Day 40

So, as you may have read earlier Kale's grade II brain bleed has resolved and we are SO happy about this! We're told that the fact that it has resolved reduces the risk of some developmental issues for him since it reduces the pressure on his brain. There's always a chance that the bleed could come back but we are not thinking along those lines.

Kale had a better day with his lungs and his lung x-rays looked a little better today. He is still on the Drager vent and his blood gases came back better overnight, so they reduced his Respiratory Rate to 55 breaths per minute. His gases were very steady throughout the day today, and while they were a bit on the high side the Dr. is still ok with keeping him at that rate. His lungs are probably getting used to actually having to inflate and deflate 55/min and it's a big change for his body from the 900 breaths/min he was getting for the first 36 days of life. His diaphragm is having to work now, and it didn't before since his lungs just stayed open. But, so far he's hanging in there on this vent and we're saying prayers that he can stay on it and we can continue to hold him every day!

He had a blood transfusion today for the first time in about a week and a half. His numbers were a little on the low side, so they decided to give him a little boost and get some more blood and they will draw another lab tomorrow to see if his numbers look improved. He is getting some meds now to help his sodium and potassium levels since he is getting pretty dried out on this diuretic. Kale's weight is up to 2 lbs. 8 oz. again, so he's moving in the right direction!

We're happy with how the day went today, and we're so proud of our little guy! Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers, we know that we had a lot of people praying for great results with the brain scan today and we're so thankful that they are working and God is watching over our little one. We're lucky to have so much support!