Nathan has made fairly good progress through days 2 and 3.
He was moved to a ventilator tube on Monday that he will continue to use for 24 - 48 hours. The endotracheal ventilator tube breaths for him and also allows the delivery of a surfactant drug which helps the capillaries in the lungs expand and stay open. Premature babies often have lung capillaries that stay closed and stuck together with mucus and fluid. The surfactant drug will help clear that fluid and he should then be able to return to the CPAP breathing apparatus.
He is also getting a phototherapy treatment with a bililight. The bililight is a focused UV light that will break down a natural body chemical called bilirubin. The biliruben chemical is normally broken down by the liver. Bilirubin naturally rises to the surface of the skin causing jaundice and a yellow skin tone. The UV light breaks it down to a chemical level that the blood can dispose of. Full term babies often have high bilirubin levels causing jaundice and premature babies almost always have high biliruben levels.
Sunday and Monday was a blur for me. Today (Tuesday) my blood pressure is starting to fall a bit and I'm feeling much better. My medication regimen was updated and I'm ready to get out of the hospital. I feel that I can recover better if I was at home in my own bed.
That's the story for now!
He was moved to a ventilator tube on Monday that he will continue to use for 24 - 48 hours. The endotracheal ventilator tube breaths for him and also allows the delivery of a surfactant drug which helps the capillaries in the lungs expand and stay open. Premature babies often have lung capillaries that stay closed and stuck together with mucus and fluid. The surfactant drug will help clear that fluid and he should then be able to return to the CPAP breathing apparatus.
He is also getting a phototherapy treatment with a bililight. The bililight is a focused UV light that will break down a natural body chemical called bilirubin. The biliruben chemical is normally broken down by the liver. Bilirubin naturally rises to the surface of the skin causing jaundice and a yellow skin tone. The UV light breaks it down to a chemical level that the blood can dispose of. Full term babies often have high bilirubin levels causing jaundice and premature babies almost always have high biliruben levels.
Sunday and Monday was a blur for me. Today (Tuesday) my blood pressure is starting to fall a bit and I'm feeling much better. My medication regimen was updated and I'm ready to get out of the hospital. I feel that I can recover better if I was at home in my own bed.
That's the story for now!
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