Jennifer is still getting 'Mucomyst' treatments followed by clapping and suctioning - quite a bit comes up each time.  It is quite awkward for the nurse to work on Jennifer because she is in that 'cardiac' seat, and the seat is taking up a lot of room in the isolette.  This arrangement is not good.  The isolette needs a larger hood.  I asked Dr. Barrett about Jennifer's heart - she said that according to Dr. Cromer's report , Jennifer has hypertension on the right side of her heart, which may be due to her lung problems.  I have as yet to have someone to tell me just what Jennifer's lung problem is.  I asked if it were possible that the Hyperalimentation fluids which were directly placed into her vein near the right side of her heart could possibly have been a contributing factor in the hypertension - according to Dr. Barrett, that could not possibly be the case.  Yet the reason I was given for the need for Jennifer to have deep vein I/Vs, was that the Hyperalimentation solution was so strong that it caused her surface veins to collapse.  It seems strange to me that a solution which is strong enough to cause surface veins to collapse, is not strong enough, when introduced via a tube close to the heart, to possibly cause any problems with the tissues it comes in contact with - in this case the heart.

Jennifer seemed active this evening.  When I asked Dr. Barrett some questions about Jennifer's past problems, she had no knowledge of any, and had to refer to notes left by Dr. Cromer. How can a doctor take proper care of an infant if they do not know of that infants past problems.  A group of surgeons came through, and discussed Jennifer's deep vein I/V amongst themselves.  We explained to Alice why we were so concerned about today's feeding procedure.  We told her of all the past bad experiences that Jennifer had with oral feedings.  Jo held Jennifer, while Alice suctioned her so that more mucus would come up. Temp - 36.6 / Wt 3090 / HR - 110-120 / RR - 40-60 / Thick mucus secretions / Several low (70) hearts during suctioning.  We left at about 3:30 PM, and came back again at 6:00 PM.  Dr. Barrett was gone for the day.  After 6:00 PM neither Dr. King nor Dr. Barrett were at the NICU to look after Jennifer's new feeding procedure as they had promised to do.  The fact that every time that Jennifer had been attempted to be fed orally, she had a serious life threatening episode, did not prevent Dr. King nor Dr. Barrett from leaving the NICU, and leaving Jennifer to the care of individuals who were not familiar with her problems.

Earlier in the day Dr. King had agreed with me that placing Jennifer in an upright position in the 'cardiac' seat was not good for her, but Dr. King said that in her opinion, Jennifer must sit up in order to eat.  When we returned to the NICU at 6:00 PM, the nurse on duty said that they had to stop feeding Jennifer, because her feeding tube became dislodged, and only a doctor was allowed to re-insert it.  The tube was still in her, but not at the proper position.  We were assured that a doctor would re-insert the tube soon. Jennifer was still getting antibiotic shots through the I/V in her leg - she is also getting some shots into her thigh muscles directly.  She is maintaining her temp at 36.6 with the isolette temp set at 80-85 F.  We left at about 7:00 PM.  We called the NICU several times about Jennifer. Each time we were told that the feeding tube had not as yet been re-inserted, but that a doctor would soon do it, and have it X-rayed.  Pete and Penny called us to see how Jennifer was doing.  Mom came over for a bit to look at the pictures that I had taken of Jennifer last Sunday.