The "H" Word

It all started yesterday, when the insurance case manager mentioned to Jenn that we should consider moving Lewis out of the NICU into the pediatric ward. The case manager gave us some not so convincing reasons that Lewis should be off in his own room with less medical care. In turn, I suggested that the case manager should also be in her own room with more veterinary care. Luckily, Jenn was more civil when she called the case manager back. Jenn said no. She reminded the case manager that the NICU doctors hadn't suggested that Lewis was ready for a step down. When they do, we'll consider it.

It turns out that the insurance folks hadn't mentioned this grand idea to the NICU team. (Stop me if you've heard this one before). Jenn told the nurse about their idea this morning. Then the nurse told the doctors about it during rounds. Then the doctors used the "H" word. Right there, in front of Lewis and everybody. We weren't there, but they told us about it later in the day. "Why should Lewis move and take days getting used to a whole new environment when he's likely to be home next week?" said the doctor.

So, that's today's big deal. We're cautiously optimistic, but a week is still a long time. Lewis pulled out his NG tube on me this evening, so I learned to put that back in - not as bad as you'd think. Other than that, Lewis is handling his condensed (two hours on, one hour off) feeds well. The docs are ready to speed it up again, but will hold off until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, Lewis will get an IV and be sedated briefly for his MRI. We're hoping they'll have an easy time getting the IV in, now that he's had a good break without being stuck.