Update

(Original appeared May 18, 2016)

Early this morning, Jacob was wide awake, peering into his surroundings. His nurse kindly snapped this photo for us!
Today, he will get yet another platelet transfusion. If I’m counting correctly, this will be his fourth day in a row. For some reason, he’s using up the platelets and his body isn’t mature enough to keep up with the demand. One theory is that there is an inflammation somewhere which requires the platelets. Whatever the reason, his platelet count is low just about every time they check it. Hopefully we’ll find out why, or that the issue will will resolve itself soon.
Since he needs the transfusion, we plan to take a break from holding him and instead give him a good rest today. This will allow Deb some time to rejoin the world and get some fresh air.
His urine output has been consistently good lately, and we’re thankful for that. There’s not much else to report for the moment. I will add, though, that the staff continues to lift our spirits in so many ways. For instance, it’s a running joke that the nurses “fight” over who gets to watch him for the next shift. This is truly heartwarming (to see the influence he has on people already!) given the fact that his fragile condition makes for a lot of hard work. And, his doctors and thereapists are just as thoughtful and caring. One of his doctors came in to visit him on what I describe as his “day off” just to run his PIC line. There are no words to properly express our gratitude for these intangibles. – R