15 Jan 07

Tricia's Trip
Like I said before, Tricia made it up safe and sound to OKC on Friday, but I didn't quite realize how much ice had accumulated on the car until I got there on Sunday...all I can say is that I'm not exactly sure how she could even steer! There was ice touching the front and back tires in the wheel wells. I chiped it all out and told her not to drive like that anymore!! There is not a ton of tread left on the tires in the first place, and after the rubbing they took, I am hoping they last until I can get some new ones ordered and put on the car!! Here is a picture of it!
We headed up to OKC on Sunday afternoon and got back around 4:30 pm (1630L) on Monday. Brett and Brenda Prothe looked after our animals while we were gone--THANKS! We had a very nice visit-although Glenda offered up her home for our entire family, we wanted to stay in a hotel with an indoor pool--for the kids to have a little fun. We also headed to the mall while we were there, and had some fun playing in the icy parking lot! The roads on the way up were pretty nasty--especially in OKC. But the Jeep loves the snow and did just great (OK, I'll admit it, I actually love driving the Jeep in the snow!) We had fun, but I don't think Tricia thought my crazy driving was much fun when she and I took a trip to the hospital together while Glenda graciously watched the kids.


The Kids and I


Tommy
Tommy continues to do very well...he is up to 13.5 ml's per feeding which equates to about 108 mls (3.6 ounces) per day!!! He now weighs about 2 pounds, 13 ounces and when he gets to 1500 grams (about 3 pounds, 4 ounces) he will start easing into bottle feeding!! Yipee! And in about 3 days, he will be completely off is IV!!! He is still having a few episodes of low breathing rates or low oxygen saturation during the day, but only 3-5 of them, so that isn't too terrible. The oxygen being delivered into his nose has been pretty steady at 30%. They did another brain ultrasound today, and we should find the results tomorrow some time. I talked to the Dr. this morning and asked him lots of questions about his brain--basically, it is not continuing to bleed...the drains in the brain are very small little channels that go into his spinal chord. Basically, as the blood drains, it fills these "ventrical" drains. So, right now, they are pretty full and tend to put pressure on the brain. As the drains expand, the observed "grade" of his condition increases until a point is reached where his body's absorbtion of the blood and the amount of blood that reaches the drains get to be the same--in other words, the blood is not draining as fast as it is collecting now, and they are watching it closely to see when that happens. Hopefully, today's ultrasound will show that the two are about equal now. Additionally, as he himself grows, the brain and the drains in the brain will also grow with him--allowing more and more blood to be expelled from the liquid surrounding his brain. So, the prognisis, according to the Dr. is good.
They also did a blood screening of about 50 or so diseases and genetic defects. One did come back as a potential positive--cerebral palsy. The GOOD news is that this is one of the two tests that often indicate false positives in premature babies. AND, the Dr. is almost certain that it is a false positive. With actual Cerebral Palsy, they would expect lung or intestional complications to be present, but none of his systems are showing any problems. Thus, we are doing what the Dr. said--not worrying about this at all. They will do an additional round of tests just before he is released from the NICU to confirm the false positive.

I got to hold Tommy for about an hour this morning--he is still so small, but I really enjoyed spending that much time with him. I went up for three visits total. I decided this week that my original plan of going to OKC every two weeks was not going to meet my needs of seeing him! The kids (Kaitlyn especially) REALLY want to see him, and it is so hard for them to have to wait. Kailtyn asked me if she would be allowed to hold him when he got home! I said "OF COURSE!!"


I also brought back a bunch of pictures. Kaitlyn gave him one of her tiny little stuffed animals--a dalmation dog. You can see that it looks pretty huge compared to him right now! The nurses said that was a great thing--so we can keep the dog to show him later in life about just how small he was!!

So, the bottom line is that Tommy is doing just great! Praise God for that!





In this last one, Tommy is wearing his very own hat--given to us by Tricia's mom!!!
Pretty soon, he'll get to wear some of the clothes we have for him.