Today we took a break and didn't drive up to Tucson. When I called the NICU to get an update on Evan, the nurse told me she was going to have the resident doctor (Andrea) call to discuss the results of an EKG they did. Andrea called me back about 30 minutes after I had called and told me the results of the EKG weren't in the computer yet. She did say that Dr. Eddy (who is the main doctor) would speak with us on Saturday about starting steroid treatment on Evan to help wean him off the respirator. There are good and bad points of using steroids, but the benefits far outweigh the risks. The one big risk is that steroids supress the immune system which can make him prone to infection. The benefit would be that steroids cut down on the lung inflammation, which would help him breathe easier.
The rest of the call went well...nothing else major to report about. About thirty minutes later, the phone rings again and it's the NICU. Andrea was calling again to tell me she saw the results of the EKG. She said that the EKG shows that Evan has a PDA, which stands for Patent Ductus Arteriosus (it sounds like a Harry Potter spell to me). :-) It is a very common condition that the majority of preemies get. Not to get too medical technical on you, it basically means, a blood vessel near his heart and lungs did not close as it is supposed to do after birth. When a baby is still in the womb, that blood vessel sends blood directly into the aorta (bypassing the lungs which aren't being used yet). When a term baby is born and starts breathing, the PDA starts to close automatically. Since Evan wasn't born at term and didn't start breathing normally, his PDA didn't get that signal to close. Andrea says that almost 80% of the babies in the NICU have PDA, so he's not alone.
So, treatment is for him to get doses of indomethacin over the next few days (the only drawback is that this medication works best if the baby is within 2 weeks of birth and Evan is right on that time limit). If that medication doesn't close the PDA, then he will have to have surgery to close it. The PDA ligation surgery (if he has to have it), is a very safe operation and is always successful. They would go through his back (so it's not open-heart) and the result would be a very small scar that would fade over time. So, fingers crossed the medication works, but if he has to have surgery, it's not anything to worry about.
So now, with that second phone call, the steroid treatment is on hold since the PDA treatment takes priority. The PDA could also be contributing to Evan not coming off the respirator more quickly, so we'll be glad to get that cleared up. After the PDA heals, he may not need the steroid treatment anyway.
We'll get more details tomorrow after our visit.
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UMC Charges: $9,825.95
Running Total: $155,329.44
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