It appears as though the antibiotics are working their magic and a blood transfusion has helped as well because Benjamin looked great this afternoon! I was able to come in a little earlier today and found him calm and so alert. He had his eyes wide open and he was looking all around and listening to the harp (yes, the NICU actually has a harpist come in and play for the babies once a week for about half an hour… it’s awesome and Benjamin absolutely loves the music). He was sporting a new ‘do too. The nurse he had last night was cleaning him up and realized she could spike his hair so she decided to give him a mohawk!
His surgical team started his feeds again today which is both exciting and stressful. He’s getting .7 ml/hr. It’s such a small amount and he probably won’t absorb much because it’s only passing through about one third of his intestine, but he still might not be able to tolerate it.
He had another eye test and so far they think the laser helped stop the ROP progression; however, he still has plus disease, a complication of the ROP where abnormal blood flow in the retina causes the blood vessels on the retina to enlarge and become twisted. He’ll be monitored very closely, but as of right now they do not feel as though he needs additional laser or injection treatments.
His vent settings are up a bit, but that’s probably because he hasn’t been feeling well. Hopefully he’ll have a nice blood gas in the morning and they can start to wean him again. It’ll be a few days before they do a complete blood draw. Hopefully his platelets will be back on the rise as well as his white blood cells (both had dropped below normal levels over the past few days).
I love the harp. They sometimes play on Main 3 - OR waiting room.
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