Day 16: One step forward, two steps back.....

Overall, Emma had a fairly stable day and she slept peacefully throughout my visit to the NICU tonight. As Eric mentioned earlier, her WBC count remains elevated although she is otherwise asymptomatic and shows no signs of infection. Given that the docs are still somewhat reluctant to proceed with surgery when the cause/ location of the infection remains unknown, they asked for a consult from the Infectious Disease service. The I.D. team was in to see Emma this afternoon but they too are uncertain as to the cause...

Emma received another blood transfusion today (her 3rd) but thankfully has not had any further episodes of prolonged bleeding after blood draws (as she had late last week). She didn't tolerate her breastmilk feeds again though, so they have been discontinued. She is scheduled to have an abdominal xray tomorrow morning... hopefully there will be no evidence of NEC (necrotizing entercolitis, a common but v. serious gastrointestinal disorder seen in preemies). She's also going to have additional blood tests and a chest xray. Once the results of all of these are back, the team will make a decision regarding surgery. We hope to know by noon tomorrow...

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes... I was finally released from the hospital on Friday evening and am feeling better. Apart from mild anemia and another week on antibiotics, I should be as good as new soon.