She looks beautiful!

This morning Bella looks great!  She is smiling and active.  She is trying very hard to tell me something with her intense eyes.  :)

I am so impressed with the ICU doctor.  She has an incredible memory!  And she calls me Mrs. Turpin.  The last time we were here (7 weeks long), I was called Mrs. Turpin only once.  I have learned to respond to Mrs. Hirsch very quickly.  :)

The doctor is encouraged that Bella is growing.  With how bad her lung disease is combined with the pulmonary hypertension, the fact that she is growing is a very good sign.  Bella is a puzzle and I am grateful that they are trying to figure her out.

The pulmonologist is optimistic that long term she is going to be OK.  He wants to do a CT scan of her lungs before she is discharged.  (Did you notice the discharge word???  We aren’t being left here indefinitely again.)  They are going to start weaning the NO.  He talked to me about DS and pulmonary hypertension.  20% of his patients have DS.  I had read that kids with DS have a higher rate of PH.  He talked to me about her alveoli – as did the pulmonary fellow last night.  The alveoli in the lungs is where the O2 and the CO2 are exchanged.  In most of us, they are like a bunch of grapes, but with her, it might be more like oranges.  What does that mean?  Less surface area for the gas exchange.  He has also observed with kids with DS that they have a higher chance of being born with underdeveloped lungs.  Combine that with her prematurity and hydrops and the lungs are just not as ready to handle their job.  There is also a chance that small blood clots might be hindering her lungs.  The CT scan will really help us see the structure of her lungs and what we are dealing with.