Hello friends,

Well I was about to update you about life back in the NICU (we moved back here yesterday) while Madeline was stable….but then Madeline threw a fit. While the nurse was doing her cares and changed her position her sats (Blood oxygen saturation) began to drop, 88, 78, 72, 69, 64, 60, and I watched helplessly as they dropped all the way down to 40. Madeline’s heart rate went down too as mine went up. Her heart rated dropped to half of her normal rate. The nurse did a wonderful job of calling the resident and then ever so calmly began to bag Madeline and rub her chest until the numbers turned around (our nurse admitted later that she was nervous). I watched in my “silent freaking out” mode. Once again I was reminded of how precious her life is and I was back to praying and petitioning God for her life.

Her numbers are better now. She got the attention of most of the docs on the floor who looked her over and wondered and discussed among themselves what might have caused the episode. Maybe her chest tube slipped and then repositioned itself, maybe she had some gunk in her lungs, maybe something else. They did an xray to confirm tube placement and said it was good. Her lungs look a little wet again, but nothing to worry too much about.

They did a blood gas test and it came back a little metabolic acidodic, which means that it’s not related to her lungs but some other part of her body is not getting enough oxygen. She is still at risk for having some issues with her intestines so they have now called for another xray of her abdomen to see how things are doing in her intestines. They have suspended her feeding again while they do this.

Although her numbers are in the better range, Madeline hasn’t fully calmed down from this episode. I can see her getting mad and crying but no sound comes out, the breathing tube prevents it. I can tell because her mouth is open and her tongue is curling at the tip. I want so bad to hear her cry and then be able to console her. While she is in her isolette with the blanket covering it, no one knows if she is upset or not until her numbers go wacky. Maybe she’s figured out how to get our attention despite not being able to make a sound.

On the brighter side, I saw Chris and Kate yesterday in the lobby wielding an infant car seat. Yep, Michael is going home – Praise the Lord! This was much earlier than they had expected. They were real excited about it and I rejoiced with them before they left. Please continue to pray for Madeline, especially now, that God would comfort her and she would calm down. Pray for the docs here, that they would see what God already knows about her body.

Grace,
Shanker & Lisa.