Fighting hard...

"Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer." Romans 12:12

Today was very eventful for our little man; since his urine output dropped yesterday, the doctors decided it could be one of three scenarios:
1) his PDA was open causing back flow of blood through is heart causing less blood flow to his kidneys, or
2) an infection had set in, or
3) a possible brain bleed causing less blood flow to his kidneys.....needless to say, Chris & I were suddenly forced to get on the roller coaster ride that is life in the NICU.

We were so blessed to have 10 awesome days with very little complication; although we had been warned there would be rough days ahead, it hit us like a ton of bricks last night.
Along with stress, we were warn and exhausted; the constant yearning to be next to Coy and then the fatigue that comes with being new parents suddenly hit us hard.

So our poor little guy had many tests done last night and this morning; he really gets mad at the nurses when they mess with him; he even kicked the doctor when she was trying to examine his little body.
He had a urine culture, blood culture, CBC, 2 IVs started, brain scan, and echocardiogram all done between last night and noon today. He was worn out and thank goodness slept most of the afternoon.

Good news is the brain u/s DID NOT show any bleeding in his brain! This is a huge victory! They will repeat the study on Monday because bleeding can occur between 10-14 days.
His blood cultures (to screen for infection: bacterial & fungal) were sent off this morning; we will not know if anything grows for 48 to 72 hours; however his CBC did show increased WBC (indicating infection) & decreased Hematcrit (volume of blood in the body) & Hemoglobin (amount of oxygen in the bloodstream) so he received platelets and RBCs last night....please pray for Coy to battle an infection if present in his body...he was started on antibiotics & antifungal medications for precaution...

His urine output did increase today due him being on a medication called Dopamine (used to increase blood pressure); of course with increased blood pressure also comes the risk of bleeding in the brain....

We do not have the echocardiogram results(ultrasound of the heart which looks at the valves, flow of blood). The doctors feel at this point, if he does have a PDA (meaning if the duct is open) they would not seek immediate treatment; a medication called Indomethacin can be given to treat the PDA, however a side effect of this medication is decreased urine output---therefore, not an option for Coy at this point; the second option is a surgery called PDA ligation (where they will go into the heart and clamp the duct off) again, not an option for Coy at this point since he does have a possible infection--surgery is not performed when an infection is present.

Therefore, we watch & wait & pray. We know God is with us & Coy; he loves Coy more than we do. He created him & will take care of him.
Please continue to pray for our precious little man. He's such a fighter and his strength is just amazing to me! Please continue to pray against infection, brain bleeds, PDA being open, lung disease, and GI intolerance. We are so thankful to you all!