More Pictures

At about three o'clock this morning, Noah and I decided to post some more pictures:

Noah's Great, We're Exhausted.

Noah is continuing to heal beautifully. Earlier today, he had another checkup; he weighs 5lbs. His incisions are all healing without any sign of infection, and the nurse said he's growing on the high end of the percentile for his age. We couldn't be happier. It is so obvious that God still works miracles when one considers that his surgery was just nineteen days ago. His one-month birthday was yesterday. God is good.

I'm too tired (Noah never sleeps) to write in depth tonight, but here are some pictures to enjoy:

Noah's First Afternoon at Home

Everyone is asking me to post a few more pictures, so here you are.

This is Noah in his car seat, about to leave the NICU. This is the smallest car seat Graco makes:

Noah has grown to 4lbs, 3oz, and over 18" long. He is eating his mother's milk from a bottle. Here is his first meal since arriving home:

Noah is extraordinarily good at eating and sleeping. However, he was very rudely awakened earlier today by his mean parents when we gave him a sponge bath. Here's a picture we took immediately afterwards:

Our Son is Coming Home Today!

Our son is coming home, today! He is gaining weight and eating well. His little body is healing well in every way.

Because he is both premature, and has a heart condition, he is at a great risk for major complications from Respiratory Syncytial Virus. The way the doctor described it is that he already has two strikes against him. Therefore, we will be doing what we can to keep him from getting RSV. We won't be taking him out in public until after RSV season ends in April. People are welcome to come over and see him, but only if they are not sick. We will especially be keeping our son away from kids under the age of 16.

Thank you for your prayers for our son through this entire situation. The outcome has been better than the doctors had dreamed. They still tell us that he should not be healing this quickly. However, please be praying for our son's health as he is at such an increased risk for RSV.

He's Coming Home!

It appears that our son will be coming home from the NICU tomorrow. (This morning, the nurses made it sound like it might even happen today, but it looks like the doctor is set on tomorrow.) I'll attempt to post more information and pictures tonight, but I must finish some other things first.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

He's Still Amazing the Doctors

"Medically, I cannot explain how he is doing this well."

Since all this started with our son, there have been three times, by three different doctors, that we have been told something along the lines of the above quote. Last night my wife and I thought through everything that has happened - and how many times we should have lost our son.

• According to doctors, my wife should have been having seizures from her pregnancy-induced, extreme high blood pressure. That probably should have killed her and our son.
  
• Our son probably would have died from his heart defect if he had been delivered normally. The fact that my wife did not react to the blood pressure drugs and we were forced to have an emergency C-section probably saved our son's life.
  
• The hole in our son's heart that normally closes up very soon after birth did not close immediately. This gave doctors time to diagnose and treat him. He would have had to have emergency heart surgery to implant a stint if the hole had closed normally.
  
• Typically, a baby born as premature as our son would not even be eligible for the surgery that saved his life. His internal organs were apparently developed slightly beyond what they normally would have been in a child his age. We very easily could have been sitting in the hospital watching our son slowly suffocate.
  
• The arteries that feed oxygenated blood to his tiny heart were in just the right place for the surgery to be completely successful. The doctor was "surprised" by how well placed they were. He had expected substantial complications because they "normally wouldn't be that well placed."
  
• The doctor was also able to close our son's chest within an hour of the surgery. Typically, the swelling from this type of surgery is so bad that the child's chest has to be left open (covered by a piece of sterile pig's skin) for several days after the surgery. However, with our son, the swelling went down so much, so quickly, that they were able to close him up immediately. This drastically lowered the risk of infection.

The doctors have also been amazed at how quickly he has recovered. Our son has now had every life-assist machine, drainage tube, and intravenous tube removed, except for a "standard" IV and a "PIC Line" that they are keeping in place just in case they need to give him any emergency medicine.

We have also just learned that the surgeon considers him to be "fixed" to the point that he is trying to get us transferred back to a hospital in Tulsa. They had told us that our son would be in this hospital for at least three weeks after the surgery - it has been four days.

We will probably be transferred back to Tulsa the first part of next week. Our son will then be at a hospital in Tulsa until they are certain his gastrointestinal system is operating properly (one to two weeks). Then, we will finally get to bring our baby home.

