Rocky Couple of Days

Hello Everyone,

I am going to do an update on Ender and then Rooney.

Wednesday night, Ender started to have frequent Bradycardias about every 2-3 minutes, which is a dip in his heart rate. The nurse at Magee also found some blood in his stool which were both signs of NEC or Necrotizing Enterocolitis. This is when air and gasses are trapped in the lining of the intestines causing infection and holes in the intestines. An Xray was taken of his intestines which showed that he had NEC and it was progressing rapidly. Since the situation was so serious, Ender was immediately intubated, put on 3 types of antibiotics and his feeding was IV only. He was transferred to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh where he could be closer to Neonatal Surgeons. If his intestine was to rupture, they would have go in and remove the infected portion of the intestine. Ender was placed in a room with constant care in critical condition. Since 6 oclock Thursday evening, he has had 4 Xrays, each slightly better than the previous one. He was put on morphine and had all kinds of blood tests run on him. His platelet count has been really low, so he was given a tranfusion and will recieve a couple blood transfusions as well. We are getting ready for a spinal tap to check to make sure he does not have meningitis. Throughout the constant poking and proding and pulling off of many many stickers, Ender has been a champ. His skin color has improved and he is being incredibly feisty. He remains in critical condition, though we are staying strong. Think about the little guy for us!

Since Ender left Magee, doctors there have been especially vigilant of Rooney. She had a few Bradycardias and was given an Xray which showed a small abnormality in the intestines. She has been put on antibiotics and feeding through the stomach has ceased for her as well. This is a precautionary measure, she has not been diagnosed with NEC, but it is better to be safe than sorry. She is doing well otherwise, also a plenty feisty ginger.

Please do not look up NEC online, it is incredibly scary and not worth thinking about. As requested a couple of pics of our lil g's:

 Ender

 Ender and Mom

 Rooney

 Rooney

 Ender at Children's