March 15, 2006

Zachary has been stable over the past few days. The doctors have tried to challenge him by reducing his ventilator support to see what he can tolerate. He made some good progress following his PDA ligation surgery but seems to have slowed down over the past couple of days. He's not getting worse but is not progressing as quickly as the doctors would like. If they're not able to decrease his ventilator support much over the next 4-7 days they are considering the use of corticosteroids which may help him come off of the ventilator sooner. This option will be considered carefully as use of these steriods has been known to increase the risk of cerebral palsy. The long term effects of extended ventilator support may outweigh the added risk of using the steroid. We will see over the next several days what they decide is the best option.

Another important step is to get Zachary on "full feeds" rather than being nourished by total parenteral nutrition (TPN) through an IV. Zach has been nourished largely through IV since birth. Lack of feeding leads to reduced gut hormone secretion, reduction of bile flow, and biliary stasis. In other words, long term use of TPN can be hard on the liver. He has high bilirubin count (jaundice) which can be solved by discontinuing IV nourishment and feeding him solely through his NG tube. He is currently taking 18cc/3 hours. (~0.6 oz). They'd like him to tolerate close to 2 oz./3 hours before discontinuing the IV. So far he has done well. Hopefully he'll continue to tolerate the increased feedings over the next several days. His current weight is 6 lbs. 10 oz.

We finally got to hold him again yesterday. Zach sure misses being held by his daddy who is in China right now. He's looking forward to his return on Friday 3/24 (as are the rest of us). Hailey got to visit today and Zach enjoyed holding his big sister's hand for a few minutes. Clayton can't wait to turn 4 so he can go in to visit as well. :) Hopefully we'll have Zach home long before then.

Thanks to all who are following Zachary's progress. He has been amazingly strong and continues to need the many prayers he receives each day. We can't thank you enough for the strength you provide through your faith.