The Story of Nicholas' Early Arrival: Blood Clot

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Blood Clot

Nicholas' brain ultrasound showed a blood clot in the fourth ventricle. This could have been caused by the initial IVH or from the shunt surgery- basically any bleeding in the brain could have been the source of the blood that formed the clot. It is at the base of the brain near the brain stem. The fourth ventricle is enlarged right now so the clot is blocking CSF from draining to the spinal cord. It didn't look enlarged last week but it could have been. The lateral ventricle has decreased in size because of the shunt and when that was enlarged it could have made the enlarged fourth ventricle look normal. So they really can't tell when it happened. The neurosurgeon is out of town but they called him and his assistant and NP are going to look at the ultrasound. It is not an emergency right now because it doesn't appear to be bothering him. The brain stem controls breathing, heart rate and circulation. All of that is fine on Nicholas right now. So they are going to watch him closely and see what the neurosurgeon says when he gets back. He could do nothing and hope it goes away on its own or it could require another surgery to compress it and get rid of the blockage. Just another day on the NICU roller coaster.

Other than that, he is doing well. They decreased his Vapotherm down to 2.5 liters. He took his whole bottle at 2pm and will get his other two tonight.

2 comments:

Grandma TerriMarch 10, 2009 at 8:39 PM
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Grandma TerriMarch 10, 2009 at 8:46 PM
I never did like roller coaster rides. Thanks for all the clarification, Rin. You do a great job of simplifying all the medical terminology so we can understand what's going on. Hope this clot goes away on its own and no extra surgeries are needed. Love and prayers to the three of you.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Preemie Experience

The Preemie Experience
The preemie experience is the shattering of all your dreams
For a normal, healthy delivery,
Of the ability to carry home a beautiful squirming bundle
After a short stay in the hospital.
It is lying there in your hospital room listening to
The happy sounds of whole families joined
Together by the birth of a grandchild, cousin, niece,
or nephew, and knowing that your
Child is miles away and may not survive long enough
For you to see or simply touch.
It is that first glimpse of a skinny, scrawny, not much bigger
Than a Barbie doll child
And feeling, fear, awe, and joy for such a fragile soul.
It is sitting by your baby’s “bedside” day after day,
Week after week, month after month,
Alternating between the emotional high of “Look, his eyes are open,” or “he’s crying!”
And the lows of “I’m sorry, something has shown up in the ultrasound,”
Or even “There is nothing we can do…”
It is hearing the alarms go off for the twentieth time in less
Than fifteen minutes because your
Child’s heart rate keeps hitting zero.
It is watching children dying around you, wondering if
Your child will be next.
It is hearing your child’s cry of distress as the nurses
Insert yet another IV and do another
Round of daily blood tests.
It is meeting other parents of children who are doing far better
And wondering, “Why me?”
And meeting parents of children who have just died,
And praising God for His mercy
To your child and feeling guilty because your child is alive
And someone else is grieving for theirs.
It is days of nightmarish testing and coping with less
Than positive results to the tests.
It is days of joy at seeing the first eyelash appear,
The child gain a whole ounce in one day,
And two bright shiny eyes look at you and into your soul,
And knowing that your child now recognizes you as Mama or Dada;
Or perhaps looks at you and does not see you at all…
It is that final hurdle before coming home!
It is the sorrow of waiting for the monitor company Representative to show you what to do
If the alarm sounds when your child is choking,
Gasping for breath, or simply dying.
It is the joy of just being away from all those nurses
And tubes and wires and beeps, and
Walking into the nursery you hastily prepared because,
after all,
The child wasn’t due for another four months!
It is thinking the nightmare is over…only to realize it still Continues in the form of
Such acronyms as PVL, RSV, BPD, CP and numerous others.
It is the final realization that those developmental delays
Have to be dealt with,
That reflux is a normal and unfortunate
occurrence in most preemies,
That the constant fight to gain weight is in direct proportion
To a preemie’s ability to do so.
It is watching a child struggle to pick up his or her head, sit, Crawl, or walk.
It is witnessing only silence when the child should be babbling,
Because the child cannot hear.
It is the mental images of a child running and playing
And communicating with others in a
Perfectly normal manner that are marred when you face years of therapy
In order to simply get the child to eat by himself or herself,
To talk or walk and then run.

The preemie experience is a journey…A journey through your soul in order to find the faith and strength to cope,
A journey of the mind when you face the emotional weariness,
A journey of the heart…to accept that, no matter what,

This child is yours,
And you will love this child no matter what.

The Story of Nicholas' Early Arrival

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Blood Clot

2 comments:

Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

Welcome

Blog Archive

Followers

About Me

Helpful Links

Preemie Experience

Counter