Eliza Update - 3/9 2pm

Dear ones,

The neonatologist and nurse practitioner believe that Eliza's extubation failed because she just didn't have the strength to keep breathing. This may be partly because the feeding tube going directly to her intestines does not allow her to get the volume of milk that she needs; there's just not as much space for milk there as in her stomach, so she has steadily lost weight daily over the past week or so. They are trying to increase her calorie intake by adding formula powder to the breastmilk, and they will not try to extubate again until they've seen her gain weight. Hopefully, this will give her the energy she needs to be more successful next try. This next try will hopefully come within the next week.

For today, she's resting and recovering from last night's ordeal, which caused some collapse in one lung and a good amount of exhaustion. She'll also undergo an EEG at some point today to check for sub-clinical seizure activity.

Many of you have asked after Luke. He's doing pretty well, considering. We're so grateful for friends who have cared for him every morning while I'm at the hospital and for family members who have been able to come and help over the past several weeks. No, he still hasn't seen Eliza, except through the nursery window for a minute at Durham Regional (where she was born) that first day; he's not even allowed in the waiting room much less the NICU at Duke because of infection concerns, so it'll be a long time before he gets to see her. He just keeps asking if she's feeling better and if she'll soon come home to play trains with him. For our part, we hope she'll get home long before she's able to appreciate his Thomas trains collection!

Love,
Daniele, Sam, Luke, and Eliza