It's been 26 hours since Alaina got out of surgery and even though she's still in extremely critical condition, she's doing as well as she can be. She was stable all night and her vital signs -- temperature, heart rate, breathing, urinary output, etc. -- are all strong. She's moving around and opens her eyes occasionally so she's alert and active. The two biggest concerns right now are that she has an infection that needs to be treated and that her platelet count (which helps her blood clot) is low. The infection is being addressed with a bunch of really strong antibiotics and her white blood cell count is coming up which is a good sign that the antibiotics are working. A platelet deficiency is normal after surgery since the body is using a lot of them while trying to heal itself so she's been getting platelet transfusions. Her count is now coming up and we're hoping her little body will start to produce them on its own very soon.
Jan and I have been with Alaina at Columbia pretty much non-stop since she was transferred there Friday night. Having two babies in NICU's 150 blocks apart isn't going to be easy. My mother came down yesterday and spent some time with Gabrielle so she wouldn't be lonely and Jan's mom will be here later this week. Gaby had shown some potential symptoms of NEC a few days ago and the doctors had stopped her feeds and started running X-rays to make sure she didn't have it. So far, everything looks good and she started back on milk yesterday. We stopped in to see her today and she was enjoying a post-lunch nap on her belly and everyone at St. Vincent's is keeping a close eye on her while we're with Alaina.
We're relieved that Alaina seems to be showing signs of improvement but we know there's a long road ahead. We count every hour that goes by and pray that her condition will continue to improve with each one.
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4 comments:
Danielle and Jan,
I'm just a call away if you need me!
Fervent prayers are being sent to each of you tonight from Texas and a congregation of thousands who will spread the needs you have for your precious family. I have personally been a recipient of the power of their prayer chain....we hope you can feel it's love in the coming days as they spread the word.
We're all (Henny, Chelsea & a good portion of UDel, Ro-Ro, Grandpa Jack, Unk and me) thinking about you and keeping you and the girls in our prayers. I can only imagine what you are going through. If there's a period of time when your mom or Victoria are not able to be there, please let us know and we'd be more than thrilled to spend time with one of the girls while you're with the other. I know it must be incredibly hard, but please remember to take care of your own health. Gabriele and Alaina are so very lucky to have you two as their parents! We love you!
We are all thinking of you here in docs....we know alaina has been a fighter from day 1!!!!
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