A bump in the road: prayers needed

Andy and I spent all morning and most of the afternoon at the hospital with Drake. We wanted to go early so we were there when the doctors rounded. Drake got a good report this morning and the doctors were on their way. Around 4 this afternoon after we got home I received a call from the neonatologist letting us know that Drake had passed some blood and they had performed an x ray of his abdomen. He appears to have a pocket of air on the x ray which can indicate a disease called Necrotizing enterocolitis. The doctor said the x ray was suspect enough that they have stopped feeding him by mouth and have returned to giving him his calories via his central line, they have started him on antibiotics, and drawn his blood to check for signs of infection.  

My heart starts racing every time a Peoria number shows up on my phone and I did not know enough about NEC to ask questions when I had the doctor on the phone. After we collected our thoughts Andy called our nurse back and we asked more questions. She advised that the results from the blood work won't be available for 24 hours (around 6 PM Friday) and that he will have another x-ray early tomorrow morning to see if the pocket of air appears to have gotten larger. From what information we have been able to piece together about NEC it is a buildup of bacteria in the small or large intestine. The bacteria starts to eat away at the intestines which results in the pocket of air that is viewable on the x-ray. As the NEC progresses the pocket would appear larger in subsequent x-rays. At this point the doctor has not diagnosed Drake with NEC but she did say that if he has it she feels that they caught it early.  If they find he does not have NEC, another reason for blood in his stool could be a possible milk protein allergy. The breast milk he is fed is fortified with formula to provide extra calories to help him grow. An allergy can cause blood in the stool but from what I have read, an allergy would not explain the appearance of an air pocket in his intestines.

We should know more tomorrow once the x-ray results and full blood work results are back. We know so many have been praying for our little guy right along with us and we are so grateful. Please pray specifically for healing of his body, that if he is diagnosed with NEC that it has been caught early enough to be treated without surgery. That with the help of antibiotics his tiny body will be able to fight off any signs of infection, and that he is not in any pain. The nurse assured us when we spoke to her that he is still acting like his normal feisty self during diaper changes and she hadn't noticed any change in his behavior.

Drake's behavior seemed normal to us when we were with him earlier as well.  Andy got the chance to feed him a bottle for the first time and we both enjoyed some cuddle time with the little guy.