Today started with an early morning call from the hospital. We do NOT like those. The doctor reported that Charlie had a rough night and had been taken off the C-PAP Bubbler and put on a regular C-PAP, meaning he was requiring a little more assistance to breathe, and they were afraid he might have an infection. We rushed into the hospital to find out that they had already started Charlie on a course of antibiotics to try to fight the infection. Apparently he was producing a higher number of immature white blood cells, which is something preemies do when fighting infection, and he had some fluid in his lungs. They had sent his blood for culture, and were considering doing a lumbar puncture (i.e., spinal tap) to do a full sepsis testing on him.
In typical Charlie fashion, he proceeded to get much better as the day went on - his breathing was going well and he was not at all lethargic, so the doctors decided not to do the tap, and to continue to monitor him. They gave him a diuretic, which meant lots of wet diapers, but seemed to help rid his lungs of fluid, as the nurse said his chest sounded totally clear again by the evening. Now they're questioning whether he really has an infection or whether it was just a case of fluid build up. We'll know more once the cultures come back.
His blood pressure appears to be responding to the medication, and while it's not yet as low as they'd like it to be, it's better than it has been. Charlie presented the doctors with another mystery to investigate this afternoon, this time related to his glucose levels, which were fluctuating from significantly high to significantly low throughout the afternoon. Just one more thing for the doctors to monitor.
Best news of the day was that, by the time the night nurse came on duty, Charlie was doing well enough for George to get a chance to hold him:
In typical Charlie fashion, he proceeded to get much better as the day went on - his breathing was going well and he was not at all lethargic, so the doctors decided not to do the tap, and to continue to monitor him. They gave him a diuretic, which meant lots of wet diapers, but seemed to help rid his lungs of fluid, as the nurse said his chest sounded totally clear again by the evening. Now they're questioning whether he really has an infection or whether it was just a case of fluid build up. We'll know more once the cultures come back.
His blood pressure appears to be responding to the medication, and while it's not yet as low as they'd like it to be, it's better than it has been. Charlie presented the doctors with another mystery to investigate this afternoon, this time related to his glucose levels, which were fluctuating from significantly high to significantly low throughout the afternoon. Just one more thing for the doctors to monitor.
Best news of the day was that, by the time the night nurse came on duty, Charlie was doing well enough for George to get a chance to hold him:
Love, Marie and George
1 comment:
Glad to hear that Charlie was better by evening -- he and George look great together! Hope today was even better!
Nana's rosary is getting a LOT of use!
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