Reality Check

Saturday January 4, 2014

We arrived at the hospital and were told that we would have a team meeting. We were invited into a small conference room and met with Neonatologist- Dr. Stutey, Tami (the nurse practitioner) and Marcello and Manuel’s nurses.  We found out that Manuel has more issues than we had known.

Manuel has a hyper-expansion of the right lung which means that his right lung is over expanded and he had significant decreased urine output.  If his urine output doesn’t improve today, then he is at increased risk of kidney failure. All of these issues are due to his prematurity of 23 weeks. Today he will be getting an ultrasound of his kidney and echo of his heart to check for PDA. 

We received the results from Manuel's ultrasounds and his renal ultrasound showed that his kidneys were functioning well. In fact when Mommy helped with his evening diaper change he actually had a full diaper (with lots of urine!). Manuel's echo also came back positive for a PDA (just like his Brother). So for now all we can do is monitor and pray that it closes on it's own or that the doctors are able to operate to close the hole.

Marcello is still dealing with recovery from surgery. His clotting factors were doing better, and he only received plasma. We are still closely monitoring him but so far he has remained stable. Dr. Kakaska came by and looked at him and said that he was slowly improving, not as fast as he would like, but he was showing signs of improvement.

Mommy helped change both Marcello and Manuel's diapers and held them during their linen change. We took video with Mommy and Manuel today as this was the first time that Mommy was able to hold him. 

The team meeting was emotional and we are not in the clear with either of them. We actually thought that Manuel was stable and this really caught us off guard. The medical team told us to take and enjoy our time with them as they cannot guarantee life expectancy for either of them. We need to take it hour by hour, day by day, this was hard to hear. Your prayers are being heard and we continue to lift them in prayer that God will heal their little bodies and continue to be with them.

 

Mommy holding Manuel for the first time