3/12 Update: A Good Day!

All-- We have good news to report today but before getting to the details, allow me a few administrative details:

1) The hospital doesn't have wireless access for the public so don't expect many posts during the day. Don't worry-- I've already stopped by the customer service office to laud the NICU unit and also suggest that they consider offering wireless support. (yes-- I offered to help install.)

2) If you don't know how to leave a comment on this blog, here are some basic directions. At the bottom of each post, it always says "X comments." Click on the comments and then on the right hand side, you can type a comment. It asks for a google account but if you don't have an account, you can scroll down and check the anonymous button. We just ask you leave your name in the text so we know who's commenting.

Okay, with those details out of the way, here's the update from today-- it's mostly good news. I'll provide the details in the order we learned them.

1) As was stated last night, there was an EKG scheduled for this morning to analyze the PDA (leaky heart duct) and the doctors reported very good news: the duct is much smaller than Monday and is nearly closed. At this time, it doesn't require any type of surgery. (For those keeping score at home-- this was the best scenario laid out in last night's post.) We spoke with the cardiologist later in the day and he was quite pleased by this development. In fact, he told us that prior to stopping by Madeleine's apartment (some call it an isolet), he called the heart surgeon to cancel the surgery scheduled for Thursday (3/13) morning. He did warn us that while the heart duct is nearly closed now, it is fairly common for children with Down's Syndrome to struggle with closing it completely. In some instances, the baby can close the duct where in others, it can reach this stage and stay this way indefinitely. In some other cases, it can even open back up. The good news is that as long as the duct doesn't increase in size, they can wait to close it completely until the more major heart surgery is sheduled down the road (approximately 4-6 months).

2) While the cardiologist reported great news in regard to the PDA, he didn't have all good news. Instead, he identified the same blood clot that was noticed a few days ago. It was hoped that Madeleine had absorbed the clot two days ago when her IV was removed. Instead, it appears that the clot is in the same location and is about the same size as it was last Monday. At this point, the doctors don't know what is going to happen with it. The worst possibility is that the clot could still break free and wreak havoc. Another negative option is that the clot poses a potential risk for infection. Given this risk, they are monitoring Madeleine's blood very closely and at this point, they see no signs of infection. (we pray it stays this way.) The best possibility is that Madeleine's body begin absorbing this clot and we see it slowly disappear. If you're going to pray-- this isn't a bad option to focus on. At this point, there aren't many medical options as the doctors feel it is still too risky to consider blood thinners and she is too fragile for any surgical options.

3) Okay, enough bad news, here's some other good news: the NEC (intestinal inflammation) appears to be decreasing and the doctors believe that this trend should continue. They cautioned that with NEC, anything is possible, but they've seen an improving trend for almost 24 hours and they're hoping that Madeleine has turned the corner. This was probably the best news of the day because this indicates that Madeleine is fighting back and could well be on her way to recovery.

So overall-- this was a very good day for our little girl. With that being said, the doctors were sure to stress that she is by no means out of the woods and when she clears these hurdles, there are still plenty more challenges that lie ahead. Still, we're feeling pretty right now and we think its fair to celebrate our small victories.

The game plan at this point is pretty simple: hope that the NEC continues to improve over the next 48 hours and also hope for the best with the PDA and clot in the heart. The next EKG is scheduled for Friday morning and the intestinal surgeon doesn't plan on seeing Madeleine until Friday (assuming nothing happens tomorrow). Therefore, we have a simple goal for Thursday: we want a boring day with as few doctors involved as possible. :)

In any case, I hope things are going well for everyone out there. We can't stress how much we appreciate everyone's support. We'll keep blogging as we learn more information and look forward to many more positive entries. Have a great night!

B & K