Sept 17th 2009

Hello Everyone~
Alexandria had a much better day today. They were able to ween her off of the oscillator to a regular ventilator which is good progress. She seems to be tolerating and adjusting to that pretty well. She has however developed a touch of jaundice. They are still working to stabilize her blood pressure by adjusting her meds. The best news of the day is that instead of having to be on 100% oxygen, they have been able to reduce that to 95%. If she is able to tolerate that well, they will continue to adjust that accordingly. Over all we are seeing slow but continued progress which is very hopeful!

Here is some info on PPHN:
Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) occurs when a newborn's circulation system does not adapt to breathing outside the womb. While a fetus is in the womb, it gets its oxygen from its mother's placenta through the umbilical cords, so the lungs need little blood supply. There is high blood pressure in the lungs, so blood in the pulmonary artery is sent away from the lungs to the other organs through a fetal blood vessel, called the ductus arteriosus.

When a baby is born and takes its first breaths, the blood pressure in their lungs falls and there is an increased blood flow to the lungs, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. The blood is then returned to the heart and pumped back out to the body. The ductus arteriosus constricts and permanently closes in the first day of life. However, in babies with PPHN, the pressure in the lungs remains high and the ductus arterious remains open, allowing blood to be directed away from the lungs.

In a baby with PPHN, however, the fetal circulatory system doesn't "switch over." The ductus arteriosus remains open, and the baby's blood flow continues to bypass the lungs. Even though the baby is breathing, oxygen in the breathed air will not reach the bloodstream. Because the blood returning from the body is unable to enter the lungs properly - and instead flows through the still-open ductus arteriosus - it returns to the heart in an oxygen-poor state. This condition is known as persistent fetal circulation, or PFC.

Although all of this sounds very scary, as some of you may know Little Tony had the same condition and is now a thriving healthy boy! Lets continue to hope for Alexandria's full and speedy recovery!