ROP

So we've had a slew of great days with Biggun, and there was even discussion of moving him to an intermediate nursery. Grandma came into town and got to hold him for the first time and his progress was great.
This morning during his eye exam, they found his eyesight deteriorated rapidly and his cornea began to separate from his orbit from an excess growth of cells around the cornea that affect peripheral vision and eventually lead to blindness.
The causes of ROP are prematurity and high intake of oxygen. Because he had both, it's likely that is the cause, but this seemed to blind side his doctor.
On the positive side, Dr. Penn came back on as his attending physician, and she is such a rockstar. She has managed to proactively catch a number of issues and get him taken care of. We are going to have to buy that woman a bouquet of flowers when he finally gets discharged!
Long term, it's likely he'll have excessively poor eyesight that won't allow him to be a candidate for LASIK surgery to resolve, but this will give him the best chance to avoid blindness.
So he will need to go back on a ventilator, and he has to be put back in an isolette (he had graduated TODAY to an open bed), and he will need an IV put in, so this is an unfortunate and significant set back, but he's a fighter and I have no doubt he will overcome it rapidly like he has these last few weeks. They expect significant weight loss and recovery, so please send prayers.

Much Love,
Rachel and Joshua