He's Doing Better

Today is a better day for Austin. His intestines and lungs looked good in his X-Ray and his white blood count is going down. Dr. G. said they would continue to give him antibiotics and treat him as if he had an infection until his lab results come back and confirm that there is no infection. He thinks that Austin's problem yesterday was a clogged airway which is why he was able to bounce back so quickly. His nose had been irritated by the tubes from the CPAP (it blows air pressure into his lungs to encourage them to expand and make them stronger) and had bled a little bit. His nurse said she had suctioned some blood out of the back of his throat and Dr. G. thinks that there could have been a mucus clog in his airway and that's why he was having trouble getting enough oxygen therefore making him turn gray. When they put him back on the ventilator it cleared his air passages allowing him to return to a pink healthy color. This is MUCH better than an infection or intestinal problems! Austin is regaining his strength and has been breathing well with his ventilator. It has only been helping him for 35 breaths a minute and he has been breathing on his own for the rest. Dr. G. says that possibly tomorrow he will be taken off the ventilator and put back on the CPAP, so this is a very good sign.

Tomorrow is another milestone day for Austin, Ryan, and myself for a few reasons. He will be one week old tomorrow which means he has made it through the most critical week. Aside from his setback on Saturday he did really well. Tomorrow is also the day he will have an ultrasound done of his brain to check for any bleeding. They wait 7 days unless there is indication of brain bleeding earlier on, which he has not been showing signs of. Brain bleeding is most likely within the first 3 or 4 days and is not a concern after 5 or 6 so unless there is any reason to check earlier, they wait until day 7 to make sure it won't happen later. Minimal bleeding is not much of a concern but mild to massive bleeding can cause many problems both short and long term. There could be learning problems, motor skill issues, neuromuscular problems like cerebal palsey, and even death in severe cases of bleeding. Fortunately Dr. G. said that Austin has not been showing any indication so we're just hoping and praying that his ultrasound report comes back clear.

Please keep Austin, Ryan, and myself in mind tomorrow morning. The news we receive will determine how our little boy will be able to live the rest of his life. We should have the results sometime by early afternoon so I will try and get it posted as soon as I'm able to. Ryan and I want to give a sincere thank you to every single person who has gotten on this website to check on Austin, it means so much to us that there are so many people concerned with his progress. Thank you so much for all your prayers and concern!!