Levi had his surgery

Levi had his PDA ligated on Thursday, December 20th at 10:30 a.m. The surgery went perfectly - Thank you Lord! In addition to recovering from surgery, Levi was expected to "take his first eye exam" this Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. This too he passed with flying colors. Oxygen, while often necessary for premature babies, can be damaging to the undeveloped eye. They dilated his eyes and proceeded to check them for Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). If found, stage V is the worst and stage I is the most mild. As of this morning, Levi is said to have stage zero. (Again, another reason we give the Lord glory and praise). Continue to pray that he gets plenty of rest and recovers quickly and fully from his ligation.

Slideshow - Levi is 7 weeks old!

Levi is 7 weeks old!

Today, Levi Thomas turns 7 weeks old! He is such a blessing and miracle. Last night when we were visiting with him, we learned that a cardiologist recommended that we go ahead and have a PDA in his heart ligated. In term babies, this usually closes itself off close to birth if not shortly after. They have already given him three doses of a medicine to close it off without surgery. While these doses did help to close it for a time, it has gradually gotten back to it's original size. They are confident that doing this procedure will facilitate breathing and allow Levi to get on a smaller amount of Oxygen. Currently he is on vapotherm at 6 Liters and ranges between 25-40% oxygen. Please stand in faith with us that Levi will be protected during this procedure and will recover quickly from it. They will have to put him back into the NICU and put him on a ventilator after his procedure (This past Thursday they moved him up to Special Care Nursery since he has been so stable). We know that God is in control and that he is giving Levi's doctors and nurses complete supernatural wisdom and understanding in regards to his care. His care providers have truly prepared us for the rollercoaster that one rides in the NICU. Levi's brain ultrasound that he had most recently came back great. His vision test had been rescheduled for this coming Friday but that may change with the scheduling of this procedure. Currently his feeds are at 9cc/hour. Levi is still receiving his caffiene to help with bradycardia and a diaretic, aldatazide, to help get fluid off of his lungs to make breathing easier. His last weight was 3 lbs and 2 oz (This is what my father weighed 53 years ago when he was born 3 months early himself). God Bless each and everyone of you!