Tina and I just arrived home from the hospital (2am EST). Ella is doing ok tonight. She looked a bit more puffy in the face then yesterday. Her stats are in the acceptable range (cO2=66, pO2=63), but not great. These were taken right after she was fussing though, so maybe they’ll be better at her 4am gas this morning.

Dr. Kays did reduce the settings on the ventilator which could have also contributed to the so-so numbers. Her FiO2 is at 40% and her assisted breaths per min is 35.

Her chest tubes have stopped draining all together. I would take this as good news if her head wasn’t so swollen. We’ll see what tomorrow brings though.

This has been a tough week emotionally. Thank God Tina and I have each other to lean on. There are times when one of us is able to be strong for the other. God bless my wife for being the stronger one this week.

Your prayers connect the truth we know about Him in our minds, to our hearts.

Psalm 119:28
28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

Praise God – Ella is doing better!
 
When we visited her last night, the first sight of relief was a “Fab Four” nurse – Nurse Michelle. Big breath! Then as we approached the bedside, Ella was awake. It was so nice to see those big eyes again! Also, even though it was very late, Dr. Kays was also in the NICU. He was on call for surgery, so he stopped by to touch base.
 
The vent was weened earlier that night to 45% oxygen and 45 breaths per minute. He did mention that he was a bit concerned that the left chest tube was not draining as much as he wanted to see. The chest fluid output numbers were low and the chest x-ray was the proof that there was still too much fluid on the left side.
 
When the chest x-ray is completed this morning, he will be looking for significant improvement on the left side. If it is not present, we may want to send her down for a CAT scan so he can get a better idea of how the fluid is sitting in the chest.
 
From there, Ella had a stable night and has been doing well this morning for nurse Sally. Her latest blood gas was cO2=64, pO2=141, which is good. Her total chest fluid output for yesterday was 183 (R=133, L=50).
 
Although we have not talked to Dr. Kays, we are making an assumption that he was happy with her chest x-ray this morning. How do we know? He went ahead and made several other changes!
 
First, he weened her vent setting to 40% oxygen and 40 breaths per minute. Keep strong baby girl…
 
Starting this afternoon, he is going to try feeding her again! Last time, we used a bit of my breast milk, but her fluid output increased way too much. This time, he wants to try and use a low enzyme formula called Portagen. It will be the same amount as before, just 1cc every 3 hours. It is pre-digestive and easy on her stomach, but should help prime her intestines for the work they will need to do moving forward.
 
Also, Ella has had good urine output now for a consistent period of time, even through her downturn the past few days. So, Dr. Kays ordered for her catheter to be removed! Ella has never had the privilege to just pee in a diaper directly!
 
Please pray for her formula to be digested well and to have no impact on her chest fluid output. Also, that her chest fluid output would begin to slow down and dry out in her chest. Go Ella! No fluid! Finally, for her to gain strength and be re-charged. She has been fighting hard the past few days.