CPAP

Yesterday was a huge day!!! Jolene was able to be taken off of her ventilator and put onto a CPAP machine. This means that her lung is getting stronger and is getting better at supporting her body on its own. (She does have some left lung that is there and growing but because there is not enough diaphragm muscle-the hole was patched with Gortex-the lung will not really be able to function).

So far the transition has gone smoothly and Jolene's body has adjusted well. All of her stats look pretty good. She has been quite fussy since getting on the CPAP though. Needless to say, she's not too thrilled with her new contraption! (Can you blame her?!?) We don't know if it's the head straps, the nose cannulas, if her throat is sore from having the vent tube removed, or if it's a combination of all of the above. Hopefully she will settle down soon. :)

Jolene has had her feeds restarted again and is so far doing pretty good with them. The feeding tube now goes through her nose and straight into the intestine, bypassing the stomach for now until her body can get used to things. She did get her OG tube put back in, however (goes from the mouth to the stomach), just to vent the air (the CPAP can make a lot of air go to the stomach) and suction out the stomach. Today the amount of milk was increased just a little bit and Jolene seems to have accepted the change well. 

As I sit with Jolene in the NICU I see all sorts of things going on. Her "pod" as they call them holds up to eight babies at a time, and there are probably 14-15 of these in this hospital. There have been as many as eight and as few as three babies and it is always changing. Some have been there a long time (mainly preemies who just need time to grow) and some are only there a few days until they get what they need and can move on. While we have been given the Grace to be able to see our baby make slow and steady but strong improvements, the case cannot be said for all of Jolene's roommates. It just breaks my heart when I see parent's tears and babies clinging to life. And then there are tragic stories of the babies' arrival - the mother's death and the father's grief, for example, at the bed across the room.  While there are privacy laws and the hospital employees do their best not to broadcast information, you can't help but hear a few things when you're in there and it just makes your heart hurt, your head spin, and puts your whole world in a new prospective. Count your blessings, dear ones, count your blessings...I know I'm counting mine tonight.