Issue 3 5/12/99
Month three already! Can you believe it? It seems like we were just finishing the last issue of the newsletter only days ago. Once again, you all have been faithful in praying and God has been faithful in answering. I am constantly reminded of the verse "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..." (Eph. 3:20).
Progress Notes
If all of you had seen J when she was born, you would not recognize her now. She currently tips the scales at 2 pounds, 12 1/2 ounces and is over 15 inches long. She has been successfully weaned from the steroids and most of the time is in 25-28% oxygen. She takes part of her feedings from a bottle three times a day and is almost ready to come out of her isolette into an open crib. She pulls the oxygen prongs out of her nose, pulls the feeding tube out of her mouth and holds her pacifier in with her hand. She smiles, interacts with us, and is generally just extremely cute in her too big jammies.
She has had 19 blood transfusions since birth. Because of all of the tests they have to draw blood for, it only makes sense that every once in a while they have to give it back! All preemies get type 0- blood regardless of their own blood type.
There are basically only four issues left for J to deal with before she comes--dare I say it?--HOME! 1.) She must be able to maintain her own temperature. 2/) She must be able to take all of her feedings from the bottle. 3.) We are trying to determine if she has Reflux (a condition very common in even term babies--that would not prevent her from coming home). She is currently on Zantac and Reglan just in case. And 4.) J has stage 3 of a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity, or ROP. This is a condition where, because of prematurity (and possibly high concentrations of supplemental oxygen) abnormal cells form at the edge of the retina at the back of th eye. If it progresses too far, the cells can hemorrage, causing scar tissue to form, which, in turn, can cause detachment of the retina and blindness. 75% of the time, ROP resolves on it's own, or laser surgery can be perforned to correct the damage. Please pray with us that God would have His way in this also.
Named by God
Although we did pray about what to name our baby, we chose "J" after her Great Grandmother on her Dad's side of the family. We did not know it's meaning until she was two months old. Through the diligent research of some friends, we have learned that the Scandinavian name means "The one God loves". I truly believe that in spite of the family associations, God chose her name. And I no longer worry about the outcome of all of this. What message could be more comforting than that of His love for her?
I realize that this part is a repeat of a previous post, but at this point, I am just typing the newsletters as they went out.
Issue 4 7/12/99
You all probably thought I had completely forgotten about the next issue of our newsletter, didn't you? I didn't exactly forget, but J is HOME now and you know what it's like to have a new baby in the house! I'm lucky if I get breakfast before noon! Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but sometimes I do wonder where the time has gone. Oh well. I'll worry about windows and floors when she's gone off to college. Right now, I'm making up for lost cuddle time!!
Catching Up
So many things have changed since our last update, I hardly know where to begin. J now weighs a chubby 5 pounds, 13/12 ounces, and is 18 inches long. She is still on oxygen, but I have her off for as much as 13 hours at a time and hope to be giving that up soon. She has eight different meds: two to help remove extra fluid (diuretics), sodium and potassium (electrolytes-because of the diuretics), iron, a multi, and the Zantac and Reglan for reflux. When she comes offf of the oxygen, she should lose half of her meds.
On May 27th, J did have the laser surgery for Retinopathy in both eyes. It went very well and she has recovered quickly.
The biggest news, however, is that on June 12th, exactly four months from her birth, J was sent home from the hospital!!!!!!! Never having slept in a dark or quiet room, she was pretty restless the first night. By the second night though, she had adjusted. She continues to sleep very well at night, for which we are grateful.
Moving On
As we look forward, there are a couple of remaining issues. 1.) The retinopathy will always be an issue for J. There are a couple of things that we are watching closely for the time being, but she will always be at a greater risk for retinal detachment. Also, any eye problems, like nearsightedness, could likely be worse than they would have been otherwise. Fortunately, there are solutions to all of those things.
We continue to be obsessive about her nutrition and risk for infection, and we cope with the monitor (I will refrain from calling it names for the time being), and oxygen daily. Someday we will be able to get in the car with only the typical baby periphenalia and not the additional fifty pounds of support gear!
After a month at home, we have settled into a delicate balance between routine and mayhem. The steady stream of visitors and support crew is a welcome change to the drudgery of hours on the road and a seeming eternity in the NICU--although I can't possibly fit another thing in my fridge! If you want to stop by for a short visit, call us. We'd be more than happy to show off our little answer to prayer!!
