Friday Update

Afternoon: Sadie's lungs aren't working as efficiently as they should because she has the following: "Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS): difficulty breathing caused by a lack of surfactant, a substance that normally prevents the lungs from collapsing" The doctor has decided to intubate Sadie's lungs with surfactant. This a process where they put a tube down to Sadie's lungs to deliver the surfactant. When you breathe, your lungs come together. Because she was a preemie and didn't produce enough surfactant, her lungs were sticking together a bit. The additional surfactant helps keep the lungs from doing this. The effects on the efficiency of here lungs was almost immediate. Within 10-30 mintues (I forget exactly how long) she went from needing an air mix with 35% oxygen, down to 21% oxygen (the same as normal room air).

Evening: At 9:30pm Jen and I visited Sadie. They were changing her bedding and had unhooked her from the CPAP (the tube that gives her air) so we were able to hold her. You can see the video on YouTube by clicking here. It was very nice to see her face without the tubes in her mouth and nose.