The Rock Star

Day of Life: 8 - A Week Ago Today . . .

What Happened Last Night
True to my word, I called Shannon a few times during the night, though after the first "she's fine" conversation, I felt good. At midnight, her blood gases looked good so they were set to take her off the ventilator. The doctors had to leave to go to a delivery, so Tera was put on the backburner for the time being. I called back at about 3:00, but Shannon was busy with her other baby. She told the nurse on the phone that all was fine and to call back again. I decided to wait until the morning to try again.

"She's a Rock Star!" were Shannon's exact words when I called back. They had taken her off the ventilator and put in a CPAP at about 1:15. From what I understand, the CPAP allows her to breathe more on her own without assisted breaths from a machine. This will help her lungs to get stronger. Staying on the ventilator too long can cause some severe long-term lung damage. So, at 1:15 she came off the vent. Shannon said that she expected Tera to have an "attitude" about it - she has built herself quite a reputation for being feisty! However, she took to the new tubes very well and only fussed once or twice before relaxing. This is what she looked like when I arrived.

I think she likes the CPAP!

The Plan for Today:
MyGoo and I arrived just in time to see the docs. We watched them walk into Tera's room and raced down the hall to meet them.

They, of course, are very impressed with how well she is doing. The Echo has been ordered and is scheduled for today. That got a few chuckles from those of us who were involved in the chaos yesterday. The PICC Line will also go in, and we were so excited to hear that Susan - one of our favorite nurses - will be putting it in. Dr. Toms is not worried about the PICC Line going in while she is off the ventilator. She is doing so well that her breathing should be ok during the procedure.

After they left, I couldn't wait to get my hands on her.


When Susan changed her diaper, I heard Tera cry for the first time. Here is a video. I hope you can hear her, too.


What Actually Happened Today
Tera's Rock Star status maintained throughout the day as she was picked, poked, and prodded more than usual. Tera doesn't even like for her diaper to be changed, so we were not anticipating the best for the scheduled Echo and PICC Line insertion. She surprised us all. The Echo came about noon. This procedure was more prodding than anything. They had to squirt cold jelly on her chest and rub a wand over it. The Echo showed that the PDA is still there, so doctors will decide what to do about it when they make rounds tonight.



Tera's feet have been a main topic of discussion this last week because of how long they are and how much she can stretch them out, particularly when she gets stressed. Usually, her big toe sticks straight up in the air, almost separated from the rest of her foot. This is the best shot I could get for now.


Susan inserted the PICC Line soon after. The PICC was inserted through veins in her arm. The line will run up her arm and close to her heart. An x-ray showed that the line was actually too close to her heart on the first try (this is common and not a big deal), so Susan repositioned and re-x-rayed and all was well. She gave Tera some sedation to keep her calm while she did the procedure and, besides flinching a time or two, Tera handled it all very well. I, again, didn't want to be there for this particular experience (I'm just not ready to see her struggle) so Mom and I went out to a good lunch in Homewood. Then, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some things that might keep us out of Moe's and Subway every afternoon. Once back at the hospital, we found that Tera was doing great. They had increased her oxygen a good bit, probably because of the sedation. They monitored her respiratory rates fairly closely the rest of the day.

Her UCV line (line that takes things into her body through her belly button) also had to come out tonight. The line they had inserted in her hand to administer medicine had run its course, so that had to be replaced as well. More picks and pokes. Poor Tera!

We've also graduated to a bigger diaper size today!

When the Fellows made their shift-change, the doctor that I frustrated me so much yesterday was passing on his torch to the night Fellow. He redeemed himself by sitting on the floor next to me and drawing a picture of exactly what the PDA is. If I haven't explained it already, it's an opening between the heart and the lungs that typically closes at birth but is not unusual to stay open in preemies. The fear of it being opened is mainly a misflow of blood in and out of the heart that causes the heart to work too hard, which can, of course, lead to other problems. He explained that we could ride it out and see if it would close on its own in the coming weeks. However, he recommended that she take a first round of a medicine called Endocin. His reasoning was that the longer you wait to give the medicine, the less effective it will be in the end. The medicine takes three days to administer (they give one dose each day), then they will re-evaluate to see if aything else needs to be done. I consented to the medicine, but found out during Rounds that night that they will actually be giving her Ibuprofen instead. The side effects/risks are fewer and less severe, and the Attending felt it was better for Tera. She was put on food-restrictions for the night, but they could decide to reintroduce those later. I think the goal is to keep as few fluids as possible in her while the medicine does its work. Pray that this thing closes up soon. The more rounds of medicine she has to get, the higher the risk of kidney and intestinal damage. And, if the PDA won't go away at all, she'll go under the knife to close it surgically. Eeek!

So, a big day with a lot to be thankful for.

How Are Barry and Canon?

I didn't get to talk to Canon at all today. Barry has a 6:00 a.m. meeting in the morning, so Nana graciously accepted the invitation to let him sleep at her house tonight. This is actually a really great thing considering that the bed Canon broke on Monday night, broke again on Tuesday night, and Barry would not have gotten any sleep if Canon had to sleep in a bed with him! Barry is doing great. He doesn't tell me too much about what is happening at home . . . probably trying not to bother me too much with the details while I'm learning and making decisions up here. Canon is probably having more fun than if I was there with him, and while some Moms might get their feelings hurt, it makes me happy to know how happy he is.