| The NICU Experience | Aaron update 47 |
| Subject: Aaron update 47 Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 11:41 AM From: Kevin Quick To: Aaron Update List I called and talked with Cindy, Aaron’s nurse for today’s day shift. Aaron is doing fine. He’s gained another 5 grams, so he’s at 1305 grams now. Dr. Lewis wants to work toward weaning Aaron off of CPAP completely. So, today, Aaron will be on CPAP for 1.5 hours, then on nasal cannula (the nasal cannula simply supplies oxygen, without the continuous positive airway pressure that CPAP provides, to Aaron’s nose) for 1.5 hours, alternating back and forth between the two. Nurse Cindy said that Aaron had been on the cannula for 1.5 hours when I called, and that he was doing just fine. She also said that Aaron had not had any apneas nor bradycardias overnight, which is good, because he had had a couple of them over the weekend while we were there. (Kathleen and I both got to watch Aaron turn blue a couple of times, when he “forgot to breathe,” causing his blood oxygenation and heart rate to go way down. It’s pretty scary watching the nurses rub and shake your rag-doll-limp baby, trying to get him to breathe again. But, we’re assured that this is just part of the preemie package; Aaron is simply at “that age,” and has to grow out of it. The rule at the NICU is that they will not let a baby go home if it has had any A’s or B’s in the prior 7 days. Once a baby is otherwise ready to go home, if it has an A and/or B, it must wait another 7 days before being released.) Kathleen and I are doing OK, but there’s a growing sense that something’s missing at home. “He should be here with us,” Kathleen keeps saying. Kevin |
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