Fever and infection

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the week-long gap in sending an update. Since the last email, it's been a bit rocky with ups and downs and a bit of confusion of what exactly is going on with Pietro. It was kind of hard to know what to write because one day was one thing, then the next it was different. But I will let you know up front that he is doing sooo much better now. Praise God!

So the fever he had they thought was the result of a new infection coming from the central long-term line they had going in him. So they removed it and replaced with normal IV line, which has to be replaced every few days. His little veins are getting so worked over, they're having a hard time now finding any good spots. So they are treating him with new antibiotics. Nothing ever grew out of the cultures that they took from those 3 tests they did, even after taking an extra blood test a couple days later. So now they think the fever could have been viral, but still not sure. He also had a ulcer which could have contributed to it.

After the fever left, he then got jittery, became pale, and cold. This they attributed to withdrawal from the sedatives he had been on. They had slowly removed the sedatives as well as lowered or removed all of his support while he had been improving. But maybe it was all a little too much too fast. Also his blood pressure had risen very high. So a bunch of specialists had come to examine him including a nephralogist dealing with the kidney. She said his kidneys looked perfect, but she'd try this drug anyway. The next day he was better, but it wasn't because of this drug, it was because they started him on a new sedative that's more for relaxing muscles rather than relieving pain as before. This sedative helped him sleep more and detoxify his body.

He was also seen by a liver specialist because every Monday, all NICU babies are screened. And his liver happened to show an unually high enzyme count. So far they don't see anything specifically causing it and are hoping that the next test on Monday will show it decreased back to normal. So we're still praying about that.

A week ago, he was taken off the respirator with tubes going in to his mouth down to his lungs and was put on only a ventilator, tubes only going short ways into his nose to supply a small amount of oxygen. They've been slowly lowering the amount of oxygen as he progresses, but doctors were unsure about removing it completely. Well, yesterday, Pietro ripped it off himself while he was sleeping. The nurse only saw it later and watched as his monitors stayed stable. He did great without it! Another praise.

His feedings are increasing every day, but it's still mostly through a tube. An occupational therapist started working with him to teach him how to suck correctly. He's making progress and taking just a little bit by bottle now. Before he can be discharged, they have to make sure that he is feeding properly. Now that he is mostly off of all machines, this is the one thing that will be keeping him in the hospital now. They said maybe early next week, if he continues to progress as he is, he can even be moved out of the NICU to a lower care unit. It's not certain yet though because there are still some things they are monitoring. But it's great news of his progress.

He has also in the last couple of days taken his first bath, which he loved. He didn't want to leave it. And he wore his first tee shirt. We've also got his first picture smiling yesterday. So far, he's had such a look of frustration and seriousness on his face all the time. Can't really blame him. But all the nurses say he's got a serious, older man's face.

Before any baby leaves the NICU, they have to have an MRI just as a precauitionay to make sure nothing was missed. He had that done last night and we're awating results. Should hear sometime today. Please pray for that as well.

Thank you all once again for walking alongside us and sharing this burden. We know that Jesus asks us to cast it all upon him because he cares for us. Thank you for caring for us as well. In His name and all for His glory.