8.27.08

I think the best thing to take away from the past two days is that the steroids seem to be working in reducing Ethan's lung inflammation and that progress seems to be grudgingly doled out to a little boy who grasps it with his white knuckled hands and wrenches it towards him with each breath.

Yesterday was wonderfully peaceful as Ethan relaxed into his CPAP and slept, ate, and looked around thinking thoughts that I will always wonder about.

And then today began with an unexpected surprise in that Ethan was switched over to Vapo-Therm this morning. He was doing too well for CPAP and so he was put on oxygen via cannula. He later found out, as did Dr. Rosenblum, that he still needed stronger O2 flow, so he was put on the middle ground, the Vapo-Therm machine.

It was great to be able to pick him up and hold him without too much assistance and planning, and to see his straight brown hair curl around his ears that seemed to have weathered the CPAP storm rather well.

However, his carbon dioxide levels continued to rise, and at around 7 p.m., it was decided that he would be put back on CPAP to protect the brain. This isn't all together bad, as many infants with advanced lung disease often find themselves spending time on both CPAP and cannula/Vapo-Therm as their lungs continue to rebuild.

In other news, Allison continues to be her gurgly, squealing self as her appetite increases. She can even do rather well for a 6-week old in calming herself and lulling herself to sleep which is a true gift to her parents...they both are.