So getting all that fluid off Haven’s lung was a good thing. However, since we last posted she has drained about twenty more ounces from that very same tube, so they have become quite concerned about where all this fluid is coming from. She has had some ultrasounds and x-rays today to look for problems, but they haven’t shown anything abnormal that would cause so much fluid to build up. Thankfully, the rate of the drainage has slowed down over the past few hours, but it is still concerning.

They have removed the paralytic so she has had her eyes open quite a bit today. It’s been good to see those again. Hopefully, her being awake and moving around (as much as a six week old baby hooked up to machines can move around) will help to mobilize the extra fluid she still has on board. Her new feeding tube is in place and they would like to start giving her some milk soon (this is the tube that goes through her stomach and lets the milk go straight to her small intestine). Since she has been more alert and her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels have been good, they have been able to adjust the ventilator settings a little lower. They would like to continue this process slowly if her body can handle the adjustments. Haven is still on blood pressure medicine because those numbers still drop lower than desired at times.

As we all know by now, though undesirable things happen quickly, favorable results seem to happen very slowly over time. We’ve had a fairly steady day today, but she’s still has a long road ahead of her. Hopefully, progress will continue to be made tomorrow and over the weekend.