DAY 4: BABY SMILES! The good news for today is that Evan was alot more active than yesterday. He was moving his limbs more, and according to Nurse Xie, when she was bathing him, he actually opened his eyes for her and managed a coy smile for a moment! Evan even tried making a noise that sounded like a faint cry, according to Nurse Xie. This, if true, is certainly encouraging and the first vocal sounds he has made since entering the neonatal ICU.
(Significance: Very positive indeed!)

When I visited him at 5pm today, he was alot more active than usual, responding to touch and sounds more than yesterday. This could be due to the fact that his usual medication for suppressing his tremors has been changed from an intravenous route of administration to a liquid oral form of administration through the gastric tube. This would presumably mean the medication has a less profound effect than previously.
(Significance: Moderately postive)


His tremors have reduced significantly today which is always a good sign. If he can continue to overcome his tremors, perhaps we can see a gradual reduction in the dosage of his suppressant drugs, and an improvement in his liveliness!
(Signifcance: Very positive indeed!)

Even though Evan continues to breath spontaneously on his own, he has had to have his breathing assisted with an external nasal oxygen-ventilator. To compensate for his shallow breathing, a positive pressure of oxygen has been deemed necessary for the time being.
(Significance: mildly negative)

He also continues to have his cocktail of medication of Phenobarbitone (anti convulsant drug), and some antibiotics to prevent opportunistic infections. His body temperature is a little unstable, fluctuating between 35 deg centigrade and 38 deg centigrade. Dr Simon Ng (Evan's neonatologist) does not believe this to be an infection, but rather a period of innate temperature instability as his young body tries to cope with heat regulation. However, nothing is being left to chance and so antibiotics have been administered as a precaution.
(Significance: moderately negative)

I will be trying to post some of the photos of Evan as we go along, so that you can continue to visualise our little angel as he progresses. So watch this space! -CO