Cautious Optimism

I am happy to report today that Cooper is doing much better!  It has probably been one of the longest weeks since this all began; but, praise God, Cooper seems to be recovering.  Tonight, he is off of CPAP and back in an open crib.  He is also back on bottle feeds and is eating like he has been starving!  We still have no idea what caused him to get so sick to begin with.  On Wednesday evening, the Infectious Disease team came to see him and recommended an LP (lumbar puncture, or spinal tap) because they suspected some type of meningitis, though they didn't know whether it was bacterial or viral.  Because his platelets were so low, there was a large risk of bleeding from the procedure, so they gave him a transfusion of platelets first.  They attempted the LP late Wednesday night, but were unsuccessful and unable to get any spinal fluid.  During rounds on Thursday morning, Dr. Mandy decided he would try and was able to get it the first time!  There was no bacteria that grew from those cultures, and they ran several viral studies, but so far they have not gotten any positive results.  We will probably never know what caused his illness, but right now are just trying to focus on the fact that he is getting better.  

Kinley is also still doing well.  Wednesday afternoon and evening, after they put her back on CPAP, she started spitting/throwing up a good amount of her feedings.  She also cried a good part of the day, so because of the pressure from the CPAP and taking in lots of air from crying, her belly filled with gas and got huge!  The on-call doctor Wednesday night made the decision to take her off of CPAP for at least the night to let her belly "deflate".  All of the spitting up can be dangerous because of the possibility of aspirating the fluid.  The next morning, Dr. Mandy agreed that it was best to keep her off of CPAP.  When he was filling us in on his plan he began by saying (in his thick Hungarian accent), "I have some serious concerns about Kinley...I have a feeling she will do whatever she has to do to get her way for the rest of her life."  Of course, we already knew that, but were glad he finally recognized that too!  They will continue to monitor her carbon dioxide and bicarbonate levels, but hopefully she will continue to do well without the CPAP.  We are also thankful that Kinley has still not shown any signs of contracting whatever Cooper had (knock, knock, knock), but I will rest a little bit easier at the end of the week.  

Unfortunately, we have not gotten to spend too much time with the babies the past few days because Thursday evening, Caleb (our 21 month old) started running a fever.  It was down by Friday night, and he really didn't show any other symptoms, but I spent Friday at home with him, and though Brian and I went up to see the babies today, we stayed far away from their cribs...we don't want to risk taking any more germs into that room!  

I have to say that we have made some great nurse friends who have been absolutely wonderful this week!  Sandy only worked Monday and Tuesday, and then was off until today, which made it an extra-long week!  But...through Sandy we have met some other wonderful nurses that have grown to truly care about us and Kinley and Cooper.  One of them even kept checking on the babies Friday and kept me updated via text throughout the day!  Sandy also kept in touch through text and making sure her friends were keeping her updated!  We will forever be grateful to these wonderful women!  In addition, Dr. Mandy has been extra-wonderful this week.  He was determined to try his best to get to the bottom of Cooper's illness and willing to jump through whatever hoops he had to.  On Wednesday, I had a bit of an emotional moment during rounds, and he just stopped talking and came over to give me a huge hug!!  On Friday, instead of having the resident call to update me (which is the norm), he called me himself to fill me in and told me multiple times that he missed me and was very sad that I was not there.  He is such a caring man and we can tell he is emotionally invested in our babies and we are incredibly thankful for all he had done for both of them!  

So for now, we remain cautiously optimistic about the progress of both babies. Thank you for all for the continued prayers and positive thoughts!