Andrew had another great day today!!! A big day, too. He got his sunglasses and bili lights off and one of his IVs out. They also made a little plaster imprint of his foot. I didn't get to see it yet because it has to dry overnight, but it will be a neat keepsake for him. He got all the way down to 26% oxygen on his oscillating ventilator, so they decided to try the big boy ventilator and he's doing so well on it! He started at 35% but he was at about 30% when we left and they are just going to continue working on weaning it down. They also said since he doesn't appear to be in pain, they are going to change his pain meds to an as-needed basis instead of every 4 hours. Because of that he seemed so much more alert today. I saw some tiny movements in his left fingers (the side that hasn't really moved yet) so that was nice. Also he was moving his tongue around a lot, which they said is really good because it shows that he doesn't like the tube down his throat, which is just another sign of brain function. So ideally they want him to start showing some discomfort over the ventilator.
She changed his blankets and I got to hold him up (only about 6", and nowhere near my body) while they did that and that was so sweet. His oxygen sats jumped way up when I held him, which is a good thing and means he liked it. He also had a huge poopy diaper today for the first time so that was good too because they were getting worried that he's 6 days old with no poops.
I can't believe he'll be a week old tomorrow! A new doctor came on call. He's this big, burly Indian guy and he was really nice. He's the first doctor that didn't seem concerned about Andrew's survival. He said he was going to get orthopedics in this week to look at his spine and a physical therapist to look at his arms & legs. So he said not to be surprised if we go in one day and he has splints on his arms & legs to help them to grow straight. He showed us the x-rays of his spine and they do look pretty bad. I got a copy of them on a disk. Also the dr said they didn't do the PKU/newborn screens on him and the doctor was mad. Since he had a transfusion they have to wait 2 weeks to do it so they aren't getting info on the donor's blood. He said that when they don't think a baby will survive then a lot of doctors just skip that step. We've shown them. Also he's going to do the EEG on his brain this week. So the big prayer request now, in addition for Andrew's lungs to keep doing well, is for Andrew's brain to be perfectly formed and perfectly functional with no neurological problems. We want him to have full mobility and full mental awareness and capabilities. I think Andrew's brain function is what worries Josh the most.
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