God is good and He does work miracles as His saints pray. Our son is proof of that fact. Thank you so much to all of you who have been lifting our son up in prayer, and to those of you who provided various means of support to us through this whole ordeal. We can never thank you enough.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

The Surgery Was Successful

Psalms 69:30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

That verse well sums up my thoughts and emotions at this point. The surgery has just been completed and appears to have been perfect. The next 48 hours are still crucial as it is possible that an infection could create an issue, but the major concerns the doctors had about the placement of the coronary arteries was not an issue. He will be sedated for the next few days, and on a respirator, as they do not want any more strain on his heart than is absolutely necessary. However, God has blessed us with a successful surgery, and for that we are very grateful!

Please keep praying as there is still a small chance that a leak could form around the repair or that he could get an infection. Thank you all for your prayers for our baby, my wife and I. We have certainly felt your prayers and have been blessed by the support we received.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

The Surgery is Tomorrow

I don't have Internet access for my laptop, so I am doing this from a small computer center the hospital has set up for families. My time is limited, so I must be brief.

Our son has been admitted to the OU Medical Center Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. Since we arrived we have learned the following:

• The doctors in Tulsa had told us there was a 50/50% chance that something significant would go wrong. After examining him, and his blood vessels in particular, the operating surgeon said he considered his chances of having no significant issues to be closer to 85%.


• The surgery will be tomorrow (Monday) morning at 7:30AM. It probably won't be complete until at least 1PM.


• After the surgery, our son will be here until they feel he is strong enough to release him - probably three weeks.

His mother and I are staying at the Ronald McDonald house here in OKC. The staff there is incredible. What a ministry.

God is good and has provided step-by-step help for my wife and I in ways we did not at all expect. Please keep praying as our son will be the second smallest baby this doctor has ever performed this surgery on and the risks are still substantial. (There are only a handful of doctors in the world who do this procedure.)

I will post an update as soon as I am able tomorrow afternoon.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

We’re Going to OKC

The surgeon who is going to be performing the surgery on our son in Oklahoma City wants him in OKC so that he can observe him firsthand. Therefore, we are going to OKC tomorrow morning. Our baby is still doing quite well, and they still hope to postpone the surgery for up to a week, but they also want to do the surgery as soon as they think they can safely do so. The surgery could be performed as early as Monday, or as late as Friday, but probably Wednesday.

Please be praying for the surgeon’s wisdom and skill as he treats our son and my wife and me and we deal with the daily challenges that will arise. Pray for safety during the transport for our son and for my wife and I. Pray for peace for my wife and myself as we are getting more worried as the surgery nears.

Once we are in OKC, I don’t know how often I will have Internet access, but I will post updates as often as possible.

Thank you for your prayers.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

The Doctors Can’t Explain It

Once again, the doctors are amazed. As far as medical science is concerned, our son should not be doing nearly as well as he is. The medicine that is keeping the artery open that is keeping him alive should be starting to cause his other blood vessels to begin to relax which should start lowering his blood pressure. However, the doctors can find no evidence that our son is having the negative side effects of the medicine at all. Therefore, they are now considering postponing his surgery for a few more days to allow him some additional time to grow. The more he grows, the less risky the heart surgery. The doctor who directs the NICU said he can’t explain why the drug is having such limited negative effects. I certainly know why, though, and we praise God for His blessing.

In any case, the doctors are very encouraged by how well he is doing and, for the first time, actually seem optimistic when they talk to us.

Today had two wonderful blessings - I got to hold my son (for the first time) for over an hour while he slept, and my wife was able to feed him milk through a bottle. He is still weak, and he wasn’t able to take much of the milk, but he did well with what he could take. They are also giving him regular feedings of breast milk through a feeding tube to help him grow.

Here are a few more pictures of our son:





Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

Today’s Update

Mom: Is healing so quickly that she doesn’t even need her prescription pain medication any more. Her blood pressure had stabilized and the only other medication she’s needing is some ibuprofen.

Son: Is growing stronger every day. The only update on his physical condition is that they have started giving him a small amount of breast milk every three hours through a feeding tube. My wife got to hold him for over an hour today; it noticeably calmed him and he slept deeply.

It is very difficult to see your son in the ICU. It’s even more difficult to leave him when the time comes each day. The most difficult thing is to think that every day brings us closer to the day when he will be having the surgery - and potentially major complications. Lord-willing, that surgery will solve the problem and we can bring our baby home.

