week 9 update

Today, Pierce is 9 weeks old. Time seems to be passing by so quickly and for that, I am grateful.

By God's grace, Pierce is still very stable and doing so well. They are still talking about moving him to the progressive care nursery soon (in about a week). He is currently on 21% o2 and 3 liters, although they're all fairly confident that he can do 2 liters just fine.

Pierce got a second try at the bottle yesterday and was simply not interested. He only took 3 mL's and brady'd (aka "made his heart pause and turned really blue") 3 times. BUT today he was much more up for the task. He took 11 mL's (that's almost half of his full feeding) and only had one brady at the very end. Needless to say, we are very proud of our little boy! The faster he can get the hang of this suck/swallow/breathe thing, the faster he can go home.

Also, some VERY exciting news: The neurosurgeon reviewed Pierce's brain scan from Monday and decided to stop tapping his VAD shunt. He said he is still leaning towards Pierce needing a shunt down the road, but there's a very good chance he may not! (I think the neurosurgeon simply doesn't want to speak too soon, because the other drs. and nurse practioners are saying that he likely won't need one!). This is WONDERFUL news as this has been one of my biggest prayers- that Pierce won't need a permanent shunt. Will you please join us in praying that Pierce's ventricles will remain stable in size and that next Monday's brain scan will show that they are draining properly?

In addition to the above, here are some other things you can be praying for: pray that God will grant us wisdom on work/finances- Lindsay will likely be unable to work in the Fall and if she does, it will only be part-time. Nik is hoping to finish out his last 2 semesters of school, and will likely be unable to work full-time during this time. We are trusting that God is going to provide for all of our needs and we have already been so overwhelmed by all of the support we have received thus far. Please know that we are seeking God as to how to best use the money we have received and to glorify Him by being good stewards of it. Also, pray for Pierce's eye exam, which will happen tomorrow. It will tell us a lot as to how the ROP is progressing and whether or not surgery will be required. And be praying for Pierce's hemoglobin level, which is pretty low at this point. Pray that his body will kick-in and take over producing enough red blood cells to meet his needs. We are hoping to avoid a transfusion, but would rather be transfused before Pierce becomes symptomatic if needed. Pray that God gives Dr.Jones wisdom on how to treat this. And one last thing- pray for Pierce's bowels as they will be introducing sodium chloride and protein into his diet this week. Pray for no infection and that Pierce will tolerate the changes as well as he has in the past. Have I mentioned how much your prayers are working? Pierce has had NO issues thus far, in the digestion department. We are so, so grateful to God for that!

Thank you all for your continued support.

Love,
Lindsay, Nik and Pierce