Results

Well it has been a very long day, and with it, a great deal of waiting.  But finally this afternoon we were able to talk with our son's doctor for a few minutes and discuss all his test results and where we will go from here.

The echocardiogram from yesterday showed that his patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is still large and causing stress to his heart.  His doctor called for a cardiologist to come and see him (hopefully sometime today or early tomorrow), to help make some decisions about what to do next.  It seemed to me that his doctor is not nearly as optimistic that it will close on its own anymore, and is starting to think that he may need heart surgery.  Hopefully, consulting a cardiologist will help shed some light, and allow his doctor to make the right decision for him at this time.  We are hoping to hear back from the doctor tomorrow so that we will have a better idea of what their plans are, so please be in prayer for all the doctors who are seeing him right now.

On the bright side, he had an MRI today to look at his head and check on the hemorrhage around his brain, and it has cleared itself up, AND it did not leave any scarring, which could have led to some permanent damage.  So we are very excited and thankful for that!

ALSO, I was able to try and breastfeed for the very first time today (he is now 69 days old).  It is most definitely something he will have to work on and practice, but he can definitely do it, so I was very encouraged!

Even though he still has several heart defects, he is growing and doing unbelievably well.  He has been off of oxygen for a full week now (the longest period of time yet), and when he is breathing well and awake, is capable of drinking an entire bottle, which is fantastic.  There are babies in the NICU who don't have any heart defects who are not interested or have the stamina to drink their bottle.  So we are very proud of him, and convinced he is a remarkably strong boy!

Thank you so very much for your continued prayers!