My natural tendency is to get mad and question God. I do ask why, but I know the will of God is that we grow and He be glorified through this situation. I can’t explain the peace my wife and I feel to anyone who doesn’t know Christ. That doesn’t mean that any of this is easy, or that we don’t sometimes fall apart, but God is sovereign, God is good, and God is faithful. In time, this whole situation will work for our good and His glory.

God listens to His saints, so please keep us in your prayers.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2Corinthians 12:9

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

A Major Update

My wife and I met with the pediatric cardiologist in depth, today. The good news is that our son is looking better and may have even started to gain weight. His oxygen saturation levels are 85-90% and the doctor said he would have been satisfied with 60%, so he is doing very well, considering….

The bad news is that the doctors don’t want to do the surgery until he’s at least the size of a full-term baby. However, within approximately a week, the medicine they’re giving him to keep him alive will result in his blood pressure dropping so low that it would kill him. So, they have no choice but to attempt the surgery within seven to ten days. The risk of this surgery to a full-term baby is about 10%. For a pre-mature baby like our son, it’s considerably higher…over 50%. The doctor said that of the 351 different kinds of congenital heart defects, this is one of the most complex and difficult to fix because they not only have to switch the two arteries, they also have to move the coronary arteries. If they don’t get those arteries ALL attached correctly, our son will have a heart attack.
Please continue praying. I mean it when I say that we can feel your prayers, and I pray it is God’s will that our son survives and thrives. No matter what, though, God is good and I know He loves our son even more than we do. His will be done.

UPDATE (Monday Dec 5, 2005 7:22 PM):
Mom: Is recovering nicely. Considering the surgery she went through, she’s recovering remarkably quick.
Baby: They were able to remove the tube feed, ventilator, and catheter today. He is breathing just fine on his own, and the doctors plan to start feeding him breast milk tomorrow. He will be transported to Oklahoma City next Monday and the surgery will likely be the following Wednesday. Please keep praying as there are still potentially great problems, but the doctors have been amazed at how well he is doing. Praise God! Following are a few more pictures we took today at the hospital.









Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/

Announcing the Arrival. Please Pray.

God blessed my wife and me with a baby boy this morning by emergency c-section. My wife developed Preeclampsia and it resulted in her blood pressure shooting up to 180/130 yesterday, so the doctors decided to induce later today. Then, about 4:00 this morning, the baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low and the emergency part came into the situation.
My wife is doing very well. She's sore and exhausted, but OK.

Because of the Preeclampsia, our son weighs only 3lbs, 10oz, but has a normal skeletal frame at 16.5" long. Furthermore, it appears that his aorta may be underdeveloped, and they may have to perform surgery to correct the problem. We are still awaiting further tests. Please lift our son up in prayer, as well as the doctors who are treating him.

UPDATE (5:52 PM):
The doctor's best guess at present is that the two main arteries that carry blood away from his heart may have each grown to the wrong chamber of the heart, and they may have to perform surgery to switch them. We are still awaiting further tests.

UPDATE (Friday Dec 2, 2005 10:40 AM):
Mom: They have removed the blood pressure controlling medicine and the IV. She's able to walk around and take showers. The wound is healing perfectly.
Baby: He's on a respirator to help expand his lungs fully, but they were able to take him off oxygen. They have determined that he has "transposition of the great vessels." I am about to go meet with the doctor at St. Francis. I'll post an update then.

UPDATE (Friday Dec 2, 2005 5:20 PM):
I was unable to meet with the doctor today because he was, and still is, performing emergency heart surgery on another infant. (Be praying for that poor family.) Our son is stable, so now we just wait for him to gain some weight. I'll have more details tomorrow morning.





UPDATE (Saturday Dec 3, 2005 7:45 PM):
Mom: My wife was released from the hospital ahead of schedule this afternoon. She is healing very well. Even more than her physical health, though, she finally got to spend some time with her baby this afternoon. Before today, she had only seen him twice, and for less than ten minutes combined. Mom was glowing so beautifully as she looked at her precious son. Praise the Lord!
Baby: Is still off oxygen, but they have him on a ventilator to help his lungs completely expand. He has been very stable, and the doctors are encouraged by the fact that he has had, "No significant events." The plan is to Life Flight him to Oklahoma City this coming weekend for the surgery. We'll be there for at least ten days...maybe more. It apparently is a relatively common surgery with an over 90% success rate, although open heart surgery on your premature son is never a soothing concept. However, we are very encouraged by his stable condition.

Thank you all for your prayers, and please continue to lift our son up. We can definitely feel God's peace through all of this.

Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/