Infections...

Right now the Doctors believe Matthew's stomach problems are the result of something called Necrotizing Entercolitis (NEC). This is a gastrointestinal disease that primarily affects premature babies. NEC involves infection and inflammation that causes destruction of the intestine or part of the intestine. Treatment involves aggressive administration of 3 types of antibiotics for 7 to 10 days. He will not be able to eat anything but small drops of sugar water for the duration of the antibiotic treatment. It is crucial to catch this early. We won't know if they did until we see how he responds to the antibiotics.

In a supposedly unrelated issue, Matthew's surgical incision is now infected with something called Cellulitis of the chest. This is usually caused by either by a type of Staph or Strep bacteria. They sent a sample out for testing today so we should know which type of bacteria it is tomorrow. This will also be treated by a type of antibiotic.

Matthew had a rough afternoon and clearly looks to be in pain. He's either crying or sleeping with nothing in between. His oxygen saturation dropped to the upper 50's most of this morning so he's now on oxygen to keep these numbers in the 70's. He's also maintaining blood pressure levels similar to an adult which is something they're focusing heavily on this evening. He's been placed on 2 different high blood pressure medications and is being given a narcotic as needed to keep him comfortable. They also put an arterial line into his leg so they can begin checking his blood gases and acidity regularly.