Jan 5-8 – Multi-Day Update

Sorry this one took a little longer — life got busy, parents are tired, and updates are smaller and less frequent.

I’m going to try to paraphrase this update instead of giving all the notes and details Becky and Max are getting because I think it’ll be a better picture of what’s happening instead of medical speak that sounds scary and/or unintelligible. If people would rather I go back to the nitty-gritty details instead, let me know. -Dan

Big Picture

Generally speaking, Olivia is progressing as most NICU pre-term babies do. She is doing well in weight gain (920 grams), she’s growing (I don’t have a length, but it was visibly noticeable when Nana Deb and Papa Bob went in for a visit), and she’s fighting with all her might.

The picture above is of Olivia sleeping on her belly. She loves that position most, but she can’t stay like that for too long.

Max was able to hold Olivia on Sunday for an hour! It was a very involved process, but Olivia settled right into snuggles and took a nice nap. It was the first time since December 21 that Max was able to hold Olivia, and if she remains stable, she will be allowed to be held more frequently.

Lung Development

The thing that’s being watched most is still her breathing. She has fluid around her lungs so her lungs aren’t able to expand as she breathes on her own. So she’s still on the more intense ventilator. Unfortunately, she can’t stay on that forever or her lungs will become dependent on it.

They have tried some diuretics to dry out the fluid around the lungs, but that didn’t completely solve it. But, they have now discovered a possible cause for the fluid in that she does have an infection in the lungs. While infections are scary, this is potentially really good news as it is something the care team can treat and will hopefully alleviate some of the fluid as part of the treatment.

So, it’s scary-sounding, but the team (and parents) are actually happy about this and a 7-day course of antibiotics has begun already.

This won’t reduce the existing inflammation, but it should prevent further inflammation. After this, they will administer steroids to help reduce inflammation and strengthen the lungs. This can sometimes have some long-term side effects, but the chances of those are dramatically lower after 30 gestational weeks, which it will be after the antibiotic treatment is finished.

Other Watch Items

PDA – Still being monitored. Has fluctuated between worse and better, but generally about the same. No new treatments will occur for this until after the infection around the lungs is treated. The size of the PDA is slightly benefitting the lungs at this point.

Moving Closer

In the “Good News” category, Becky and Max are still going in to Boston every day to see her. Their friends Chris and Kathleen have invited them to stay in their Melrose apartment and they are going to move in this week and spend part time there and part time at home. This way they can go in for shorter visits multiple times a day, drive less, and nap more. We also got some security cameras installed for the house to keep an eye on things while they’re away.

Becky and Max are so grateful for all the support they are receiving from their friends and family.

Becky Updates

Becky’s recovery is going well. She’s not fully recovered for another 3 weeks, but she’s moving a lot better and able to function like an active octogenarian now!