We had an appointment with Parker's pediatrician this morning and she decided to refer him to a neonatologist. We learned that neonatologists are specialists that only deal with premature and sick newborns. The neonatologist that came to Steven's was called in from another area. So, basically she was called in just to see Parker!
Parker had another x-ray done on his lungs and they were becoming cloudy. We met with the neonatologist and she determined Parker has a condition called RDS or Respiratory Distress Syndrome. This is a condition of premature babies when their lungs don't produce a substance called surfactant. Surfactant coats the inside of the lung sacs which prevents them from collapsing when the baby exhales.
That being said, Parker has now been transferred to Swedish Hospital. He is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU. Here he will be able to get the respiratory support he needs through extra oxygen and a nasal CPAP machine to help him breathe effectively. We feel extremely relieved and confident that this is where he needs to be. He has three people on staff working on him 24 hours a day. He has his neonatologist, a respiratory specialist, and a neonatal advanced registered nurse all taking care of him. These people were all with him in the ambulance while he was being transported. While en route to Swedish he was stable and we thank the ambulance driver for giving him his first ride in a car after being born. We will tell him later that the siren was blaring and maybe even that they popped a few wheelies!!
Swedish provides boarding rooms for the parents. They are a lot like hotel rooms and are comfortable. Swedish is impressive. You realize once you get here that this place is a first rate facility. We were able to reserve a room for three nights this week and two nights next week. We feel very fortunate to be close to our son. They can never give us much of a timeline for his recovery always saying it will be up to Parker. The plan, as of now, is two to three weeks of care. He will spend the first part in the NICU learning how to breathe properly and then he will be moved to the Infant Special Care Unit or ISCU where he will learn how to eat...then home! He will be staying at Swedish for the remainder of his care.
While the day has been a roller coaster we did have some amazing moments with our son. We both officially got to hold him for the first time. I cried the whole time and actually can't even think about it now without crying again. I also got to help take his temperature and change his diaper. Parker is on the 4 - 8 - 12 AM & PM schedule. These are the times when they wake him up, change him, check his temp and eventually feed him. We won't always be able to hold him, but they made a special exception tonight which we were grateful for.
His eyes were open again for a while and we both got a good glimpse. He has a nack of capturing your attention. All of the nurses mentioned how cute he is. They all said it in a way that would suggest that they were not just giving it lip service. Brian thinks someone in there will have a crush on Parker before the week is over.
Thank you again for all the prayers and support we couldn't get through this without all of you.
Love,
The Salcedos
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