After an uneventful Sunday, Benjamin decided to have a big day today.
First, Benjamin had another head ultrasound this morning. The doctors ordered an ultrasound because he had the busted air sac and sometimes bleeding in the head will happen if the baby is under a lot of stress. The ultrasound came back normal so unless something happens, he will not have any more head ultrasounds for a while!
Next, the busted air sac in Benjamin's lungs looks like it is healed. The doctors decided to clamp the tube that is in his chest today to see if air accumulates in his chest. The x-ray this afternoon came back normal and it looks like no air has accumulated in his chest. He has one more x-ray in the morning and if the x-ray shows no air has leaked, the tube will be coming out!
Thirdly, the pneumonia and the E. Coli infections still seems to be under control. Benjamin seems to be doing much better and the infection is beginning to clear up.
Finally, after we left late Sunday night, Benjamin's stats began to fluctuate and the nurse continued to change his oxygen setting on his ventilator to try to stabilize him. He was never in any real danger; the nurse just wanted to get the settings right so his stats wouldn't move so much. This morning, the doctors checked his heart and heard a murmur. This murmur, coupled with the fluctuating stats, lead the doctors to believe his Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) opened back up, so an echo scan was ordered. It turns out, the PDA was moderately open. Because of the size of the opening and other medicine Benjamin took, medicine to close the PDA was not an option. Surgery is needed to close it. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
We were told this surgery is very common for premature babies, but Benjamin will be put under anesthesia and will be completely sedated. Benjamin will be placed on his stomach and the surgeon will make a small incision in Benjamin's back to close the PDA. The surgery should only last for about 10 minutes and hopefully once the surgery is finished, Benjamin should begin to improve and his stats should become more stable. This surgery should help stabilize his blood pressure and help minimize his oxygen requirement.
Even though this surgery is common, it is still scary and a lot can happen. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that there are no complications.
Benjamin seems to be improving and hopefully this surgery will be the final thing he needs so he can really begin to grow and develop. Please continue to pray for Benjamin.
2 Weeks of Recovery
8 years ago
I remember us mentally preparing for Rhys's PDA surgery. A date had finally been decided upon, after multiple occasions of putting it off. The day arrived, and just hours before surgery it was cancelled because the last minute Echo revealed that his PDA was suddently "trivial". That really threw us for a loop. We knew his lungs were his biggest challenge and it made sense to us to go ahead and close the PDA so, like you, hopefully our child could make some significant progress. Rhys's PDA closed on its own and, though there wasn't an immediate improvement and Rhys did continue to have dips, that was the point at which we did see things start to go in the right direction. Great news about the air leak and head u/s. Hopefully that makes two less thing to worry over.
ReplyDeletePlease know that I will be praying for Benjamin and his surgery. I am thankful that the doctor has the option to go in and close the PDA. Lord, I ask you to give the surgeon a very steady hand and that he will be in and out without incident to Benjamin and with complete success. We do love you Lord and your miracles never cease to amaze us.
ReplyDeleteSurgery is always scary, but the PDA surgery is very common. My son had it done at 3 days old. It went very quickly and we saw immediate improvement in his stats. I will be praying for Benjamin.
ReplyDeleteHello. I found your blog from a friend's blog and have been captivated by your story. My first born, Michael, was a 25 week preemie weighing 1 lb. 9 oz. He is now 8 years old and a healthy happy 2nd grader. I remember being told that Michael needed PDA surgery and being so scared. The truth is- that surgery really changed the course of his recovery. It made him so much stronger and seemed to help cure his other ailments. I will be praying for your sweet boy and also for you that you will have the strength to get through this. God bless you and your family.
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