Day 85: Little to update

There is not much to update about Loki's diagnosis and condition. The short summary is that the NICU staff still suspects a urinary tract infection, but otherwise really do not know what is going on. His behavior and treatment is mostly the same.

Now, a few details. He is receiving antibiotics every eight hours, beginning at 4 AM today. Our day nurse (who has more letters after her name, and was probably assigned to Loki due to her skills) said that improvement generally happens no sooner than 24 hours after the first dose.

He has still not peed more than a few drops, which the nurse is trying to collect in order to test for infections.

The dextrose brought his blood sugar back up to around 50, but his sodium only crept up from 122 to 124, whereas the level of concern is below 135.

His potassium level remains high, but the doctor suspects that the readings are not completely accurate. His blood has become so thick and concentrated that such analyses are not always right. High potassium can impact how the heart operates, so Loki received an EKG heart scan. This showed typical heart behavior, although his heart rate has been a bit low, around 130 instead of his common 150 to 160.

He continues on regular 21% oxygen an two liters per minute. However, his breathing rate has been higher than usual.

I forgot to mention that he received some diuretics last night, and was moved from the crib to something more like a table, with a heat lamp above it.

Thank you all for the well-wishes.