A Most Excellent Report

It may not seem appropriate to make a big deal about a 1 month birthday but considering the up-hill battles that ZAC has had to engage in, every little victory is a 'victory indeed'.

With Thanksgiving just hours away, here is something that we can truly be thankful for. It's not turkey or traditions nor is it football, friends and family. Instead it is an honest, humble and sincere chorus of thanks offered up to God for this precious soul and the continued grace that He showers upon not just Zoe, but to all of us. For His gift of life, both temporal and eternal, we all offer up thanks.

On to a most excellent report:

All -

Here are where things stand after one month:

• 12 1/2 inches
• 1 lb and 13 oz.

They have decided to increase her feedings to 16 CCs per time and they are now adding protein with calories in order to beef her up. They don't want to just add fat but really boost the bone and muscle development.

They are also adjusting her vent settings in the hopes that they can remove the intubation tube by the end of the week (at the earliest), but before they will do this, they want to add more "meat' to her bones first, hence the supplemental feedings. They are also considering steroids for added lung development, but that would slow down her growth so they again want her to gain weight before they try to do this. More patience is needed. More opportunity to wait on His will.

As for the ultrasound... well the cranial ventricles are the same size and there has been no swelling. This is great. It seems that the clot may be getting smaller but time will tell. Patience and prayers will fill in this time. Until then, they continue to measure her head each night and will do the ultrasound again next week.

Zoe's month birthday was fun, we did a bath and took pics. We got a pic with Phil's ring to compare to one of the first pics. (down below) You can see how much she has grown.

Well one month down and many more to go!

Love,

Kimberly