The Ups & Downs Continue

Emma is back on oxygen. As we've mentioned, most times she needs only a tiny amount, but she's consistently needing more at feeding time, so they've put the nasal prongs back on her. After more than a week of being tube-free, it's a bit hard to see them on her again. The diuretic she was given on Monday didn't do as much as the docs had hoped to remove the excess fluid accumulation in her lungs, so they've also decided to put her back on bronchodilators (Ventolin and Flovent puffers). Emma was on these for a while when she was in the NICU at the General, but she hadn't needed them in many weeks. She will likely need them once she comes home, too. We're not yet sure if she'll come home on oxygen or not.

Emma also had another eye exam today. The good news is that the ROP has improved somewhat in her right eye. The bad news is that is has progressed a bit in her left eye. It is still stage 2-3 (mild to moderately abnormal blood vessel growth). Stage 3 is when laser surgery is considered, although the opthalmologist said today that this treatment is not yet warranted in Emma's case. She'll have another exam next week to monitor the situation. Unfortunately, Emma's left eye was bruised during the exam today, so she'll need to be on antibiotic drops for several days now too.

The one positive development of today was the fact that Emma moved into another room in the SCN. It's the one known as: "The Last Stop Before Going Home Room." Let's hope her stay there will be short and sweet....