Give and Take

Hunter is still fighting his infection. It sounds like he's doing a pretty good job of it too. He is still looking good and pink, his breathing is still doing well. It sounds like his CO2 is still fluctuating, but the doctors say that's to be expected and they'll keep treating him to help this.

There is a new problem that has reared it's ugly head. I don't remember if I wrote about this before, but when a baby is on artificial respiration for too long it can damage the lungs. It can be caused by the tube going down the babies throat, the unnaturally high amount of oxygen being pumped into his lungs, and the high pressures being exerted on his tiny lungs. Unfortunately all three of these things are necessary to keep him breathing and alive. We're in a situation where we have to do something that will likely end up hurting Hunter to some degree in order to increase the chances that he is able to stay with us.

Today Hunter's doctor said that the first signs of this damage were beginning to show on the X-Rays. This lung damage leads to Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) which his doctor says we will be hearing a lot more about in the weeks to come. It is caused by scarring on the lungs, fortunately little babies lungs regenerate quickly and many of the effects of BPD disappear within the first year.

I'm betting he's going to be spending quite a bit more time on the ventilators. We're hoping we can keep any damage to a minimum and Hunter will be able to overcome this whole thing.