Improvement

We have seen improvement after improvement over the past few days. Eli's jaundice is decreasing, he is being given more food, his blood gases look great—basically all his numbers are improving.

Even though he can't see anything yet, he still tries so hard to open his eyes and look at Emily when he hears her voice.

His IV was moved from his hand to his foot. He likes to hang his foot over the edge of the bed.

He has so many wires all over his body: the orange is the feeding tube, and the others are respiratory, heart rate, and temperature trackers. 

This is the PICC Line that was put in a few days ago. This is where he gets his TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition).

He was doing so well today that they opened the isolette for a while and let Emily give him a kiss.

We heard some great news today.... the nurse practitioner told us that his numbers were looking so good that he was going to be taken off the vent! He was placed on CPAP which is a breathing system that has prongs that are placed up his nose. They say there is a chance that he may be re-intubated, but for now his blood gases show that his CO2 levels are coming down. Actually, when we visited tonight at 9 pm his levels were back down to what they were when the took him off the ventilator. At the start of the second shift, the nurses said they were almost certain he would have to be put back on the vent by 9 pm, but Eli surprised everyone and improved instead!

I know it almost looks worse than before, but CPAP is SO much better than being on the vent long-tern. Being on the ventilator is good, but doesn't come without side effects. On the one hand, the vent is necessary to sustain life, but it also damages the growing lungs and slows maturation. However, if he does end up having to go back on the vent, it is OK. Any rest he can get is progress and will help his development. The good thing about the lungs is that they continue to grow and develop. Most of the time, damage caused by the vent is resolved fairly quickly.

Needless to say, the last few days have been awesome. We have seen some radical improvements which really are miraculous. We are so grateful for modern medicine, the careful attention of the nurses, and all the prayers and support from family and friends. He's made it a week now!