Now We Think We Know Why:
Tuesday saw Ian take a well earned rest. He had lost 20g the night before, so now his feeds have been increased to every 3 hours (from every six) and he stayed put in his Isolette for the entire day, which should help him put some weight back on. Meanwhile Mom was seeing a specialist. Barbara's platelet count just wasn't bouncing back so she saw two Specialists who together determined that Barbara has a rare blood condition - one that is not fully understood as to its origins but is associated with pregnancy and the preeclampsia/HELLP she has suffered. The cure is to place Barbara on a dialysis machine to essentially clean and replenish her plasma, which has been destroying her platelets faster than her body can create them. The down side is that this procedure will take five days to complete confining Barbara to hospital through the weekend and making her stay there some 17 days in total. She has been a super-star throughout this ordeal and has endured so much over these last few days, but her spirit is up and she takes comfort in the fact that she knows so many people are pulling for her. We have high hopes that she'll be well enough by early next week to be allowed home. Our 'picture of the day' shows Mom saying goodnight to her little boy through the plexiglass of his incubator bedroom!