Well, I am sure most of you know that I am not home yet, but just wanted to update everyone on how things have been going. Unfortunately, I had a set back the weekend before my hernia surgery, so it has been postponed. My oxygen requirements increased and I went from .3 liters to 4 liters overnight. When all was said and done, I was up to 8 liters. My doctors quickly began testing and treating me for everything under the sun. I quickly began to recover. They are not positive about what caused this but are proposing that it came from either an infection, an aspiration (basically, milk somehow got into my lungs) or inflammation. They treated me for all of them and this past Friday, I had a procedure called bronchoscopy. They scoped my lungs to collect cells to test to see if they could find the cause of my problems. The procedure had a risk of me having to be ventilated if my lungs were not strong enough to tolerate the sedation, but I was a big boy and made it breathing on my own. We should get the results some time this week.

While I was sick, I developed pulmonary hypertension which was a little scary, but a little nitric oxide and Viagara helped alleviate that problem. Yep, Viagara (these nurses are HOT...just kidding). The Viagara helps to relax and widen the blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily to my lungs. The increased my steroid dose and stopped my bottle feedings, but I think they are going to restart my bottle feedings today. Not to worry, I am eating really well and tipped the scales at a whopping 8lbs 6oz last night! I am 17 weeks old today.

I had another eye exam, and my eyes have continued to improve. I am now back to Stage 1, which is great! I will have what should be my last follow up in two weeks, but things are looking good. My Mom and doctor think we jinxed things, so we are not going to speculate about my homecoming anymore. I just want you all to know that I am doing much better and am well on my way to recovery. Please keep me in your prayers and I will be home before you know it.

Hollywood, Here I Come

Well, I guess when everyone tells me how cute I am, they really mean it. The Adventist Hospital group was filming some commercials and they asked my Mom if I could be in them. The camera crew came out and taped me for like 3 hours and I had a great time. The local commercials will be shown on channel 9 (WGN) starting next month but I will be sure to let you all know when I get more details. Things have been coming along well and my Mom told my doctor that she was taking me home next week, so we'll see. I am having my hernia surgery this coming Monday, so please keep me in your prayers. Hopefully we will be good to go a few days after that. I am up to 7lbs 5oz. I'll have my last eye test this week. I've been back and forth with my bottles, but I am close to taking 8. My doctor said that it is a little harder for me because my lungs are working so hard. He likened it to trying to drink a bottle while running a marathon.

Shouldn't Be Too Much Longer

A couple of my doctors think they're funny guys and call me Sammy Sosa, but I have to admit these steroids aren't too bad. After having to go up on my oxygen some more, my pulmonologist decided that we needed to increase my steroid dosage a little to help accommodate my bigger size. Well, it did the trick because I am now all the way down to .3 liters of oxygen (yes, there is a decimal in front of that 3). I have continued to gain weight and as of today, I am 6lbs 5oz. My speech therapist gave me the green light to attempt bottle feedings at each feeding. I have been taking 6 or 7 a day, so I hope to be to 8 by the end of this week. The eye doctor came Friday and my eyes improved a little more. The blood vessels have usually done what they are going to do by this gestational age, so I should be good to go without laser surgery. I am going to see him again in two weeks for good measure, but the prognosis looks good. Dr. P told my Mom he is just about ready to give us an eviction notice and we promised him that we wouldn't be mad if he did. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated as we find out more, but God willing, I should definitely be home in the next 2 or 3 weeks.