Iinformation as of: 7/14/03

• Actual Age: 1 month and 11 days old
• Gestational Age: 28 weeks and 6 days (this is how far along I am if I was still in my mommy's belly)
• Corrected Age: -2 months and 19 days (this is how old I am if I had been born on mommy's due date, Oct. 1 2003)
• Weight: 861 grams or 1 pound 14 ounces (up 93 grams from the last update)
• Length: 31 cm (same as last update)
• Head Circumference: 23.5 cm (up 1 cm from the last update)
• Current Issues my doctors are working on: (*-some change since last update)
  • *Lungs:
    My vent settings have come down since the last post. My doctors think it is my inhailed steriods that I am taking! Right now, I am on fairly low support. Even though they are better than they used to be, I am still on the Conventional Vent. I will probably be on the vent till they fix my belly (see below). I currently have moderate-mild chronic lung disease. This means I will might have asthma when I get older and get colds easier. See, my lungs will keep growing till I am age 3! So, while I have immature lungs right now, I will have time to recover. My lungs will never look like other people's, but they will be normal for me! Mommy knows lots of kids with asthma who didn't have all the problems I do! So, if that is the only lasting effect, that isn't too bad!
  • Belly:
    My belly got a tear in it when my bowels stopped working because I had a bad infection! But, the doctors made me better from the infection and my tear healed itself. BUT, when I healed, I got a scar that is now blocking part of my bowels. So, now I will have to have surgery-- but luckily not for a few more weeks. I will be sick for awhile after the surgery, but I am a fighter and will fight hard afterwords. There is a chance that long term I will have trouble getting all my nutrition (short bowel syndrom) and mommy and daddy will have to make me eat a lot or my growth could be stunted! But, the surgery will otherwise fix my bowels so that when I am in kindergarten, I shouldn't be any different than my friends!
  • Heart:
    My heart has something called a PDA. This is really normal for preemies to have. In fact, if I was still in my mommy's belly, I would need my PDA. The PDA is an area in the heart that is supposed to be closed off by a muscle that after birth. But, my muscle likes to flap open every once and awhile and gives me a heart murmer (allowing blood to go where it is not supposed to go. Right now it is not giving me much trouble and the doctors hope it will close by itself. If it doesn't close by itself, I will have to have a surgery to stich it together. The surgery is not open heart surgery- they go in through my side and it is a routine procedure for these special doctors at Riley. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to have that surgery till I am MUCH bigger. Other than that, I have a good heart!
  • Brain:
    This is not really a problem! :) The chances of me having a brain problem was about 98%(like a Brain Bleed, something called PVL where your brain has holes in it, or cysts that cause Cerebral Palsy). And as of my last head ultrasound when I was 5 weeks old, I had a normal brain! The doctors and nurses call that a miracle. I could still develop some problems, but the chances that I would develop something is much lower now because I am so old! In fact, the doctor said he wouldn't even do another ultrasound of my head. He would only do another one if I start acting funny. I will still need some more time to catch up to other kids my age, but I have a really good chance of catching up with my peers by around age 5 or 6.
  • *Infections / Immune System:
    Well, the doctors don't know if I really had a staph infection last week like I told you about on the last update. I had a positive culture, but one doctor thinks that the culture was contaminated and the other doctor thinks I really had it! The good news is, that I don't have it anymore. All my subsequent cultures have been negative and I am acting like I feel better! Lets hope that I stay that way. Infections are not fun! The last infection I had (when I was 3-4 weeks old) was rare and called polly sepsis. This means that I had 2 different cutties at the exact same time (a type of staph and an ecoli). Most little guys like me don't make it through that kind of a hit- 2 bugs at once! But, I fought them off, though I scared my mommy and daddy real bad at one point.
  • Eyes:
    My eyes are open now! They were closed (fused shut) when I was born. But, I have not had my eye exam yet. I should have it next week. I might have something called ROP. Lots of preemies have it. It means that I could be blind- but that most likely I will just have to have laser surgery and wear glasses. We don't know if I have ROP yet, I might not. But, I can see something! Mommy caught me looking at my hand today. I was wondering was it was and why it moved when I thought it should move!