Gillian had some Pneumonia again and had to be treated. Despite the pneumonia she was still her spunky self. She began doing much more breathing on her own and they were able to turn down the levels on the ventilator. There was hope that she would be off soon.
She was officially at the 5lb mark, finally! They confimed she had "Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)" and needed laser eye surgery. If she did not have that done there was a chance she could go blind later (like Stevie Wonder). There was a good chance she would be nearsighted later but at least she would be able to see. She was under heavy sedation and they had to increase settings on the ventilator. It was hard to see.
On 10-31-02 she pulled out her breathing tube. They put her on Nasal CPAP and she just flew! It was amazing. The only thing was that the little prongs in her nose made her nose bleed.
Several days later she was put on Nasal Cannula-just some supplemental oxygen. The nurses totally surprised us with that-they did not tell us. When we got there to see her we noticed it. It was very emotional-we waited a long time for that. We were able to hear her cry for the first time ever. She was able to take a bottle for the first time, another milestone. One of a preemie's largest challenges is learning to "suck, swallow, breathe." It was hard for her to learn how to do this, and she had to be alert enough to take the bottle as well. She was now at 6lbs 9oz.
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