Update on Calvin

Calvin is doing better today. He has now been on antibiotics for almost 48 hours, and will be on them for about a week-depending on his needs. His color is much better, and he is a little more active. His labs look a little better. They were doing those every 8 hours and have stepped back to once a day. He gets an abdominal X-ray every 6 hours. Those still look the same. They are looking for air in his tummy. He has a lot of air in his intestines, but thankfully he does not have any in his abdomen outside of his bowels. That is another major concern.

They have taken Calvin off all feeds and even have a tube through his mouth to his stomach to suck out anything and everything, including his own stomach acids and saliva. He hates this tube and has even pulled it out today. He is getting all nutrition through his IV right now. If they feel he is ready, they will try to start him on tiny amounts of breast milk again Monday.

Calvin is still doing well with breathing. He is only on 21% oxygen (room air), and only on 2 liters of flow. We are told this is very impressive for how sick he is. We did not have to ever put him on a ventilator, and should be past that risk (knock on wood).

He is still having some Brady episodes. This is where his heart rate drops way low and consequently so do his oxygen levels. But, they are very short and he comes out of them on his own now. On Thursday night when he would have them he required a lot of stimulation and even had to be resuscitated using the bag to get him to breath again. These episodes are common for preemies of Calvin's size and even more so when the baby is sick. They are not so concerning as long as they come out of them on their own, and the baby's oxygen level does not get too low. They make my heart drop every time- no matter how severe.

Thank you all for you thought, prayers, and kind words. I have not had a chance to respond to everyone yet, but I have read and re-read every message and comment. Your prayers are being felt and answered! It touched me beyond words to hear that primary kids had been praying for us. Thank you all. By the time we get our precious boy home I will be forever indebted to everyone I know.

This was probably his best day so far.



This was taken just before he was needing a blood transfusion.


This was the morning after he got sick. I was bawling when I saw our sweet baby like this.


This is today. It is not the greatest picture, but you can tell he looks much better.


- Posted by Brianna