Last night about 10:30 I received a call from the doctor saying that they had to put him back on the ventilator again because he was too tired to continue on CPAP. The good news is that they only had to put him on the conventional ventilator. He never went back on the JET ventilator. YEAH!! As of this morning, he was doing fairly well on the conventional ventilator and his blood gases looked good, so they were able to decrease the pressures. So far he is doing well and has tolerated the decrease in pressures. According to his nurse the doctor's think they will check him again after several days of recuperating to see if he can go back on CPAP.
Since nothing has grown on any of the cultures, they have discontinued the antibiotics today. They have another liver test scheduled for Friday to see what is going on there with regards to the bilirubin levels. They are even thinking about starting him on breastmilk again, probably sometime this afternoon.
They also did another head ultrasound and chest x-ray. The results have not come back as of yet, but we'll keep you posted.
A physical therapist (PT) came by for the first time and worked with him today. I tried to find out what exactly they did to him but the nurse was away when the PT was there. I do know that they were working with his muscles looking for muscle tone, proper movement, etc. Since he has been on his back most of the time that he's been in the hospital and his arms and legs don't have the ability to move like he would if he was in utero, they need to work with him to make sure he can still move his muscles properly. The nurse did say that the PT told her he began tolerating the touch after awhile, so I am hoping that we will be able to start touching him more without causing him agitation. What a wonderful feeling it will be to finally touch our baby, knowing that it may actually calm or sooth him rather than irritate or harm him. Just think how incredible it will be when we can hold him, smell him, touch him, feed him, kiss on his cute little fingers and toes...sorry getting carried away in that thought. :)
I have not been down to see the little guy yet today, but I will keep you posted when I find out more.
Thank you again for all your prayers, comments and support. We love you all so very much!
J,J & M
We are so encouraged! Praise the Lord! Still praying.
Love,
Curtis
We rejoice with you!!!!! and will pray for Matthew's continued improvement and strength for you, Jennifer and Jason.
Love,
Karen
I didn't realize that you hadn't been able to touch your son much. That just gripped my heart. Keep going little Matthew - Prayers to you and your mom and dad!
May God bless you and your family especialy Matthew. Keep your faith srong in the Lord and watch what He'll do no matter what your facing right now. The good Lord has blessed me with two miracles in less than one year. I shouldn't be here but God has bigger plans for me and He's got huge plans for you and all your family. Trust me and pray night and day, sing praises to Him and be around other brothers and sisters in Christ. Read the word of God every chance you have and keep your faith in Him up no matter what is going on around you. Cindy and I will be keeping Matthew and your family in our prayers.