We received the results of Jack’s MRI today. It wasn’t the news I was looking for but it was still good news. Overall, the doctors are very pleased with what they found on the MRI with the exception that his head is a little flat and will require a helmet (appointment on May 2). But they did see that he had a small embolism on his cerebellum which was more than likely a product of ECMO. Since heparin is used in the process to keep blood from clotting, there is always a chance for brain bleeds. This bleed was very small which explains why we are just now finding out after the fact that Jack received daily head ultrasounds for this reason. His doctor said that the clot was very small and would not effect any of his development that we would notice past the fact that he would have delays due to his diagnosis. She also said that his right carotid artery had been damaged beyond function during the cannulation and decannulation of ECMO. This was to be expected. He will have to rely on his left carotid artery from here on out which means no rock climbing, no sky driving and no all around stupid shit. But at this point, he is healthy enough to be home and he is really advancing on his development.
Today, he was sitting up with Matt as his foundation but was holding his head up on his own. He sat like this for about 10-15 minutes before I decided to change activities.
So, what could I possibly have interrupted such a great accomplishment with? Applesauce. Jack is finally allowed to try some solid foods. We were going to stick with a bottle since I have plenty of breast milk saved up, but honestly, if he takes anything by mouth we should celebrate so we might as well try it. And the verdict is in…applesauce is quite interesting for the little guy. I was only giving him tastes (since he didn’t seem all too excited about sweet potatoes. Don’t blame him). I would leave a little applesauce on his lip with a spoon and he would stick his tongue out to bring it into his mouth. He would toss it around the inside of his mouth for a little before he would peak the tip of his tongue back out. I took this as my cue to renew the applesauce taste so he can explore again. He only ate about two baby spoonfuls of applesauce but I will add this to our list of amazing accomplishments that Jack has achieved. Sorry for the lack of feeding photos. There is only so much I can do at once. I am a beginner at this too. I will have some photos next time so you can see how much he likes to wear his food as much as taste it.
We Know Jack 