Save Ferris!

My mom (Grammie) told me yesterday that she ran into a colleague of hers at the post office and briefly told her about the Woody Situation, as it were. The colleague said something along the lines of "I've been praying for the one pound four ounce baby already! It got announced on the radio station!" Thanks to the chaplain at Gardner-Webb University (go Bulldogs, woot woot) it seems that everyone in Cleveland County, North Carolina has heard about lil' Woody.

This tiny anecdote is but the most dramatic example of the phenomenon that I have become aware of: people that I didn't even know about have been following the kid's progress. I am flabbergasted and touched and in some ways, really freaked out. I mean, I kept up a blog for a long time but I was protected from my spotty writing by the fact that no one actually ever read it. That being said, I write the updates partly for posterity, partly for my own personal therapy, and partly so that I don't have to send out daily emails to family and friends. And I am self-aware enough to know that it's the charisma of the kid that keeps up the interest. Anyway, thanks for caring. I really mean it.

Woody is doing very well the last few days. The doctor yesterday told me that the PIE issue has seemed to just evaporate, and suddenly isn't something we're nearly so worried about anymore. His x-rays continue to show problems with the nasty haze and they sound (here's that gross word again) "wet", so they continue to treat him with the lasix to keep him urinating strongly and keep fluid from accumulating in the lungs.* The haze in his lungs is likely the development of scar tissue and similar damage due to the CLD and he is going to be fighting this for the remainder of his time at the NICU. Fortunately, my research has indicated that CLD is something that kids can just sort of outgrow, literally, as they repair the damage to their tissues and get bigger and stronger. Moreover, he has maintained good blood gas levels, which means that he's tolerated the move back to the normal ventilator well.

To that end, we're very happy that we have moved back to trying to prime his gut with tiny amounts of milk, which can lead to real feedings later. Other than his ongoing lung problems, the biggest worry now is his arterial line that remains in his belly button; these things normally last only about a week to nine days, but it's been in a lot longer. If it doesn't come out, it can pose a danger for clots and infection, but if it comes out, then we'll have to come up with another strategy for drawing blood for tests, and with his condition being touch-and-go this week they considered that the worse threat at the time. Sometime in the next couple of days the 'art line' will have to go and a decision will need to be made about his draws.

Finally, Woody is two weeks old today. He's already survived childbirth, intubation, two ventilator switches, PIE, and generally just existing where a 23 week baby isn't supposed to. He's been such a fighter and I'm really proud of him. Now if I could only just hold him and stuff.

*DID YOU KNOW?? Woody's room features a mini postage scale, and they weigh each diaper to keep track of how much he pees out.