1 Year Anniversary

Thanks to everyone who was concerned that Annie and I actually get out and do something to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Well we did, and we had a good day. We got up and ran a few errands then went and visited Braden. Afterwards Annie, Clara, Leroy, and I all went to eat at Dave & Busters. This is a unique restaurant/bar/arcade well known in the Dallas area. It's a Chucky Cheese for adults. We played games like skeeball, basketball, and coin operated games that pay off in tickets. We used the tickets we won for prizes & toys for Braden. We played our old favorite arcade games like Space Invaders & Pac-Man. We had a few drinks and a nice dinner. It was a very fun evening.

Now for Braden's condition. The nurses had told us that they had been flirting with maybe removing Braden from his ventilator. This was surprising news since just days earlier his lung X-Rays had come back not much better, still slightly closed and cloudy. He had been making incredible progress in just days and even hours (such is the life of a preemie). We received a call at about 11am on Saturday that yes he was coming off. We cut our errands short and rushed to the hospital to be able to finally see his face without the breathing tube in his throat and the tape holding it in. We got there just in time. They had just taken him off and he was breathing room air on his own. His nurse was monitoring him and would give him oxygen from a mask as he needed it. He was doing great. We got the whole thing on film by the way. They did put in a CPAP in his nose. Here is what that is: CPAP (pronounced "C"-pap) stands for continuous positive airway pressure. Unlike a respirator, the CPAP doesn't actually mechanically breath for the baby. The CPAP provides continuous air pressure that makes it easier for a baby to inflate their lungs when they inhale. It is both less aggressive and less invasive than the respirator.

The CPAP isn't the most comfortable looking thing. Babies on CPAP look as though they are all hooked up to go scuba diving. However, it was a step in the right direction. We hung out with Braden before we went out to eat and he was doing great. We called to check on him later that night and he was still doing well except his blood gases were coming back a little off. The blood gas is the measure of oxygen, carbon dioxide and acid content in a small blood sample taken from Braden's arteries.

Unfortunately, when we called to check on Braden this morning his gases were still off. Due to this they thought it was best to get him back on the ventilator. We were hurt and disappointed, but the positives are that he did respond well off the vent and that the doctors/nurses were so well closely monitoring his situation. That alone gives us so much confidence. They assured us this wasn't even really a step back due to a lot of this being trial and error. In the past Braden has almost always needed a second try on each of his battles. We are sure that when his blood gases get back to where they need to be, he will come off that vent on his 2nd try with no problems. The nurses watching Braden told us his oxygen settings are great and he is doing fine. Eyes wide open and looking around at them. Annie will be going to visit him today while I am at work, so hopefully she'll have more good news to pass on. For everyone keeping count, Braden weighed in at a new personal best of 2lbs 10 1/2 ounces. We'll be posting some new pictures of him soon. Thanks - Steve & Annie