Kind of a tough day...

Well friends, Kale had a bit of a rough day today. When I got to the hospital this morning the nurse said his blood gases were not good for his morning read, and his white cell and H&H levels were low. They also said his oxygen was pretty high, about 55%. So, they wanted to do a few tests to see if his body was developing some sort of infection. Turns out after the tests came back it looks like he is starting to develop some sort of infection, they aren't quite sure yet what it is. They did a spinal tap to draw fluids to test for infection, so we will get those back in the next few days. They started him on rounds of antibiotics to help fight off infection, so hopefully those kick in and he is able to fight this off!! The Dr. said it could be anything from a blood infection to pneumonia, there is just no way to tell right now. Kale also had to be on some morphine through the night to calm him down as his numbers were fluctuating and he was getting a bit worked up.

The Dr. gave him a sodium bicarbonate drip to try and help neutralize his blood gases, and his 1pm read looked much improved, so we are relieved to hear that! He has D-Sat'd a few times today, with his oxygen levels going down into the 50's. It's incredibly nerve racking when this happens, and I'm certainly not pleased that it is happening more often the past few days. They also said his blood sugar levels were pretty high this morning, although they are not going to start him on any insulin for now.

Kale had a blood transfusion this morning and is having a platelet transfusion right now. We're hoping that this blood will give him a much needed energy boost. His weight today increased 10 grams, which still leaves him at 1 lb. 9 oz.

Through all of those tough things, we did get some good news from the cardiologist today. The cardiologist did an ultrasound on his heart today and said he is pretty confident that his PDA has closed. PDA=patent ductis arteriosus for those of you who had no idea (like Derc and I before all of this). In babies their PDA is a vessel in the heart that is open in utero and should be closed by the time they deliver. So, the fact that they are pretty sure Kale's has closed is great, and they said at this point there would be a very low chance that it would reopen.

Kale's Bilirubin (Jaundice numbers) have gone down far enough that he doesn't have to be under the photo therapy light....that means no more Oakley's for now. The Drs. said not to be surprised if he goes back under the light if his numbers require it.

The Dr. will be in a bit later to insert the ART line I talked about yesterday, then hopefully after that we'll be able to leave him alone and get some rest, if he'll let us. I did get a chance to talk with a mom in the NICU who had twin girls born at 24 weeks. They were born 4/1, so have been in there about 45 days. The mom shared some stories that her girls went through, all very similar to Kale, so it was great to hear from someone who had been through it. Her girls are doing good and one was born at 1 lb. 4 oz. and is up to roughly 2 and a half pounds! She let me know what to expect from the vent changes, spinal taps (her girls have had 3 spinal taps total), blood gas readings, etc.

We ask that you include in your prayers for Kale that his labs for infection come back clear and hopefully his day today is just a bump in the road. It has been a trying day for Derc and I, along with family waiting for hourly updates. They keep telling us that this is a roller coaster, and we should expect days like this. Just in case you're wondering, this is the worst roller coaster ever...we wish we weren't tall enough to ride :)