Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
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:
I'm too tired (Noah never sleeps) to write in depth tonight, but here are some pictures to enjoy:
Thursday, December 22, 2005
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:
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
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/
Originally posted at: http://meanderingaphorisms.blogspot.com/
Friday, December 16, 2005
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.
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/
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.
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/
Monday, December 12, 2005
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/
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/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)