(Written by her Daddy from observations during his visits to the NICU)
Baby Lauren was delivered via c-section by Dr. Ruel Stoessel at St. Mary's Medical Center. Baby Lauren made it through the delivery and was transferred to the NICU. Thanks to Dr. J.C. Roig, Ralph Fabra, RRT and Margie Cameron, RRT - without them she probably wouldn't have been able to breathe.
09/29/01 1:55PM:
Baby Lauren was placed on a cardiac monitor and on a "Jet" ventilator for respiratory support and lung protection. The vent is giving her full support and 100% oxygen. Most kids this weight/age need to be given surfactant directly into the lungs by this time due to lung immaturity, but Lauren does not need it at this time. She is getting some sodium bicarb due to a base deficit (if you're not clinically inclined, don't worry - not a major problem). She is very active and is all over the place on her warmer.
09/29/01 11:00PM:
During the afternoon and evening the Jet ventilator support has been decreased significantly and the oxygen has been weaned to 21%, the same as air - her lungs are in good shape!!! This is great news, since lung problems are the greatest danger at this point. By now she has an IV in her right leg and a line in her umbilical cord stump to measure her blood pressure and to draw blood for lab tests. Her warmer is covered with Saran Wrap to prevent her skin from drying out and she is on bili light phototherapy to keep her skin from turning yellow..
09/30/01 10:00AM:
The jet ventilator support has been further decreased. She is still stable, but has been so active that she was burning up too much energy and had to be sedated.
09/30/01 11:00PM:
Baby Lauren remains stable. She is breathing well even with the Jet ventilator on low settings. There is talk of discontinuing the Jet and putting her on a regular baby ventilator.
10/01/01 9:30AM:
WOW, Baby Lauren was taken off the Jet vent overnight and is now on a regular baby vent with moderate support. She is still not receiving any additional oxygen, a good thing since high levels of oxygen can cause blindness and lung problems. The neonatologist wants to give her a dose of surfactant for her lungs just to be safe.
10/01/01 10:00PM:
Baby Lauren remains stable.The nurse noticed that her belly was a little bigger than yesterday. She is pink and warm and fuzzy. She has black hair and her eyes look somewhat gray like her mother's. She is calmer now and has not needed so much sedation.
10/02/01 11:00AM:
Baby Lauren has to go for emergency surgery. The A.M. X-ray shows air in her abdomen, and the neonatologist is pretty sure that there is a hole somewhere in her bowels. Dr. Anthony Bufo will do the surgery. If she only has a small hole he can fix it and her prognosis is pretty good, but if there are holes all over then he can't fix things and all he can do is "close her up." Her platelets are on the low end of the normal range, so she is going to get platelets before surgery to minimize blood loss. Mommy and Daddy are very scared. She was baptized by a Catholic priest 15 minutes before going to the operating room.
10/02/01 1:30PM:
Baby Lauren is back from surgery and Dr. Bufo gave us the good news that the problem was a small hole in a 6-8cm (2-3 inch) piece of her small intestine that he was able to fix by cutting it out. The bad part is that it was caused by NEC (Necrotizing Entero Colitis) and that there is a small chance that it could continue to damage her bowels. He thinks that won't be the case because the rest of her bowels looked very pink and healthy, with good circulation. the anesthesiologist (Dr. S. Pease) said she tolerated the anesthesia very well and her lung pressures did not increase. Lauren is out like a light back in the NICU and the ventilator support was increased until the anesthesia wears off. Lauren gave all of us quite a scare but she seems to have made it through the surgery OK.