The NICU Roller Coaster

Thank you for your thoughts / prayers / notes. Sorry it has taken a while to update; we’ve been very busy and haven’t had much time in front of a computer. We appreciate all of your notes and messages; please keep them coming!

Sarah has been home for over a week and is doing well. She has regained some of her activity, and her blood pressure is doing better. The doctor says she is doing fine.

Trey has been our little trooper. They call it the ‘NICU RollerCoaster’, which certainly is an accurate description of how things go. One day we have great news, and the next day we have a setback. He is now at 30 weeks gestation so we still have 10 weeks till his due date, which is also our goal for a discharge date.

The good news: his brain scan came back with no signs of internalbleeding, which is AWESOME news.

He had started being fed and eating 8 times per day, however we have had to temporarily suspend the feeding and go back to IV nutrition till he gets a little better. He was up to 7ml of milk every three hours, and hopefully can return to that soon. He has gained a few ounces, which is headed in the rightdirection!

Not so good news: Trey continues to have problems with his lung function and O2 absorption levels. He has pneumonia, as well as fluid build-up in his lungs. This is partly caused by his ventilator, but the ventilator is necessary for his lung function. The doctors attempted to excavate his ventilator over the weekend, but he just wasn’t ready for that to happen, and they had to re-insert it to assist his breathing. The nurses described his condition as ‘pesky and hard to fight’, but we are still hopeful. From what we read, it is quite common for any child of his gestation level, and is treatable bythe antibiotics he is giving. However, by attempting the excavation,we have gone a few ‘steps back’, and his lungs will need some time to heal. All this will just take time…

Yesterday we learned that in addition to the fluid in his lungs he has fluid in the left cavity of his lung that is preventing expantion of the lung. They did an ultrasound and x-ray to confirm the fluid and then drained the fluid. There are chances that the fluid will re-develop so he is being watched closely. After they drained the fluid he showed immediate signs of improvement, which is great.

In the meantime, we go to the hospital every day, and often twice per day. Vince's mom has been here for a week, and has been a great help around the house and with driving Sarah around. Sarah’s parents, Carrie, and Grammy and PaPa all also visit the hospital several times a week. We certainly make sure that he has a constant stream of visitors!

Lately in the NICU By Trey Rapp
I have been very busy lately. Lots of visitors stop by every day, and I met Mimi for the first time this week, which was very nice. She has been visiting me everyday since she arrived. On Sunday morning the doctors tried to get this yucky tube out of my throat. I know that the ventilator helps me breathe, but I don’t like it and I often chew on it. Anyhow, when the tube was taken out, I didn’t feel so well, so they had to put it back in my throat. Now that it is there again, I am feeling better, but still need a lot of help breathing. Hopefully my lungs will get better soon, but the doctors say we can only takethings day by day.

My brain scan results came back very good. Mommy and Daddy were very concerned about this test. I had no doubt that I will be very smart,but they feel better now that the test came back with good results.

My features are also changing very rapidly since I’ve been born; my ears are much more defined, and my nose shape seems to change daily. I also now have aperfect ‘crew cut’ on my head, just like a Yell Leader. Class of ’33WHOOP!

I know people want to know what they can do to help. Honestly prayers for Trey's continued growth and improvement are best. We also have found that notes of support are great. We are also very thankful for the friends and family who have helped provide meals and gas money for all of our trips back and forth to the hospital. Thanks everyone for all y'alls support and prayers.

All for now…The Rapps