Newborns come with palm pilots?!

When the doctors told us that they were going to give Darbi medication to attempt to close her PDA, the first thing I thought was... "Newborns come with Palm Pilots?!" Then I realized that I was probably wrong. They must be talking about Public Displays of Affection. But no... It actually stands for Patent Ductus Arteriosus (you guessed it... latin). If you want a pronunciation key, Google it - I can't pronounce it.

The PDA is a small blood vessel used in the transport of oxygen in the womb. This needs to be closed in order for Darbi to be able to use her lungs properly. There are two ways of treating this.

1 - Surgery!
2 - Medication! (our favorite)

The medication has a 50% chance to successfully close it without surgery, but it takes ~3 days. The doctors gave Darbi a dose of the medication on Saturday and did the echo today to see if it closed. Fortunately it closed! This is great news because now that her PDA is taken care of, she is off of her BP medication, and she is no longer taking doses of insulin they can start making attempts to give her REAL food.

While we have many more milestones to achieve, this is a very important one for her. As long as we can keep her out of surgery, the stronger she can get!