Over the last 3 days, Joe has made great progress. The staff at St. John’s Mercy NICU has been so great. Joey is bit jaundice and his bilirubin levels were up. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells.
Normally, bilirubin passes through the liver and is excreted as bile through the intestines. Jaundice occurs when bilirubin builds up faster than a newborn's liver can break it down and pass it from the body. One reason for this is that newborns make more bilirubin than adults do since they have more turnover of red blood cells, or even a newborn baby's still-developing liver may not yet be able to remove adequate bilirubin from the blood.
So Joey was put on phototherapy to help him eliminate the bilirubin in the blood. A baby's skin and blood absorb these light waves. This would provide light shining directly on an undressed baby (with diaper on) whose eyes would need protection from the light with soft eye patches applied.
In the picture below, don't let the lights, isolette, all the wires, IV, and nasal cannula scare/upset you! The lights are needs to help get rid of Joey's jaundice. The isolette is used to keep a constant temperature and keep our little guy warm. The wires are necessary for the nurses to monitor Joey's heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation. The IV is to give him the nutrients he needs until he can build up to a full feeding schedule. Lastly, the nasal cannula is used to give Joey oxygen. Sometimes he forgets to breathe on his own so they are pushing 21% oxygen (same as what you and I breathe) through the nasal cannula.
Joey has been brave and strong through the last couple of days and he needs your continued support!! Thank you to all for your love, prayers, and thoughts. We truly apprecate it!
No comments:
Post a Comment