Page 17 - Journey of Hope by Raymond Moldenhauer

DAY16

A 3 HOUR REMINDER

Most of the day you would consider a “good day”, but the 3
very stressful hours from 4 PM to 7 PM were a grim reminder
that being at day number 16 is a long way from the end of the
anticipated 100-day journey of a premature baby.

The night before was restful for Alyssa, and the early morning
call from the hospital to Heidi didn’t raise any concerns. The
morning was going as well as the previous 2 good mornings
had. They lowered Alyssa’s ventilator rate yet again – this time
to 25. The Respiratory Therapist and the Physician even talked
of “extubating” Alyssa (removing her from the ventilator) on
Saturday or Sunday – which was great news! During her “care
time” they heard the intestinal sounds that everyone was
waiting for – which meant that they would be able to once
again begin feeding her Heidi’s milk very soon now. She also
had her first bath with real soap and water!

After her afternoon “care time”, the nurses orchestrated the
transfer of the various connecting tubes and placed Alyssa on
Heidi’s chest – the “special time” of the day. For the next hour,
Heidi and the baby peacefully bonded – although Heidi noticed
from Alyssa’s movement and facial expressions toward the end
that she was not as comfortable or content as the previous
days. She asked the nursed to place Alyssa back in the basinet
and see what the problem was.

During the transfer back to her plastic cocoon, the ventilator
tube partially dislodged from Alyssa, and to make matter
worse, the tube kinked. Without the full opening supplying
the oxygenated air into Alyssa’s lungs, her “pulse-ox” rate
(level of oxygen in her blood) plummeted to 50 (she should be
between 85 and 100) and her heart rate dropped to 70 (she
should be between 130 and 180).