Did I mention how much a difference a day makes? Oh yeah...yesterday I did! haha Well today is more good news! God is awesome! The previous 24 hours of EEG results are in...only 18 seizures! We are working our way back down again! Wahoo!!!

So what caused all this mess in the first place then? Here's our best guess...and a logical one at that:

1) Jacob is born & doesn't expand his lungs well, so as time goes by, C02 is getting in his system & condition is worsening.
2) He aspirates, which causes fluid to get into his lungs, causing more respiratory problems.
3) The Klonopin can cause more respiratory distress.
4) Lungs get so bad & lack of oxygen can cause anybody's system to react, with Jacob it resulted in massive amounts of seizures.
5) He gets put on a respirator to help him breathe which also helps to clear out his lungs.
6) He's on antibiotics for the surgery which is also helping to clear out the infection he has in his lungs.
7) Jacob's seizures get less & less as his body recovers from being 'sick'.

Does that make as much sense to you as it does me?! So here's the plan for the next several days:

1) Ativan was stopped tonight & oral Klonopin was put in it's place via the G-Tube.
2) Tomorrow, Depakote-IV will be stopped & begun via G-Tube.
3) Tomorrow, Breast milk should be started again in his new G-Tube, gradually increasing feeds as he tolerates (just like when he was first born).
4) Continue with EEG monitoring while the oral meds get back in his system to ensure nothing crazy is happening.
5) Continue to monitor his lung x-rays to verify the lungs are getting better.
6) Once we know he is stable with meds & feedings, as well as noticeably clearer lungs, we will attempt to extubate.

I think that covers just about everything that I discussed with Dr A. Johnson & the neonatologist tonight. We are all VERY happy to see Jacob going in the right direction, course we still don't have any idea what this means long term, we just have to take it day by day.

There is still a big question as to whether or not he will be able to breathe on his own effectively, only time will tell, but at least this time, we'll know that checking his C02 levels will be very important to make sure we don't end up where we were earlier this week.

He's also still not showing any good awake periods, however, as he starts getting off the Ativan, hopefully we'll start to see a change with that as well.

Overall Status: Good Day

Visitors: None

Dinner Provided By: The Stratton's