Infections are no fun

So I just wanted to post another update on here. The blog is kind of Emily's thing, and I think this might actually be my first official blog post. Heh.

So our saga continues with Andrew and Ethan. We have received so much support from our family and friends. My colleagues in the MBA program have bent over backwards to keep me on track, and to carry me in my group work, which has been a godsend so I can focus on my family.

Ethan is doing REALLY well. He continues to improve and strengthen. He doesn't really gain weight yet, but he's pretty much stopped losing weight. He has been exceeding our expectations on the ventilator -- he is now essentially breathing entirely on his own. All he needs is the CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) to keep his lungs inflated, a little puff of air every once in a while to remind him to breathe, and a little bit of supplemental oxygen (we breathe 21%, and he breathes anywhere from 21% to 33% depending on if he's being bothered or not).

Also, he is now eating some milk, which we're really excited about because he'll be getting those antibodies and good nutrition. They started him at 1 ml every 6 hours, but he has been tolerating it really well, so now its up to 2 ml every 3 hours. They're being careful with it to make sure it doesn't hurt his gastrointestinal system (getting NEC or Necrotizing Enterocolitis).

So, Ethan is really doing pretty much everything that we want him to. It has been such a relief to have so few problems with him!

Our Andrew seems to want to be the center of attention more than Ethan. He has been getting a little bit better on his ventilator, and recently was taken off the one that does all the breathing for him to one which only breathes for him when he doesn't breathe. Its about half and half right now. Our biggest worry about Andrew is that he has three different infections. Two are pretty common -- yeast and staph. The third is quite rare in premature infants -- aspergillus. Its a nasty fungus, and we're pretty worried about it. The good news is that even though it tends to spread very quickly, it hasn't spread to any of his internal organs -- even though he's had it for about 4 days or so. Another tough thing is that he once again has had some blood in his lungs, and they had to stop feeding him milk because his stomach wasn't doing well with it. We hope to start again tomorrow or Saturday. Once Andrew makes a little more progress on his ventilator, beats these infections, and starts eating well we'll be able to breathe a lot easier. For now its a wait and see situation -- the doctors are unable to give us any assurances other than there is still hope that everything will be ok.

I hope that I can post something this weekend that there isn't any blood in his lungs and that he has resumed his feedings. As long as the infections don't get worse, that will be a victory -- the treatment for the fungus lasts 3 - 6 weeks, so it will be a while before it disappears.

Thank you for your love and prayers. We need those prayers more than anything else!