DAY 8 - FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008

KATIE - Today Katie is still pretty sore. Unfortunately the delivery doctor was pretty rough on her and she has quite a bit of bruising on her abdomen. She is also suffering from pretty severe swelling in her feet ankles, but she is in good spirits especially when she sees her two boys during feeding visits at the hospital. She is still trying to get as much rest as she can.

ANDREW - Today Andrew has had somewhat of a set back. Early this morning Doctor's discovered after a 5am x-ray that a part of his right lung had collapsed. The previous day's air that had infiltrated into his right chest had disappeared, but it caused a small part of his upper right lung to shrink which does not allow any air into it. The Doctor's believe that the air in his chest and the subsequent collapse is because he has been on a ventilator for so long. The ventilator has been working to provide a little bit of assistance to aid Andrews breathing. When Andrew begins to take a breath the ventilator kicks in and provides a little air to fill his lungs. This helps him so he doesn't have to work so hard to breath and allow him to direct his energy into healing. However, prolonged use of the ventilator can have some adverse effects. They have also found that he may have an infection in his lung. Occasional suctioning of the ventilator tube in his trachea has found some yellow mucous which can indicate a bacterial infection. He has been on antibiotics since the surgery, but ventilation tubes are great places for bacteria to hide. So, we've decided along with the Doctors to remove the ventilator tube from his trachea. It has come down to a catch 22 on whether to keep him on a ventilator and deal with the adverse effects or take him off the ventilator and see how well he can breath on his own. Steve and our Bishop gave him a Priesthood blessing at 4pm. At about 6pm the NICU Doctor and nurses removed the tube. We were not present when they removed the ventilation tube, but they said he had a rough time afterwards. He apparently cried so hard that he forgot to breath and became slightly blue and didn't get enough oxygen for a short time. But they helped to calm him down and so far he is doing pretty good and breathing on his own. They continue to give him oxygen through his nose, but he has a lot of congestion in his lungs. They've been giving him some medication to help clear his lungs and he is doing better with that. They also check the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in blood frequently and if the carbon dioxide levels rise he may have to be hooked up to the ventilation machine again. On a better note, Andrews kidneys continue to improve. Dr. Close, Andrew's pediatric urologist, said this evening that his Creatine levels have now dropped down to 0.4 which is nearly normal. Plus he continues to pee a lot which indicates his kidneys are still functioning very well. They performed another series of ultrasounds on his kidneys this morning and she said everything is still looking great. They are planning to perform another ultrasound on Monday. Because he is doing well with his kidneys the Doctor said that we may be able to bring him home even if his kidney issue has not been fully resolved. She said that he will still need some surgery to repair the blockage but after he gets a bit bigger and older. However we still need to get Andrew better with the problem with his esophagus and lungs. So we ask everyone to please remember Andrew in your prayers. We are still amazed as to how well he is holding up to the challenges he has went through and is still fighting strong. (PICTURE: His first picture since the his tube was removed)

AARON - Aaron never ceases to amaze us as to how well he is doing. During every feeding today he was able to finish his bottle. He no longer has the feeding tube (which he pulled out himself) so he has to get all of his food through the bottle. He is up to 45 cc of mothers milk/formula now which graduates him to the adlib club, which means he decides how much he want to eat as long as gets 38 cc. Considering he started at 10 cc at the beginning of the week he is doing pretty good. Today during one of his diaper changes he peed and some of it hit him in the face. He and we did not like that at all. The SCU Doctor looked at him today and said that we may be able to take him home as early as Sunday. We were so excited when we heard that. His latest weight is now at 4 lbs. 7 oz. which is almost the same as his birth weight. One of the things we have to do before we bring him home is watch a 20 minute infant CPR video, which we did. Since Steve is an EMT it was just a review for him. Tomorrow we have to bring in one of our infant carriers and he has to be able to sit in the carrier for an hour. They will monitor his heart rate and if he has no stress while being fully strapped into the carrier he passes that test. It will just be a matter or getting all of the paperwork signed and he will be ours to take home. (PICTURE: Proud parents with Aaron sans the feeding tube)