Prayers, please, for The Miracle Baby in Room C

He's a fighter and he'll get through this, and so will his amazing, loving, supportive family. However, it's been a very long, difficult 9 months already and I know that some more prayers and love headed their way will make it a little less difficult.

During the night, CP got a call from the NICU. Austin had been moved back down to the critical care nursery. His belly blew up once again and an x-ray showed that his large intestine was (again) severely blocked. His breathing was fast and unsteady due to the pain and discomfort. The doctors had to put the tubes back in and the biopsy will probably be done sometime today. This is related to the possibility of Hirschsprung disease that I posted about yesterday.

Please, say a prayer. Ask your friends to say a prayer. And please, keep praying. This little boy and his family have been through so much already.

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~
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Blessings,
Kat

Good News: Houston, we have poop!!

The usual Tuesday topic is Good in the News but this week,

Good News works just as well!

Only a mother (or a father) can appreciate how magical the words "we have poop!!" can be. This is most especially true in the case of The Miracle Baby in Room C, Austin, who I introduced here yesterday.

For those who read yesterday's post (and if you didn't you should, trust me!), Austin has continued to make even more great strides. He graduated again to another nursery in the NICU, only 1 nursery away from "I can go home now!" Go, Austin!!

The current concern, though, has been about poop. Yes, poop. He went about 3 days without one, which is an indication that he could possibly have Hirschsprung disease. Hirschsprung disease is a birth defect not uncommon in Down Syndrome babies, in which nerve cells in the wall of the large intestine do not develop. These nerve cells, called ganglion cells, control the muscles in that area that normally push food and digestive waste through the large intestine. In Hirschsprung's disease, the muscles in the wall of the large intestine do not relax, which prevents waste from moving through the large intestine. This may lead to trapped stool, infection, inflammation, and constipation.

The doctors were waiting to see if Austin would poop so they could decide whether or not to do a biopsy to test for Hirschprung's. If he has it, he will require surgery to remove the portion of the large intestine that has no nerve cells.

Well, AMEN for POOP!!! Which Austin did on Monday. Way to go, Austin!

The doctors are still planning to do the biopsy just in case, but we're praying now that it shows everything to be in proper working order, with more and more poop coming along as Austin starts eating and nursing more and more.

Today, we're looking for "More Poop" Prayers and healthy biopsy results. Could you spare some for The Miracle Baby in Room C?

~*~*~ May you always remember to dance in the rain, and may you have plenty of ladybugs beside you! ~*~*~
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Blessings,
Kat