Lightly Salted

In my previous post I mentioned that Albert needs surgery soon, but I have not posted a thorough update on his condition for a while.

We were relieved and rejoicing when Albert finally came home on April 10th. In many respects he has done very well at home. We are actually witnessing a child thrive because of love! In hospital we were counting weight gains of 10, 20 and 50 grams as positive indicators. In the last two weeks at home, receiving exactly the same feeds and the same medical dosage, Albert has gained almost 500 grams! The difference? He has been constantly serenaded, entertained, kissed and held by his parents and siblings. Since his weight was our primary concern, we are relieved to see him do so well.

Today we took Albert to see his Cardiologist. From almost the very beginning we have known that Albert was likely to require at least one kind of surgery. Albert has a fenestrated ASD (atrial septal defect), which means several small holes between the upper chambers of the heart, and a perimembranous VSD (ventricular septal defect), which is a medium sized hole between the lower two chambers of the heart.

Well, chickenpox has finally gone and the health of the household seems to be on the improve in general. Needless to say, everyone is now wearing masks, and most rooms of the house are sporting a curious cacophony of the smell of at least three brands of disinfectant. We are taking no chances.

Albert has reflux, which is fairly common in babies his age, but it causes a few problems when trying to ensure he gets the correct measure of medication at feed time.

A very brief update for those who are praying for Albert. Our routine has settled into a fairly tight schedule since Albert has come home. Susie has been expressing and feeding him around the clock, and I have been doing my best to give her as much sleep as possible. The meals which are being provided have made a huge difference in this first week he has been home, making it possible for us to tread water rather than feel as if we are drowning.

When Albert was less than a day old, and still fighting for each breath in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, I asked the doctor what would need to see before we could bring him home. When he improved enough to be moved to the High Dependency Unit, I asked again.

As I mentioned yesterday, Albert has been moved to the regular Children's ward and placed in isolation. In practice what this means is a totally different care arrangement. Albert is lying in a child bed/cot big enough for a 4 year old. The nurses run obs (observation of his various life signs and general health indicators) about every four hours and 'check' him about once an hour, on average. Albert is quarantined, so the nurses go through quite an involved routine just to enter the room.

I just received a phone call from the resident doctor in Albert's ward. It seems Albert has developed spots on his torso which are consistent with chickenpox. The nurses have moved Albert into isolation in the regular children's ward (to move him away from other newborn babies), and will be kept in strict quarantine and under close observation for some time.

Susan and I were so careful with the quarantine that even the nurses told me, on a few occasions, that were were overdoing it.

It is almost a week since my last post and I finally have some more news to post.

Albert seems quite well, and has been progressing slowly all week. I have been busy with lectures and marking students' papers and so have not actually seen him since my Saturday visit, but Susan has been to sit with him daily this week. She has been delighted to be able to bath, feed, change and play with Albert across the visits.