7/31//09 Afternoon Update

We went to see Rachel this afternoon and she was having a good day. It was a busy one for her, but they said she took it like a champ. She got her pick line today and they said that she did very well while they were putting it in.

When we were there to see her the doctor came in and said that they did her first echo, which is a picture of her heart to check for a murmer, which they did detect. It's called a PDA-Patant Ductus Arteriosus. It's a duct that is supposed to be open during the pregnancy and close when the baby is born. It is common in preemies and they are giving her Indomethacin. It is a medication that is supposed to close the duct. She will get the medication in 3 doses every 12 hours and then she will have another echo to see if that worked. If not she will be given another 3 doses.

She has lost about 12% of her weight so she is now about 1.7 pounds (640 grams). That is pretty normal, but the doctor still does not want her to really lose anymore. She is also back under the Bili-light, which is also quite normal.

I was able to check her temperature and change her diaper today so that was pretty exciting for me. I felt like I was doing something. The nurse send that I could possibly do that everytime I visit, I will just have to ask the nurse at the time. Which is something that I have to learn to do - ask. The staff is willing to let us be as involved as we want to be, but it's something that I have to work on.

We did get a call from one of the Doctor's at 7:20pm and while her blood gas test was good and her Sodium is down, her red blood cells are also down so she is now having her first transfusion. We were told that this could happen, but it is still a little hard to take in. She is doing well and is a fighter, but the word transfusion is scary to me. She will have her own unit of blood and won't be given much during the process. We are going to call in about an hour or so to see how the transfusion went. Here are some pictures of our most recent visit. And yes one of the pictures is Rob's Ring on her little foot......just to show how teeny she really is.

Pictures from 7-31 visit

Love,
Rob and Jenny