The Dr's calming words

After the phone call last night we were expecting more changes when we got to the NICU this morning. Miranda is still batteling blood pressure issues as well as struggling with the battle Brayden is undergoing. When I got to the NICU we ran into a very familiar face. The receptionist at the front desk, Linda, was the receptionist at Harris when Payton was born. As soon as I walked in she says hey I recognize you. To me it is comforting to have a familiar face in such a stressful place. I went and dropped off the breastmilk form last night and visited Brayden while Miranda was still trying to wake up and get her blood pressure under control. The Dr. spoke with me and told me they were still having issues with his blood pressure. There is an Artery in the heart called a PDA that connects to the umbilical cord while the child is in utero. This artery takes the blood from the mother and bypasses the lungs and the right side of the heart and goes directly to the fetus's body. After birth the PDA is supposed to close off and start shunting blood to the Lungs and the left side of the heart. The doctor explained to me that in Brayden's case, the artery has not completely shut off and he is shunting blood to the wrong part of the heart and lungs. She also explained that his kidneys are not filtering quite like they should and he is having an excess buildup of acid in his blood, which they are treating with medication. As well as the PDA and the kidneys he is also having problems with his liver which is causing him to have to undergo light therapy. Here is a picture I took this morning.

While visiting with the Dr and Brayden Miranda texted me and told me her BP was 176/108. I ran back to the room to try and be with her and to help her get ready to visit Brayden.

When we walked into Pd 2 the nurse greeted us and began a rundown of all the changes that had taken place last night. We got Miranda a chair so she could sit down and rest while visiting Brayden. While dealing with all of the stress from the NICU is tough, Miranda is still struggeling with her own medical issues. Dr. Neissline is Brayden's primary and she is a blessing. She is very calming and very friendly. She sat and talked with us for almost 30 minutes explaining to us how he was doing, what she was going to do. This conversation helped calm Miranda down and give her the piece of mind that he is in good hands. And he is!!!

Here is a pic of Mom and Baby Brayden.