MId day update

3/1/14 12:06

Carter is still doing well on his ventilator.  He also had his first bowel movement.  They are attempting to place his PICC line again in hopes of getting rid of his other lines.  We saw Dr. Berstein today and Carter has a PDA, it stands for Patient Ductus Arteriosis.  It is a heart murmur that is common in babies this small.  The easy way to explain it is that when babies are in mommy they do not need to use their lungs so this vessel shunts blood away from the lungs to the body.  When they are born this vessel typically closes off however in pre-term babies this oftentimes does not happen.  They are going to try to fix this using a medication called Indocin.  In the meantime they have to stop his feeds because of some of the potential side effects.  He will still be getting his TPN by IV for nutrition.  Two goals today:  PICC line and PDA closure.  #babycarterstrong