Our little Mini is doing well. I decided that's what I want her nickname to be, it suits her don't you think? She is up to 1lb 11oz and 12 1/4 inches long. Through her stay so far she has been on 2 different ventilators. When they initially brought her into the NICU she was put on a high frequency ventilator that would give her up to 600 breaths/minute. They extubated her and she was given oxygen through nasal cannula for 12 hours but got tired and had to be put back on the vent. When they put her back on she was put on a regular vent that kind of let her set the rhythm and it seems to be what she is comfortable with. This ventilator helps make up what her little lungs forget to do. The funny thing with Mini :) is that she is picky with her oxygen levels. Just when the respiratory therapist and nurses get her where they think she needs to be and they leave her to rest, her stats go down and they have to come in and readjust her levels. They have learned to set her a little high and let her be picky and work herself out. I had a bit of a scare the other night when I went to visit her. When I got to her room she was so cute cuddled on her tummy. It was time for cares, that's when they change her bum and stuff, the RT and Nurse wanted to turn her over so we could change her. Together the two of them flipped her over and lay her on her back. When they flipped her over her tiny heart rate began to drop. I watched it go from 150 beats /minute all the way down to 33 bpm. All I could do was hold my breath and whisper, "Come on Katie, pump that heart" Though it was probably only a minute it really did feel like ten minutes went by till her heart rate went back up to where it should be. Meredeth, her nurse for the night explained that being flipped over like that for her is like going on a roller coaster ride. It puts her whole system into shock and Katelyn is usually slow to recover. A few minutes later she was in normal ranges and resting. That was the worst few moments so far. When I visit her and her stats go down and that annoying little alarm chimes I hold my breath till they regulate. Then I take a big breath and exhale. It is a relief. Today's report from the Nurse Practitioner was good. Mini is having problems with her oxygen for a few reasons. First of course is her size. Her tiny body works so hard to keep those lungs going. For a few days they did several chest x-rays because they thought she was developing pneumonia. Today's x-ray showed less fluid in her lungs and they are expanding well but her tiny alveoli, the air sacs that exchange the gases in the air, they are collapsing. If these little guys collapse her lungs will collapse and she will have more lung problems. The team decided to give her a round of steroids to help plump up those little guys and help her retain her oxygen. I'm all for it if that's the least of our worries right now. In the meantime while we wait for her lungs to pump back up and work better, I'll sit by her bedside when I can and take deep breaths for her.
2 comments:
She is beautiful, and i love her little bow. She is in our prayers, as are her parents :)
So hard. I can't imagine having to see that. Who knew that flipping her over would cause such a reaction. :( I'm crossing my fingers for her lungs to strengthen. She's a trooper, and so are you!
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