Things didn't really start out funny though. I had to take Emery to the dentist this morning so I was going to be later than usual in getting to the hospital. I called the NICU to check on Jolene on our way to the dentist and everything was fine. A couple of hours later when I finally walked into her pod, however, things looked different. Her mobile that we hung over her crib was gone and things had been moved out of her bed (blankets, stuffed animals, etc.). Her nurse Brooklyn said she had some bad news. My heart immediately sunk. She then said, "well, not bad, but not great." Okay....
It turns out that she just happened to look in on Jolene (she had been sleeping peacefully) and noticed that there was milk leaking out from her tubing and all over her bed...she checked caps, connections, etc. and everything looked fine. For some reason the milk was getting pushed back out of the tube instead of into Jolene, where it should have been going. They called for an x-ray immediately to see if the feeding tube had come out of place but everything looked good. (Phew!). So, we were waiting to see what the doctors thought the next step would be. One of the possibilities was having to put a new tube in, which would be, well, let's say not one of Jolene's most favorite experiences. The first one had to be put in by IR (I think that's internal radiology ??) and it took days for them to finally get the job done. Just a few minutes later though the doctor came in and said "This is going to sound really weird, but we're recommending Coke to try and unblock the tube, if you're okay with that." Say what? Yes, Coke. Apparently Coca-Cola is more than just a refreshing bubbly drink. It also unclogs ND tubes.
The next step was finding out how one orders a Coke for a medical procedure in the NICU. After several nurses calling the Dietary department, being transferred to the cafeteria, and being asked if we "wanted ice with that," somebody finally went to the vending machine in the break room and bought Jolene a Coke. I suppose it's probably not a common request for a newborn. Just a teeny bit was pushed into the ND tube with a syringe (they had to keep pushing, as it was pretty blocked) and about three minutes later - whoosh! The tube was flowing again! Who knew??? Mini-crisis averted.
Makes you wonder just what that stuff does to your body, huh?
Sleepy little girl.
Do you really want me to tell you what Coca-Cola can clean? Hooray for modern medicine--oh wait I mean a beverage that is almost 140 years old! Coca-Cola the trade name and company is 129 years old as of May 8. http://www.coca-colacompany.com/topics/heritage
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola)
In 1885, Pemberton registered his French Wine Coca nerve tonic.[12] In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca.[13] The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886.[14] It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents[15] a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health.[16] Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal.[17]