Just another day in paradise. Someday soon, this will no longer be the Olivia's-pda-valve blog, but for today, the updates on our daughter's ways continue.
Olivia is in day two of the final course of ibuprofen. One moment you look at the monitors it appears the valve is closing. The next moment, it is clearly open. The doctor's call this winking. The excellent news is that Olivia continues to breath well on minimal support from her intubation, and she is tolerating even better her trophic feeds (small feeds just for the purpose of keeping her stomach from atrophying). This is good news because it is possible, if the valves remains open, that they will give her a chance to prove herself with less breathing support and larger feeds. As one of our nurses told us, babies sometimes go home with the pda valve open, so Olivia would most certainly be given the chance to prove she is one of said babies.
But alas, everyone is still rooting for the valve to close. I've decided to let it go. I had a little chat with my daughter this morning, and told her I've let go of trying to tell her to close the valve. Of course, I said, we would all prefer if she close it. However, I trust her, and I am prepared to support her either way. I think she is just trying to break her parents in early to let us know that she might prefer to do things her way. As we learned this morning in rounds, tomorrow is day three of the ibuprofen, followed by an echo on Thursday, at which time the attending doctor will decide whether to give her a fourth and fifth day, to let her try her hand at more breathing/eating responsibilities, or whether to perform surgery to close the valve. I, for one, am on the edge of my seat for the exciting conclusion.
Oh by the way, Lucas continues to show off. He is now up to eight feedings per day of 15 mL of breast milk per feeding. He continues to love the food and tolerate it well. At this rate, it is possible he could be on full feeds by next week. He also had his cpap reduced to 4 today, its lowest setting, and he seems to be handling that well too. I'm sure he would be happy if his little sister caught up, but we are trying to remember to be proud of what a rock star he is being.
Babies progress aside, what I really wanted to write about tonight is the amazing support they and we are getting from everyone. As one of the nurses told Marni yesterday, when they speak of the patient at the NICU, they are talking about Lucas, Olivia, and mom and dad. I know we have alluded to this, but it is really quite staggering the quality of care and the love they show our children and us. There is one nurse assigned to the two of them, 24 hours per day in two 12-hour shifts. Someone as at there side at all times. There is also always several doctors in the NICU 24 hours a day. As we've mentioned, they make a point to include us in daily rounds, ensure we understand everythin, answer any questions, and even occassionally nudge us to remember to take care of ourselves so that we can better take care of the kids. I have always known that I am blessed, but it is hard to think of more tangible proof than to look in the eyes and smiles of the staff at the NICU. Someday, we will find a way to repay them, but for now, it is with the occassional baked good and a heart-felt thank you when we leave for the day.
And then there is you. We both are trying to be tough, but it is quite clear to both of us that we could not possibly do this without your support. Marni's parents just spent the last seven days with us, waiting on us, ensuring we ate, and driving us around through the snow of the past week. As Marni and I discussed, they basically spent the last week showing us how to be parents, how to care selflessly for your children, and how to support them in ways they do and do not realize they need. We are so blessed. Friends continue to shuttle us food. Both our phones ring several times a day. I have always had a hard time accepting help, but you are pretty much making that impossible. Thank you. And please keep it coming. We feel your prayers and support; they sustain us and Lucas and Olivia.
You also provide us wisdom. Today, two separate friends (two of my spiritual advisers really) said the same thing to me at different times. In effect, they said, we are proud of you, all of you. We are proud of your strength. And we are still proud of you when you feel overwhelmed. Sometimes, being overwhelmed is part of being strong, brave, and courageous. I am getting a fleeting understanding of how much strength this marathon will require. I also continue to have zero doubt that with all of your help, all of us will have all the strength we need and more.
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