No ROP!
Greetings to everyone.
Xavier had his ROP exam this afternoon. Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) sometimes occurs in preemies as a result of abnormal blood vessel formation and scar tissue growing across the retina. The final verdict: No ROP! Hallelujah! The blood vessels in his retinas are now completely formed, and formed correctly. No scar tissue!
Xavier does need a follow-up exam with an optometrist in late February, 2014. The doctor at Childrens who performed the ROP exam asked if Xavier went cross-eyed or had we noticed any eye "sticking." We explained we have noticed crossed eyes sometimes when he sees his bottle coming near, but never a "sticking." That was enough to warrant the follow-up.
Rebecca, who did not get any sleep last night after 10:00 PM (Xavier was well-behaved; it was just "one of those nights"), finally found the sandman about 6:00 this morning. At 8:30, the doorbell rang leading the dalmatian to bark.
Jerked back into consciousness and in a sleepy, near-comatose grog, Rebecca stumbled her way to the door with Xavier in hand. It was the courier from Apria, there to collect the oximeter. I guess it's a good thing we didn't dilly-dally about getting the readings!
We called Xavier's pediatrician late in the afternoon to see if the results have been interpreted. Apria had just gotten to downloading the data from the meter and were an hour away from sending it to the doctor. Sigh. At least they didn't lose the data this time.
Speaking with the doctor, however, was of more interest. The oxygen preemies are on supports their lung development, their brain development and the development of their eyes. The doctor told us yesterday that medical science does not know how to determine when is "the right time" to take a preemie off oxygen.
Medical science knows that when oxygen saturation consistently ranges from low to high in a preemie, there will be problems with development of one or more of the three areas: lungs, brain or eyes, and the baby needs to be on the O2. However, preemies who reach their term date (and have stable oxygen saturation levels), being on oxygen gives them little benefit. Medical science has not found a way to determine if the O2 is continuing to support development, and if so, what development is being supported.
Of course, there is the obvious reason to have babies on oxygen, and that is calorie usage. If a baby burns too many calories breathing, he will have less calories for growth. However, Xavier does not work hard to breathe (as born out by his Room Air test yesterday), and he rarely retracts.
We expect to have the doctor give us the "official" word to take Xavier off his oxygen.
Great is our God, and awesome are His works! Thank you for your prayers, they are vehicles for His glory!
Room Air Test, Part Deux
Hello to everyone.
The new pulse oximeter arrived today, in the afternoon. Rebecca plugged it in to begin charging it up. She had a plan. Xavier had been off his oxygen most of the day (we decided to take him off during the day and keep him on it at night while we (attempted) to sleep). We only needed a four hour window of observation, so we thought 7:00 until 11:00 as it would guarantee at least one feeding in there.
We connected Xavier up at 7:00 and turned on the meter. The meter went through its mesmerizing start-up sequence of flashing lights and numeric countdown and Xavier (who tolerated having the sensor taped to his foot quite well) showed 97% O2 saturation and a heart rate in the low 130s. The monitor's display also told us the sensor was well-attached and we could believe the data.
We noted the time in the log, then loaded Xavier into his stroller for a walk around the neighborhood. The walk lasted an hour and Xavier slept through most of it. His sat level was consistently at 97% (in case you are wondering, the meter has a three hour battery backup. We did were not using a super-long extension cord).
The 97% was so consistent I began to question the meter, even though it showed everything working correctly and a reported a good connection to the sensor. Half way through the walk, Xavier woke to strain into his diaper. His heart rate dropped (as expected) and he desatted nicely (also expected). I decided the meter was working after all.
Returning home, we fed him, burped him, changed his diaper, held him, all the things we normally do. His sat levels were high most of the evening, several times reaching 100%! Praise God! I'm no expert, but that data speaks not only of good lungs, but awesome, well-formed lungs! There is a little concern about having too much O2 during retinal development, but what can you do when Xavier pegs the meter at 100% just breathing room air? All the prayer over his lungs really showed off last night!
Rebecca looked at me and stated, "Unless you have an objection, I'm leaving him off his oxygen."
So, Xavier woke this morning (several times) free of his cannula and free of his oxygen sensor. We are going to have to learn how to hold our son all over again now that we have no worries about tripping over his cannula tube, tripping over his oxygen sensor wire, stumbling over an oxygen tank, dropping an oxygen tank on the baby, and so many other imaginations that concerned us.
Rebecca will return the meter to Apria Wednesday. Hopefully, this time they won't lose the data the machine collected, so we can get the "official" and "doctor-certified" word to take Xavier off his O2.
Always, we thank you for your prayers.
What? No Data!
Hello friends and family!
Xavier had a busy weekend. He met many new people, one driving down from Fort Collins to see him. He also, along with his mom, was introduced to a Denver specialty: White Fence Farms.
Tuesday, two more people will pay a visit from the North country of Fort Collins. These ladies will be arriving about the time mom needs a break, so that will be a blessing to Rebecca.
Sunday, because Xavier slept so much in the morning (not his usual M.O.), he attempted to re-order his feeding schedule to be every :50 minutes, and he was fussy about it. One might say he was in a "wee bit of a snit" when his bottle was not Johnny-on-the-spot. Also, he was gassy and colicky, which is not unusual.
Rebecca left the house to "go shopping" and entrusted me with the Little Professor (as my sister calls him). I was determined to get him back on his 2 1/2 to 3 hour schedule so both Rebecca and I could get some sleep Sunday night. Like a "Kung Fu" flashback, I reminisced about the NICU, wondering how they might have handled his loud, complaining condition. Then it came to me: Use the pacifier, Michael! It was brilliant, and it allowed us to get Xavier back on his schedule! Thank you, NICU nurses.
This weekend, after cleaning up several of Xavier's eruptions, we decided that he sometimes cannot distinguish the gassy pain he gets from hunger, which is why he wants to eat instead of burp (or fill a diaper). This revelation also helped us in managing his comfort.
We called Apria today to learn if Xavier can come off his oxygen. The lady at Apria informed us the oximeter had no data on it. Rebecca countered with, "He was on the meter for eighteen hours. How is there no data?"
A fair question, but one to which we did not get an answer other than "I don't know." Not a satisfying answer. So, Apria is sending by special courier another oximeter. Xavier only needs four hours on the meter at room air, so that is all we are going to do this time.
Needless to say, Xavier is still encumbered with a cannula and his parents with an O2 tank. "I'm his mother," Rebecca told me, "and I think he will be just fine without the oxygen." Nodding in agreement (don't get on mom's bad side where Xavier is concerned) I countered with "I'm his father and I'm not going to pay for a broken oximeter." It's interesting how different our thoughts were upon hearing the news of having to do another Room Air test.
Xavier has another followup ROP exam on Wednesday to check his vision and assess his eye development.
Always, we thank you for your prayers. Awesome is our God, Who always leads us to triumph in Christ Jesus!