The honeymoon is over

Max has hit a bit of a bump in the road.  He has been struggling to keep his oxygen saturation stable, and has required 60-70% oxygen over the last day or so.  A chest x-ray was done which showed some deterioration in his lung capacity.  That could mean he has some fluid building up in some of the unused air sacs in his lungs.  The decision was made yesterday to move Max from the conventional ventilator to the jet or high-frequency ventilator.  The jet vent gives many small breaths of air, and helps to open the closed air sacs.  Max has tolerated this change fairly well so far, and his oxygen needs have been more in the 45-55% range.  The doctor also ordered a culture of the fluid in his lungs to determine if he has pneumonia.  They check the culture in 24, 48, and 72 hours to see if any bacteria has begun to grow, an we pray that nothing does grow.  While on the jet vent they also stop feeding Max breast milk, I am not entirely sure why, but the nurse said they almost always stop any breast milk feedings while a baby is on the jet vent.  The doctor also ordered a heart echo on both of the boys this morning because he thinks that their PDA valves may have re-opened.  If they have, he indicated that surgery may be the next step.

Kate and I understood the setbacks were going to be part of this whole journey, but this seems like a big step back.  Wes has been doing fairly well, but has also been needing more oxygen lately.  Wes is back up to his birth weight, maybe a few grams above, and Max is still slightly under his birth weight.  Please pray with us that the boys continue to grow and develop, that their PDA valves will still be closed, and that Max will respond well to the jet vent and be free of any pneumonia.