Day 5 - A Word of Caution

Day 5 brings more stability and yet more improvement.  His lungs continue to slowly get better as the pressure needed from his ventilator is lessening which is a good indication of the fluid leaving the lungs.  They started Shawn on a slow drip of Beth's breast milk (3mL/hour) so she is thrilled to finally see some fruits of her pumping labors!  He also had his first poop yesterday!  It's nice to celebrate the simple things... makes him seem more like a normal baby boy.

There's not much to update as he was pretty stable yesterday and they haven't wanted to rock the boat too much just yet so I'll take this opportunity to discuss some words of caution.  I'm sure many have noticed a change of tone on this blog since Shawn's birth.  Justifiably so, I'd say, considering how well the delivery and atrial septostomy went.  The prognosis and likely outcomes of last Wednesday's events as the doctors were quoting us leading up to the big day led Beth and I to think and plan for the worst and hold onto only a small thread of hope.  As hope turned into reality throughout the course of Wednesday morning, joy washed over me.  Our son is alive and we are so very blessed to be at this point today.  However, I do not want my elation to misdirect anyone.  I do not want to give the impression that he is fine and will be coming home soon.  Shawn is a very sick 5 day old in intensive care.  We have made very tiny baby steps of improvements towards recovery and all that hard work can be wiped away in a matter of minutes.  The issues with the intact atrial septum caused major back pressure in his lungs and pulmonary vasculature causing severe hypertension and developmental issues.  These will take weeks if not months to heal and correct themselves.    Right now we are playing a waiting game as they tweak little things here and there as he is able to provide more and more support for himself.  Nothing major will happen this week.  They want to make sure he is as strong as possible for the next procedure.  We are in for a long hard road ahead and we are only getting started.

Please continue your prayers and thoughts for little Shawn and all the nurses and doctors at Riley Children's Hospital as they continue to work miracles on our little guy.