Nicholas was born on 10/10/11 at 11:38 am. Mariah has been told 2 reasons as to why he was born premature and neither 1 can be confirmed as the sole reason. 1. She has an incompetent cervix. 2. Her womb was infected. Nicholas was born with inflammation in his lungs. The inflammation, along with the immaturity of his lungs, is why he needs support breathing on the ventilators. Nicholas has had the Jet ventilator 2 times and he's been tried on the conventional ventilator 2 times. He's currently on the Oscillator (similar to the Jet). After 28 days of needing support on the ventilator Nicholas was diagnosed with CLD or chronic lung disease. After having his first brain ultrasound Nicholas was also diagnosed with a level 2 brain bleed. His most recent ultrasounds have indicated that there is no new fluid and the blood is being reasborbed back into his body. BTW, grade 1 and 2 brain bleeds are nothing to be concerned about.
Nicholas has also been given Hyrdocortisone 3 times. The 1st time was to try and prevent the CLD. Hydrocortisone is the most mild and safest steroid that can be given to preemies. His last dose of Hyrdocortisone was almost 2 weeks ago and he has been stable for the majority of that time. However, in the last few days his oxygen and pressure needs have gone up. His x-rays have also started to look a little worse. Keeping all this in mind Dr. Harlan, Dr. Cox, and a doctor at MUSC that was consulted by both doctors in Florence all agree that at this point in time the best thing to do for Nicholas is to start administering Decadron. They all feel that he is kind of stuck where he's currently at and will need a pretty big boost to get him off of the ventilator for good. Dr. Harlan also said that since he's past 30 weeks gestation (currently at 31 weeks) and since he's bigger it is much more safe to use Decadron now than it would have been earlier in his life. Over the next 6 days Nicholas will be given Decadron with it being tapered every 2 days. Either on Sunday or Monday they will try Nicholas on the conventional ventilator to see how much he has responded to the Decadron. His response to the Decardon will also determine whether or not Nicholas' lungs just have inflammation or scarring. The x-rays do not show that and this will help to determine what their next steps will be. If Nicholas only has inflammation then he should be completely off of the ventilator but if there is scarring it will take several weeks to get him off. They would also give him different types of steroids and they would also be given differently too. The first 24-48 hours should be a good indicator as to how well the Decadron is working.
No comments:
Post a Comment