June 20, 2018
- Guenther
- Jun 20, 2018
- 2 min read
As of yesterday, Charlie is half a year old! He is 11 lbs 6 oz and 21.3 in long, so he is getting to be a big boy! He stays awake during the day and sleeps all night. He loves playing with toys, looking at his mobile, bath time, and going for walks with mom, dad, and big brother. Everyone loves Charlie because he is a very happy baby, despite all that he's been through. He is one tough baby!
When Charlie was first born, he had to be given a lot of antibiotics and medications that were kidney-filtered and this caused some damage to his kidneys; He was diagnosed with AKI (acute kidney injury) and also some renal failure. Since then, his kidneys have recovered and are working just fine, but he has had some renal ultrasounds because his blood pressure is a little on the high side. They found that he has nephrocalcinosis, which means he has calcium particles that are in his kidneys, but that has progressed into the start of kidney stones. They said it's from his history of renal failure and being on human milk fortifier. They are going to monitor him very closely, keep him hydrated by increasing his fluids, and look for symptoms of passing a stone before they do anything further. He has shown no signs of being in pain from them so that is good!
Charlie is still working on learning to eat. He definitely goes at his own pace, which he deserves to! He needs to learn how to eat an entire bottle before we can bring him home and he isn't even half-way to doing that. Slowly but surely, he is doing his best! He also is still on 1 Liter of oxygen and he needs to be at least 1/2 Liter to be discharged. He has some things to work on but he is getting so close!
Thank you all so much for keeping up with Charlie's progress and for your continued prayers! We can't believe it's been half a year already since our little miracle came into the world, and we are so blessed to see what a miracle looks like every single day. Please pray that Charlie will get the hang of eating and that he keeps moving forward with his respiratory support. Thanks again and hope you all have a wonderful week!
The youngest stone-former I ever remember was a preschooler who developed a stone was a long-term patient who was confined to bed his entire admission and the Drs. attributed it to his inactivity. They have come so far thru the years. When I think about Charlie and how each obstacle that could've/would've been fatal back then, and how God has provided the knowledge, skill and discernment to deal w/ it makes us very thankful.
Charlie has the sweetest smile, it just melts our hearts! The pictures with the octopus are proof of what a miracle your little man is, God is so good! How frustrating to be so close to bringing him home and yet you are always so positive and patient. We are in awe of the strength and faith you live with day in and day out. Hugs and kisses to all! Aunt Joani & Uncle Terry