more prayers for william

This, today, from William's blog:

William's lungs do not seem to be improving. Since the steroids were stopped last week, he is back to requiring higher levels of oxygen to sufficiently oxygenate his blood. The right-lung-only intubation seems to help in giving the left lung a chance to heal, but so far every time they retract the ventilator tube to see if the left lung is getting better, it does not appear to be. William REALLY needs to get off the ventilator and oxygen as it is now starting to cause other problems.

William had his second eye exam last night. His first one over a week ago was fine, but last night he was diagnosed with Stage I retinopathy of prematurity ("ROP"). ROP occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and spread throughout the retina, and can ultimately cause blindness. One of the major contributing factors is respiratory distress and extended use of high levels of oxygen. So, the only way to help prevent the ROP from getting worse is for the lungs to get better, which is not looking good at the moment.

To top it off, William is again showing signs of feeding intolerance. His belly is swelling again and his food is not passing through his intestines as it should be. Also, for the first time he did not completely digest the milk he was given and there was excess bile in his stomach . . . . We're not sure yet what the doctors will be doing to address this issue.

All we can do is continue to pray that William's lungs heal so that he can get off the ventilator, that his ROP does not get any worse, and that his intestines mature and the feeding intolerance resolves.

Please, need some good news . . . .