Fighter

It was confirmed yesterday that Emma does have Group B Strep, so she started receiving penicillin to treat it. She is already showing improvement, and the doctor was even able to turn down her oxygen support to 3 liters. This afternoon, the doctor performed the spinal tap procedure, and Emma did great during that. They gave her something called "sweeties" to make her comfortable so she wouldn't feel pain. When the doctor drew her spinal fluid out, he said it looked very clear. Usually if it has bacteria then it would be cloudy, so we have hope! We should get preliminary results back late tonight or tomorrow morning. These results will just give her white blood cell count, which are the cells that fight infections, so if it is in a normal range it should mean there is no meningitis. Justin and I got to hold Emma and love on her after the spinal tap, and she seemed very comfortable! Nothing phases this little girl, she is so strong!

If everything goes well from this point and Emma heals from her infection, the main thing keeping her in the NICU is learning how to feed from a bottle. Preemies are not physically able to grasp the rhythm of suck, swallow, breathe, so when we did try the bottle (we had to stop because her oxygen support went too high) Emma would just suck & swallow several times, then try to catch up on her breathing. I have no doubt she will be able to conquer the bottle quickly!

Thank you for your continued prayers. Even days when it is hard to find strength, I know God will provide it because all of you are praying for our family, and our precious little girl.