Holding my breath

A lady just came and did an echo on Wyatt's heart.

I hope the cardiologist gets the results over to Wyatt's doctors before they start their rounds.

I hope it's closed.... I really don't want him to have to have surgery.

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I didn't get to hear news that I wanted to hear :(

I just knew that stupid PDA wasn't going to be closed.  I had some mommy intuition on that one... or maybe Heavenly Father was telling me in my head to prepare me for the bad news so I didn't cry when I heard it.

It was still a hard not to cry.

But I didn't, I stayed strong for my little warrior.

Our options at this point are this:

1. Wait a few more days to see if it closes on it's own.  {There really aren't any risks in doing this.  He hasn't started feeds yet and a few more days won't hurt.}

2.  Perform the surgery to have the PDA closed.  {Wyatt would have to be intubated again and the surgery would be done bedside since he's still too little to be moved.  He would get a small incision on his left side and they would put something on the artery to close that little valve.  He would be weened off the air over the next couple of days and as long as he remained stable, they would be able to extubate him a few days after the procedure.}

The attending feels that they've done everything they can do close the PDA and since nothing has changed, she doesn't think it will make a difference to wait a few more days.  She doesn't want to have to do surgery either though and made a point to tell me that I didn't need to make a decision now, and that she is fully supportive of us if we want to wait a few days.

I spoke to Jared on the phone about it and we want to wait.  We have already asked our family and friends to fast with us on Sunday for Wyatt and feel that waiting at least until after the fast is over is the best decision.

We plan to meet with the surgeon to learn more about this procedure on Monday.  Hopefully the PDA just closes by then.

Come on Wyatt!  It can be my half birthday present AND Mothers Day present all in one.  Plus, then you can start eating.  :)  What do you say?

Other than the PDA staying open, the past couple of days have been pretty uneventful...

oh wait... I have to vent about something.

I did not like Wyatt's nurse from a couple of nights ago.  I have loved almost every single one of his nurses, but this girl really cut the cake.  When she got here, she kept talking to other people while the day nurse was giving her report and then after she got report, she socialized with the other nurses for the next hour.  She didn't come in and introduce herself to us and she didn't check on my son even ONE time in that entire hour.  You can see why I was not a very happy mom.  Even Jared was irked and it takes a lot to upset him.  She finally came in to do her 8:00 assessment at 8:15.  I asked her if she could change Wyatt's sheet every time she did an assessment because his skin flakes off and it's uncomfortable for him to lay on it.  She barely acknowledged that I was even talking to her and was just going as fast as she could to get finished... dislike.  All of the nurses usually take 30-45 minutes to do everything that Wyatt needs.  She took 15.  Thanks SO much for taking care of my son... :(

When I came in the next day, Wyatt's left foot had a new sore spot.  The day nurse told me that when the night nurse had moved the pulse-ox, it had burned his foot.  The next time the pulse-ox was moved when I was there I noticed that there was tape on it!  The freaking night nurse had put on a new pulse-ox and she didn't cut off the tape. :(  So when she moved it, the tape ripped the skin off of Wyatt's foot.  I was SO mad when I realized that this is what happened.  Her lack of attention for my son, damaged his fragile skin.  GRRRRRR.  All I know is it's a good thing she hasn't had him again.  It's taking a lot for me to not complain about her, but I'm not going to.  I doubt she'll ever pick him again because he just required too much of her precious time. {I think she's working in the wrong place!}  Okay, vent over.  And I just want to reiterate for all of my nurse friends before they get all defensive that I LOVE the majority of the nurses that I have associated with in my life.  But not everyone is perfect and this girl was just not cut out for the job.

Now here is an exciting thing that I have discovered.

Aquaphor has a medical donation program!  With this program, if you qualify, they will send you a case of aquaphor for free each quarter of the year.  YAY!  I called them today and had the information e-mailed to me so that I can apply.  Fingers crossed they approve the application! :)

Also, I discovered that the Foundation for Ichthyosis & Related Skin Types has a family conference every other year.  Families all across the country that are afflicted with ichthyosis can register and go to learn about this skin condition and meet other families, learn what treatments have been successful for other people and dermatologists are there that you can ask questions to.  This year it's in June, in Denver.  Wyatt will more than likely still be in the NICCU because, at that point, he'll only be 36 weeks gestation, so Jared and I are going to go.

We feel it will be a great resource to us to learn as much about his skin condition and how to treat it before Wyatt even comes home with us.  Jared and I are very excited for this opportunity and are grateful for the timing of it all.  Hopefully we'll make new friends and have our own little Ich family. :)

I leave you with Wyatt... karate kicking someones butt in his sleep.