3 Weeks, 6 Days (GA: 31 Weeks)

The neurosurgeon called first thing this morning to tell us that he did not think Gabe should go through with the reservoir surgery.  But he told us we could have it done if we wanted to.  How is that for a proposition from the specialist?  A neurosurgeon who has gone through how many years of school and experience throws the final decision on a brain surgery to a couple worn-out parents who are struggling to understand what is going on with their little baby.  Given all the neurosurgeon's reasons, we agreed that we will wait and see.

When I got to the hospital today and told Dr. Burshears---the doctor who showed me all the images yesterday and convinced me that Gabe needed the surgery---that the neurosurgeon did not want to do the surgery, she gave me the most surprised and frustrated look.  But after the neurosurgeon spoke with Dr. Burshears they all seemed to be on the same page.  The neurosurgeon did take Gabe's little beanie off and had me feel his sutures and his soft spot (fontanel).  The sutures were overlapped (not separated) and the soft spot was, well, soft.  Both symptoms indicate the absence of intracranial pressure.  The plan now is to get an ultrasound Monday and again next Thursday.  They will keep him at Primary Children's and will monitor his fontanel daily for changes.  On a bright note, when the neurosurgeon showed me the images of the CT Scan and ultrasound, he mentioned in passing that Gabe's cerebellum looked normal.  He said that it is typical for the cerebellum to remain undamaged with IVH/PVL, but it was nice to get a little fleeting good news for a change.

Nanette called me midday and asked me to come home immediately because her bleeding and blood clots had increased.  When I got home we decided to go to her OB/GYN clinic to see Dr. Parker.  She got another ultrasound and there was definitely something in her uterus, but whether it was a blood clot or "products of conception" (i.e., placenta) could not be determined.  Dr. Parker suggested that Nanette get a D&C, and was ready to go the hospital right away.  But then he decided to use ring forceps to see if he could pull out the offending material while there in his office.  He successfully pulled out some gunk and sent it off to the lab to see what it is.  He is hopeful that this stuff was the root cause of the ongoing issues with her recovery and expects Nanette to improve from here out.  We hope and pray for the same thing.

Little Zeke showed some more signs of infection (distended bowels and pale color) this afternoon, so they gave him the full sepsis rundown: CBC, CRP, UA, Blood Culture, and Lumbar Puncture looking for bacteria.  He is off milk again and has an Anderson tube in his stomach to pull air out.  So he is on close watch tonight.