I apologize for not being able to update but we've been a bit busy.

Since we started this campaign, Nate has not gotten better.  He started on the road to getting better, getting his fast breathing down, not being too yellow and feeding well.  Then one day...he just starts breathing very fast and doesn't stop.  The oxygen has to go back in and so does the feeding tube.  We take tests which show an infection that wasn't quite there before and Nate has to go on antibiotics.  First it was oral and now, we've had to progress it to something stronger (piperacillin-tazobactam).  Nate is beginning to feed as well but has to have that feeding tube in because he really does have episodes of fast breathing still.

I've been asked what really is wrong with Nate.  It'll be a mouthful but here goes:

1.  Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) - because he came out early, he has a hole in his heart between 2 of his heart's chambers so that blood is pushed between the chambers and it doesn't go where it's supposed to go.  As of today, however, this is no longer a big problem, as it seems to be resolving (as he ages and thru the magic of medications).

2.  Immature lung - Again, a function of his early appearance.  As much as medicines have gotten him prepared to face the world early, it is still time dependent.  Part of the fast breathing is a function of his lungs still needing time to develop.

3.  Infection - as I mentioned, we took some tests and it seems that Nate has a late onset infection.  

4.  Jaundice - Although a natural occurence in all babies after birth, his other conditions have worsened it.  We needed to put him under lights to be able to bring this down, otherwise, his brain would have been affected.

5.  Salt losses - We noticed early on that when we did blood tests, a chemical called sodium (yup like your table salt) seems to be low in Nate.  We're currently investigating what is the root of the cause.

 

So in the end, where does this leave Nate?  Still in the NICU, still doing his best to get home to his Nanay, Tatay and Kuya Tres.  Since the campaign started, we've had wonderful donors who have generously given to the fund.  I know there are people out there that need money; please consider giving even just a bit to Nate.  The bills are growing and the tests we need to run on him in the meantime are not cheap.  But we want to extend to him every advantage to make sure he is healthy and gets home soon.