Shands

Teryn spent a total of 10 days at Shands hospital. She underwent a series of evaluations. We learned that she has difficulty swallowing which was going to be a challenge with her feedings. She was being fed through a tube in her nose. During our time there we worked with a therapist who showed us that we would eventually be able to feed her through a special bottle made for babies with clefts. Teryn was able to get a couple mls of milk through the bottle with the help of the therapist.

She spent all of her time on her tummy because that was the best way to keep her breathing. This allowed her tongue to stay forward. On her back her tongue can fall back and oclcude her airway. We learned very quickly how to read the monitors and how to "read" Teryn to see when she was having trouble with her breathing. It was always apparent because her lips will change color. We learned how to change diapers in lightning speed time. She would sometimes stop breathing during the diaper change and we would have to position her on her side for a minute before we could resume. She would almost always go apnic (stop breathing) when she was on her back. We also learned that oxygen saturation was going to be very important to going home. We were watching that number all the time. Ideally her saturation should be in the high 90's. When her breathing was compromised, she would desat meaning that her saturation of oxygen was less than optimal. These desats would sound off an alarm and she needed stimulation and/or repositiong to regain her breathing.

After several days she was stable enough to be moved from the level III NICU to the level II. However, there were no available beds so she had to stay put. She was evaluated by ENT who said her airway was fine except for when her tongue occludes it. They did not believe she would be a candidate for a trach. genetic testing was completed to determine if there was an abnormality with a specific chromosome that sometimes happens with PRS babies. Everythign came back normal.

After a few more days they believed she was stable enough and worked it out through insurance to have her transported back to the NICU near home so we could be closer and not have the stress of being away from family, friends, and other familiarites. We were thrilled to be heading back to Panama City and thought we would only be in the hospital for maybe another week.

Teryn's cheek was blistered from the tape used on her ventilator during transport. Poor baby.

Lots of IVs and other probes.