Saturday, September 13, 2008

Desmond update number 1

Here's the update email I sent out 2 days after Desmond's birth.

Hey Guys... here's the latest.

The initial take on Desmond's breathing difficulties turned out to not be entirely accurate. After about a day in the NICU, his need for supplemental oxygen began to increase where it should have decreased. This led the doctor's to believe that he has Respiratory Distress Syndrome. That basically means that his lungs are immature and are not able to absorb all of the oxygen that he needs.

Despite this being a setback, considering our initial impression of his condition, in actuality it means that only now are the doctors able to treat him correctly. They performed a small procedure to treat his lungs, and he showed instant improvement. So, for day 2, he has shown steady improvement. The treatment for Respiratory Distress Syndrome is straightforward and generally very successful. We have been told that his recovery should not be in doubt, only the amount of time it takes for him to get up to full strength. Even though we are very concerned for him, we have become convinced over the last 2 days that he is receiving excellent care by professionals who are both talented and compassionate.

Katharine is recovering well, and we should go home on Friday. We probably won't be able to take Desmond with us right away, but we are very grateful to live only 2 miles away from the hospital, so we can visit very easily. From here on out, to avoid spamming a lot of people, we will probably just post updates on our blog... http://oskrafts.blogspot.com/.

Thanks so much for all of the support. We feel very loved and cared for, and we feel that Desmond is coming into a world that, despite many challenges, will show him a lot of love as well. Please continue to pray for his full recovery.

Take care,
Peter

PS. On a lighter note, the little heart shaped shield that they use to cover up Desmond's groin area during his many chest x-rays is actually called "The Gonad Protector". For a minute, I thought the nurses were complementing my son when they were talking about protecting the gonads. Turns out, Gonad is a highly technical medical term, but I always thought it was just slang.

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