Key Performance Indicators

I'm in trouble, aren't I? 

My only excuse for not updating my diary for so long is that I still have to rely on Daddy to post the blogs and in fairness to him he's been back in that Zurich place this week.  I still don't know where Zurich is but he told me today that he has to go on an aeroplane to get there. Tomorrow he's going to explain what an aeroplane is.

Today he was telling me about KPIs... apparently in his world these are 'Key Performance Indicators'... so I thought I would provide a quick update on my own KPIs:

KPI 1 - Weight

By the time you read this I will have been weighed again (Thursday and Sundays are weigh days) and I'm sure I will have gained a bit more but even so, my weight on Thursday was 3lb and 7oz, or 1.520 kilos.  That's my birth weight plus a half so I'm really pleased.  I think I might even be beginning to look like a proper baby - that's not the right word but I hope you know what I mean?  I look like a bit like a baby, only smaller... instead of looking like a gremlin in a nappy!

Like a baby... only smaller!!

KPI 2 - Breathing

This is a tough one.  I'm sort of getting the hang of it, slowly.  Over the last week I've been cycling (no they don't have me on a bike... you need to move into Special Care before that happens!)  Cycling in ICU means swapping between C-PAP and nasal prongs (or high flow).  This is all very confusing for Mummy and Daddy as they can't work out the difference between nasal prongs, high flow and low flow.  This was further complicated when Mummy spotted that the box delivering 'high flow' was in fact labelled 'low flow'!  Apparently this is normal and it is high flow (coming from the low flow box).  I imagine when I move to low flow it will be delivered through a box labelled 'no flow'...

My cycling is going well though.  The most I've managed on high flow is eight hours, which I did today.  I've just gone back on to C-PAP at 8pm this evening but I'm planning to make a big fuss to show how much I don't like having the mask back on my face.  I reckon I can do without the mask at all - I just have to convince the Doctors.  Leave it with me.

KPI 3 - Haemoglobin

This week I enjoyed my fifth (yes, fifth!) blood transfusion and I think I have now exhausted supplies from my original donor.  If I need any more I'll need to be paired up with someone else.  Hopefully this won't be needed as my gases are looking much better - speaking less technically... I'm a bit pinker!

I'm also pooing a lot better which is good for getting rid of red blood cells and helping my jaundice.  On Wednesday, Mummy was changing me when I suddenly felt the urge to... well you know what I mean.  I don't fully understand the meaning of the word 'projectile' yet, but it seemed to get mentioned quite a lot around that time.  To make matters worse, when the nurse changed me (or 'did my cares' as we like to say in here!) on Wednesday night I sort of exploded.  Listening to the doctors afterwards I think it's something to do with my fortifier - the stuff they add to my milk to make me grow faster.  Whatever it was, the effect was stunning.  I managed to decorate both the East and South wings of Chez Poppy with a greeny beige emulsion... and it stank!

I'm still on a bit of a cocktail of drugs with every feed.  The latest one to be added to the list is potassium.  When my Mummy saw this on my sheet she immediately went out and bought twenty bananas which she is now eating at the rate of four a day.  It's possible that this will help with my potassium deficiency.  It's equally possible that it might contribute to the decoration of the South and West wings... we'll see!

KPI 4 - Happiness

Foraging...

I'm doing really well on this one.  If the only measure of my progress was happiness, I would be out of here by now.  It's been a week of serious cuddles.  I think I've been out of my incubator every day, twice on some days, and it's brilliant.  Whenever Mummy cuddles me I keep getting this strange urge to find something to erm... suck on!  Whenever I start foraging around everyone says I'm rooting.  Just once so far I've managed to find something that felt right.  I gave it a good suck and what do you know... it only had milk inside it!  BINGO!

I plan to forage more aggressively next time!

My favourite photo... ever!

I've also had visits this week from Charlie and Millie.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing them.  On Friday, Mum and Dad came in with Charlie and the nurse took a photo of all of us together.  This is like my favourite photo ever!  Charlie also had a try at being a Doctor.  He checked all of the numbers on my charts and stole the stethoscope from the drawer so that he would look the part.  This was both very naughty and very funny.

Dr Charlie Hufton Jones

There's also been a new initiative launched which is very sweet.  All of the babies on the NICU have been provided with a shoe box to keep memories and keepsakes in.  I'm already filling mine up with photos and messages and bits and pieces to look at with Mum and Dad when I'm older.  On the outside of the box, the nurses stick a balloon on for every day we're in the NICU.  I've been in here for 51 days now, so my box has a lot of balloons on it.

KPI 5 - Head Circumference



Three small toys discuss the size
of my head...!

It's getting bigger - still not quite a tennis ball but getting bigger!


That's the last of the KPI's.  Overall I'd say I'm progressing.  Nowhere near as quickly as I'd like, but progress is progress.  One day soon I might even move from ICU to HDU and then to Special Care... and then home.  Until then, it's one small step at a time.  Dr Iodine came over to see me this evening and told me that if I was writing my blog tonight I had to tell you all that he's very proud of me.  I like Dr Iodine and his passion for the I2S2 trial... and I happy that he's proud of me!

Does this look like my
Granddad???

Before I go I have to tell you a little story that my Daddy told me when I was getting a cuddle from him tonight.  In between visiting Switzerland and visiting Coventry he's been trying to find a new car and last Saturday he went straight from the hospital to the BMW dealership.  He was bit late for the appointment so he told them that his little girl was in hospital and showed them a photo of me on his phone.

Anyway. Daddy went to pick up his new coupe today and he was very excited.  He picked up the keys and just as he was heading off to drive it away the guy in the show room asked if he would be able to get the child seat in the back... FOR HIS GRANDDAUGHTER!  To be fair, Daddy took it very well.  He just left him... lying there!

My shoe box...

That's it from Bed Three for tonight.  If you want to leave any comments on the blog I've changed the settings so that it's easier... I think some of you were having problems.  And don't forget, if you want to e-mail me you can, at poppylola1@gmail.com.  I'll print it out and put it in my shoe box!!

Lot of love and hugs as always, and thanks for thinking of me.

Poppy Lola xxx