7.22.08

They say that in the NICU that it is often 2 steps forward and 1 step back. The good news is that Ali and Ethan are both stable and comfortable tonight. Yesterday was a hard day for Ethan though. He was struggling with his breathing all day, which was so sad for us to see. They tried putting him in an oxygen tent for a while, then put him back on the CPAP last night. He is finally more comfortable breathing, though he hates the air blowing in his nose. The nurse practitioner let us know that we were back in the realm of possible surgery to close his PDA. (Which by the way stands for Patent [open] Ductus Arteriosus).

Chris and I stayed the night here with the babies last night (for the first time). We just wanted to be here in case anything happened with Ethan. We didn't get much sleep, but Ethan had a relatively quiet night. When Dr. Nau came to talk to us around 11 pm, it was almost a relief to talk about surgery. Even though surgery is scary, I am definitely starting to think of it as a welcome turning point that will make Ethan feel better.

So, surgery is scheduled for 2:30 pm tomorrow. There is no pediatric surgeon here in Cedar Rapids, so we are very, very thankful that Dr. Davis from the University of Iowa Hospitals is willing to come here to St. Luke's in Cedar Rapids to do the surgery. In fact, they moved Ethan back to his own room and surgery will happen right here. Apparently, it's quite unusual that Dr Davis is willing to come here. The last time it happened was over 7 years ago. The doctors have been running around making plans and getting him emergency privileges to come here. So, we feel very lucky that we don't have to transport Ethan or spilt up the twins.

I should share a little about the surgery, since it is much less invasive than I had originally imagined. It is not like a typical heart surgery at all. They go in through the side, almost under his arm. There will be no breaking ribs or being part of the 'zipper' club. He'll eventually have just a small scar in his arm pit! If I am correct, I think this is not even considered heart surgery. They just lift up the lung and put a staple through the blood vessel (duct) that needs to be closed. Dr. Rosenbloom said that it will look like a "Swingline staple" on an x-ray when he's done. :) They tell us that whole process of anesthesia and the surgery should take about an hour. So, please wish Ethan the best at 2:30 tomorrow.

Allison is doing great. The doctor's instructions for her were "feed her and make her grow". :) We're still working on breastfeeding. She's getting there slowly. We'll get there though!