Forward Progress

They discontinued Chase's antibiotics. Which is a good thing b/c he pulled out his IV again. They also slightly decreased his ventilator settings. He's not requiring as much ventilator support, just a little extra oxygen. I questioned the decision to stop the antibiotics at first. But after speaking with the fellow, not the resident, they believe the slightly elevated white count and moderate growth of bacteria from the trach aspirate(colonization) didn't warrant the need for antibiotics. His secretions are much less, and he's tolerating the respiratory treatments great. They did say he has some lung disease, which could be b/c he's premature or a complication from the surgery. This is why he's struggling to get off the vent. They said he's making baby steps and hopefully they'll have him off the vent in the next few days. He's also back up to full feedings, and weighed 5lbs 11oz today. Once he's off the vent, occupational therapy will see him and evaluate him to see if he can bottle or breast feed. He is really into sucking on his purple pacifier, so if he can just coordinate that with swallowing he'll be good to go. We're trying to talk them into doing a hearing exam, but they want to wait until right before discharge. Hearing loss we've read can be associated with chondrodysplasia punctata. And we've noticed when there are loud noises or babies crying around Chase, he doesn't react at all. Hopefully it's nothing, and even if it is, it's probably the least of our concerns at this point. But we would just like to know sooner rather than later. They did an eye exam today. The final report wasn't back, but the nurse said he's not scheduled for another exam for two more weeks which is a good sign. So another good day.....Praise the Lord!