Payson's Newest Diagnosis

At my 1 a.m. pumping I called NICU to check in on Payson. His most recent blood work and x-rays showed that he most likely has the worse of the possible issues we were told about called NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) which is an inflammation of the bowels which stops the digestion of food. Premature infants are at high risk for this disease which usually appears in the first few weeks (the babies are 2.5 weeks old). It is a very serious disease and can be fatal so we are very much relying on God at this time. The nurse said it was caught early and that Payson is responding favorably to treatment but it is still too early to tell. Although originally they didn't believe the issue to be NEC, thankfully they treated him like he could have it and already started him on antibiotics and other treatments to help lessen the effects if the infection.

Then at 7 a.m. Keith went to the hospital while I tried to get some more sleep, something that was difficult to get last night with waking up to pump every 3 hours and then having to go back to sleep while thinking about Payson. The nurses confirmed that he does indeed have NEC. He is definitely very sick and won't be getting fed milk for possibly up to 10-14 days. And we also can't hold him for a while or spend much time touching or talking to him. Break a mother's heart! He needs to use all of his energy to fight his infection.

We are praying that his little body will be healed and that he will not require surgical repair which is a real possibility though not at this time and not unless his intestine ruptures. Also, it is not known whether NEC can be passed from one baby to the next so everyone is being really careful about hand washing and keeping everything separate between the girls. This is a real bump in the road for Payson and will likely set him back a few weeks for when he can come home. But honestly, that is not my concern right now, I just want my little boy to fight this and get better.