenta drops to nothing. The ductus arteriosus begins to close rapidly. Under normal circumstances, the ductus arteriosus is completely sealed and replaced with scar tissue in a few weeks, never to open again. At this point, the baby’s heart is functioning and circulating blood in much the same way as an adult’s heart".

For Reid, this artery has not 100% closed (which is not too uncommon for premature babies). For some, this artery will close and reopen several times. Nonetheless, Reid is undergoing a second round of medicine (I believe it is called Indomethacin) and we are hopeful that this round will "seal the deal". He has another echocardiogram tomorrow to see if this medicine works. Cross all of your fingers and toes as one of the alternatives to the medicine not working is surgery.

Last night, his oxygen levels were in the upper 30's - which is a drastic change from the 80's the day before when he was on CPAP. His carbon dioxide levels had gone down slightly yesterday and are now hovering around 80 today. Ideally, it should be around 50 to 55, so they are a little concerned as to why this level isn't going down. Increasing the number of breaths he takes can help fight this (last night, he went from 50 to 60 breaths per minute).

Kristen is out getting her haircut and colored this morning, so it has been a quiet morning around the house. Was a chilly night in Atlanta last night, so the house is a bit cool today (you won't hear me complain). I am a little excited that fall weather is here -- it always seems to be a "breath of fresh air" for me. On the work front, I have a project team that is pursuing me to join next week. I would be a project lead of about 7 guys (split between Atlanta and Chennai, India) and working on a member portal for WellPoint (health benefits company). Had a chat with Human Resources this morning as I feel this may be a little too early to start another project considering that today is supposed to be my last day on the current AT&T project I have been leading for the past 15 months. I had planned on taking 3-4 weeks vacation starting today, and this project wants to get in the way of that. However, HR told me that I need to take care of my family first and that another project will come along when I am ready to come back to work (I have about 9 weeks of vacation built up for this year that I need to use). Nonetheless, I am going to approach this new project with the possibility of a later start date... so I will update you guys on this when I have more news.

Anyway, back to work. We will be heading to the hospital later today to check on Mr. Reid. Today has to be a better day than yesterday (that is what we are telling ourselves anyway). I will leave you with one last photo for the day - a picture that finds me laughing every time I look at it - Pampers needs to invent a diaper that is a bit larger than the "preemie" size and smaller than the "newborn" size. Reid has been swallowed by a diaper!