Todays Test Results

The docs were finally able to 'scope' Emma late this afternoon. Our baby was a real trouper, and despite a very unpleasant exam., she was smiling again a few minutes later. The results show that she does have a paralyzed vocal cord, something we had already suspected (given her hoarse and quiet cry). This is most likely the result of the surgery she had at age 2.5 weeks to repair her PDA (see posts from late-August). The docs are simply going to follow her for this, because in some cases the paralysis may resolve on its own. Even if one of her cords remains permanently paralyzed, it should not affect her breathing, but rather the sound of her voice. The doc said that a third of children with unilateral vocal cord paralysis have "weak/breathy" voices, another third have "hoarse/wheezy" voices, and the remaining third have virtually normal-sounding voices. We simply won't know about Emma's voice for some time yet.

The scope procedure also revealed some inflammation, indicating that she may have reflux as well. To further investigate this, Emma will have a swallow study test next week to see if she is aspirating or refluxing when she feeds. Given that she is at increased risk for aspiration (due to the vocal cord paralysis), she's won't be able to feed by bottle/breast until she has the test and she now has an NG tube again (she will be fed through a small, flexible tube that is inserted through her nose and goes directly into her stomach -- she had one for months while in the NICU). She's also been started on medication for reflux, so hopefully that will help some too. Eric is staying at the hospital with Emma tonight and reports that she is not settling well and is trying to pull the tube out. Poor Boo :(

Finally, the team is trying to wean Emma off oxygen, but so far, she hasn't been able to maintain her sats without the supplemental O2. So, it looks like she'll be in hospital for at least 4 or 5 more days.