We found out late tonight that Brody had an intraventricular hemmorage, or bleeding in his brain. It is not unusual for premies to have bleeding, but Brody's is grade 4, the worst of the four grades. The good news is that it is only one on side. The human brain can compensate very well from the non-affected side. Also, the growing brain is constantly re-routing its development and can "work around", so to speak. The bad news is that the bleeding went pretty far, into the gray matter. Technically, this is defined as a stroke. The extent of the damage (meaning where the bleeding occurred and how much) is known, but  at this point there is no way to tell how this will affect him down the road. He may function normally, or he may have some developmental challenges. We won't know until he is older and learning to talk, read, etc. The doctor warned us that there will be some Cerebral Palsy, meaning that his right side will tighten up, requiring physical therapy to help him. We pray that he can overcome this and function normally. We just don't know right now.

The doctor said it would be extremely unusual for any more bleeding to occur after day 10 (tomorrow), so the extent of the damage is done. They will do another head ultrasound in three weeks to assess the progress. There is a clot right now that should absorb back into his body. They are watching closely to make sure that clot doesn't block the fluid drainage system in his brain. If it builds up, they would need to surgically drain it.

For more information, please see http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/hrnewborn/ivh.html


Our internet at home is not working at the moment, so we will be limited in the amount we will be able to check messages. We will try to post daily from the hospital. Please keep baby Brody in your prayers.

Love, Russ and Jen