Another set back...and a good science lesson

First I'm going to apologize (again) for the technical aspect of this post. I plan on printing it out for record keeping purposes so there's a lot in here that I know is boring to read.

On Sunday (3/25), Adam and I were able to spend most of the afternoon with our now 2 week old, Brody. He was still pretty tachypneic (meaning he was breathing very rapidly) but not as bad as the day before.  Dr. Greenbaum ordered more dialysis to try to take off more fluid from Brody's lungs. But this time he didn't order just 6 passes, or 10 passes...he ordered pass after pass after pass until they saw some improvement (but with a shorter dwell time and longer drain time).  Because Brody was losing so much fluid it was important to really monitor his heart rate and blood pressure closley to make sure they weren't taking off too much fluid.  His heart rate was elevated but that could have been partly because of the albuterol treatments.  Brody's electrolytes were still off a little bit so he received sodium phosphate through his IV line.  He seemed to be have a good response to the dialysis. We left the hospital in time to pick up Ryder, get some dinner, and spend a few hours with the little stinker.

That night after putting Ryder to bed, I got upset thinking about everything that Brody is having to deal with and everything that he will have to face in the future.  I thought about how he will have to take medication every single day of his life...how, even though this is manageable, this is not curable.  I thought about how he might not be able to play sports or wrestle with his brother. How a transplant only last a few years. Then, at the most perfect moment, a friend sent me a message:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 ... so many times we can feel so defeated and weary because we are tired and we aren't as strong as we want to be but that is why his arms are so mighty and his strength is all powerful...God knows that the strength that comes from wrestling with our fear will give us wings to fly. (Paula Rinehart) I know we aren't suppose to worry but that is our human nature it doens't mean we don't TRUST our Lord... remember he knows your heart and your thoughts and everything that is going on right now...so cry out to him and rest in knowing that he will see you all through this! 

Those words felt like a giant hug and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I wiped away my tears and finally went to sleep.

This morning (Monday 3/26), Adam called the NICU to check on Brody. His nurse, Jessica said he was stable and pretty much the same as yesterday. That was around 8:00am.  I dropped Ryder off at daycare and went back home to get ready to go up to the hospital. Jessica called me around 9:30am and said Brody looked like he was really struggling to breathe and his heart rate was still pretty high. She told me the doctor was on the way to look at him and a chest x-ray has been ordered and she'd call me back after the doctor got there. I quickly finished getting ready and swung by the shop to pick up Adam.  About 10 minutes before we got to the hospital, Jessica called me back and said they had to reintubate Brody. Yep, back on the ventilator.

When we walked into the NICU we saw little Brody with the breathing tube back in his throat and sedated...on a Fentanyl drip to keep him comfortable, and looking pretty pale.  He was still tachycardic (fast heart rate...yes, I love learning all these fun medical terms) but his respiratory rate was now normal. Jessica explained to us how it really looked like he was struggling to breathe and she was worried he would soon get too tired and just stop breathing. Dr. Kapasi showed us his chest x-rays and the fluid in his lungs was pretty evident (and directly related to kidney failure).  A blood gas was also done and showed that his blood was slightly acidic so they gave him sodium bicarbonate through his IV.  ...and Zantac was ordered because they're hopefully going to start feeding him tomorrow. Now that he's on the ventilator and off the high flow oxygen it's safer to give him milk. This will still be done through the TP tube (tube that goes into his duodenum).

Brody also had a blood transfusion today. (Brody is AB-the universal receipient, and received O blood-the universal donor). Because they are having to take so much blood from Brody (for lab work), his little body can't keep up...they're taking blood faster than he can make it (because he's premature). The EPO injections should also help but they wanted to go ahead and give him blood for a "boost".  He received 40cc's of blood over 3 hours.

Brody had 16 passes of dialysis today as well (back to the 40 min dwell, 15 min drain). His weight has dropped from 6.5 pounds on Saturday to 6.1 pounds today...mainly just fluid loss.

To top off our fantastic day, Adam's phone was stolen...in a children's hospital of all places. I just don't understand how someone can find a phone and not turn it in. We checked with security and even sent the phone text messages pleading for them to return it.  Even offered a reward! Not only did this suck because Adam lost all his contact numbers (including customer's numbers), but he had tons of pictures of Ryder and Brody...and that's just heart breaking. But if someone is that desperate that they have to steal someone else's phone then I guess all I can do is pray for them...it's just a material item and apparently they need it more than we do.  But we still notified Apple and gave them the serial number so it can be flagged as stolen. :)

Thank you again for all the prayers. I know God is working his magic on my baby. Seems like we have done a 180 from this time last week but I have faith that Brody will be ok. It may take some time but I know he'll be home with us soon and Ryder will finally, FINALLY, get to see his brother.