Finding a Balance

     Today was a pretty slow day in our room at the hospital. Ethen was again alert and hungry. He's also been drinking lots of fluids. Though he is beginning to get into a rhythm there is a long way to go before we can get out of the hospital this go round. Ethen's kidney function seems to be leveling out, but with the development of another pleural effusion we had to give him albumin (blood protein that sucks fluid into the venous system) and lasix (diuretic) to draw off fluid, which disrupts the stability of the kidneys. Pray Ethen's kidney function maintains well and that the fluid is successfully drawn off his pleurae with this approach—we do not want to do another centesis to draw off the fluid. Oxygen supplementation is still an issue, but hopefully we can begin to taper off the supplementation after his pleurae dry up and the metapneumovirus clears out. We hope he will begin to regain his white blood cell counts in a few days, which will help. Please join us in praying for Ethen's body to find a balance.