Not a good day...

May 15, 2009

Well the good news is Ava now weighs 4 pounds 14 ounces. She is now eating 45 ml every three hours. Now for the bad news...her ultrasound results came back...They found some cysts where the bleeding occurred which is concerning. It's possible that the cysts are just scars from the bleeding, but they won't know until they do an MRI when she gets a little older. If it's not scars it could be PVL, which stands for periventricular leukomalacia. Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is damage and softening of the white matter, the inner part of the brain that transmits information between the nerve cells and the spinal cord as well as from one part of the brain to another.

With PVL, the area of damaged brain tissue can affect the nerve cells that control motor movements. As the baby grows, the damaged nerve cells cause the muscles to become spastic, or tight, and resistant to movement. Babies with PVL have a higher risk of developing cerebral palsy (a group of disorders that prevent the child from controlling their muscles normally), and may have intellectual or learning difficulties. There is nothing we can do at this point but wait and see how she develops. Please keep our precious little girl in your prayers.