Updates on my health
July
7/14/02 I was born at 11:41 pm. I weighed 2 pounds and 2 ounces, and I was 14 inches long. I'm doing okay except that my white blood cell count is very, very high. The doctors are putting me on antibiotics. I hope it works!
7/24/02 I have lost some weight. I only weigh 1 pound and 10 ounces now. My head ultrasound showed that there was no bleeding in my brain. Praise God! My white blood cell count is going down everyday! They took me off the ventilator yesterday, but I'm having some trouble breathing. Please pray for me. Right now I'm on a different machine and it helps me to breathe, too. If I have too much difficulty breathing with this other machine, they are going to put me back on the ventilator.
7/25/02 The bad news is that today I had to go back on the ventilator. My oxygen levels kept going down, so the doctors think I need more time before I can breathe without the ventilator. The good news is that I gained 100 grams today (3 oz). Today I weighed 1 lb and about 14 ounces. : )
7/26/02 Good news! My white blood cell count is within normal range now! Praise God! I also gained 10 grams since yesterday. Please pray that my lungs and chest muscles will get stronger so that I can get off the ventilator. Thanks!
7/27/02 I had a tough day today. My oxygen saturation levels in my blood kept going lower than it should. The doctors gave me a blood transfusion to help me. I hope tomorrow I have a better day.
7/28/02 I had another tough day today. My oxygen saturation levels in my blood kept going lower than it should. They had to raise the settings on my ventilator. This is not a good thing because that means the ventilator is doing more work and I'm doing less. Please pray for me. One good thing is that I'm gaining weight. Today I weighed 2 lbs and 1 oz. Praise God! Also, today is my 2 week birthday!
7/29/02 Today was a good day! I weighed 2 lbs. and 3 oz. today (990 grams) this is a little over my original birth weight. I'm also doing a little better with my oxygen saturation levels. Today was very special because my mommy and daddy held me in their arms for the first time! : ) I've been doing a good job with my feedings, too. I'm getting fed my mommy's milk through a tube in my nose to my stomach. Right now I'm getting 8cc every 2 hours. I also get some nutrients through an IV to help me grow.
7/30/02 Please pray for me. I'm having a hard time. My oxygen saturation levels in my blood have been lower than normal even with the ventilator setting at 100%. My doctors are concerned that there may be another problem that is causing this. They did a chest x-ray and there is a small portion of my lungs where there is no air. Also, I may have an infection. They took a sample of secretions from my lungs to see if there is an infection in my lungs. Finally, they gave me another blood transfusion because my hematocrit was low. Please pray that I don't have an infection and that my oxygen levels will become normal without the help of the ventilator. My lung tissue cannot grow normally while I'm on the ventilator, so the sooner I can breathe without it, the better. The good news is that I weigh 1000 grams! I'm now part of the Kilo Club!
7/31/02 I'm doing a little better today. They were able to lower my oxygen settings on the ventilator to about 60% today. Hopefully, they will continue to lower those settings each day. My chest x-ray from yesterday showed that a portion of my right lung has collapsed. My lungs are still weak and need to get stronger and healthier. I also have a small little hole between my left and right ventricle. The doctors are not too worried about that because they say it should close up on its own. Also, my umbilical cord came off today. They did another chest x-ray and an echocardiogram. I hope to get the results back by tomorrow. Hopefully, there is no infection in my lungs. So far there is no conclusion on that yet. Thanks for all your prayers. I really need them!