Many Thanks!!
There are a few people that we would like to extend our gratitude to:
WP--How can I ever thank you, W, for all you have done? You provided a haven for both body and spirit when I needed it most and a ready friendship when I was so far from home. May God richly bless you for your willingness to help.
R and T V--We thank you for the fellowship and cheering up when we needed it and for giving us a chance to forget why we were in Peoria for awhile.
All our family and friends--You provided a steady stream (and sometimes a flood!) of encouraging notes, "gas money", and prayers. We could not have done it without you.
It goes without saying that we will be forever grateful to the doctors, nurses and staff at St. Francis. There could not have been a better place for our daughter.
Most of all, we extend our meager praise to our Lord, who provided an experience that would cause us to grow and allow us to partake of a deeper measure of His love and grace.
Even after almost seven years, I feel the gratitude to these people as deeply as ever.
That was the last newsletter to go out. We did have the opportunity to visit a number of the churches that were on the prayer and mailing lists and what a blessing that was!
Month three already! Can you believe it? It seems like we were just finishing the last issue of the newsletter only days ago. Once again, you all have been faithful in praying and God has been faithful in answering. I am constantly reminded of the verse "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..." (Eph. 3:20).
Progress Notes
If all of you had seen J when she was born, you would not recognize her now. She currently tips the scales at 2 pounds, 12 1/2 ounces and is over 15 inches long. She has been successfully weaned from the steroids and most of the time is in 25-28% oxygen. She takes part of her feedings from a bottle three times a day and is almost ready to come out of her isolette into an open crib. She pulls the oxygen prongs out of her nose, pulls the feeding tube out of her mouth and holds her pacifier in with her hand. She smiles, interacts with us, and is generally just extremely cute in her too big jammies.
She has had 19 blood transfusions since birth. Because of all of the tests they have to draw blood for, it only makes sense that every once in a while they have to give it back! All preemies get type 0- blood regardless of their own blood type.
There are basically only four issues left for J to deal with before she comes--dare I say it?--HOME! 1.) She must be able to maintain her own temperature. 2/) She must be able to take all of her feedings from the bottle. 3.) We are trying to determine if she has Reflux (a condition very common in even term babies--that would not prevent her from coming home). She is currently on Zantac and Reglan just in case. And 4.) J has stage 3 of a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity, or ROP. This is a condition where, because of prematurity (and possibly high concentrations of supplemental oxygen) abnormal cells form at the edge of the retina at the back of th eye. If it progresses too far, the cells can hemorrage, causing scar tissue to form, which, in turn, can cause detachment of the retina and blindness. 75% of the time, ROP resolves on it's own, or laser surgery can be perforned to correct the damage. Please pray with us that God would have His way in this also.
Named by God
Although we did pray about what to name our baby, we chose "J" after her Great Grandmother on her Dad's side of the family. We did not know it's meaning until she was two months old. Through the diligent research of some friends, we have learned that the Scandinavian name means "The one God loves". I truly believe that in spite of the family associations, God chose her name. And I no longer worry about the outcome of all of this. What message could be more comforting than that of His love for her?
I realize that this part is a repeat of a previous post, but at this point, I am just typing the newsletters as they went out.
Issue 4 7/12/99
You all probably thought I had completely forgotten about the next issue of our newsletter, didn't you? I didn't exactly forget, but J is HOME now and you know what it's like to have a new baby in the house! I'm lucky if I get breakfast before noon! Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but sometimes I do wonder where the time has gone. Oh well. I'll worry about windows and floors when she's gone off to college. Right now, I'm making up for lost cuddle time!!
Catching Up
So many things have changed since our last update, I hardly know where to begin. J now weighs a chubby 5 pounds, 13/12 ounces, and is 18 inches long. She is still on oxygen, but I have her off for as much as 13 hours at a time and hope to be giving that up soon. She has eight different meds: two to help remove extra fluid (diuretics), sodium and potassium (electrolytes-because of the diuretics), iron, a multi, and the Zantac and Reglan for reflux. When she comes offf of the oxygen, she should lose half of her meds.
On May 27th, J did have the laser surgery for Retinopathy in both eyes. It went very well and she has recovered quickly.
The biggest news, however, is that on June 12th, exactly four months from her birth, J was sent home from the hospital!!!!!!! Never having slept in a dark or quiet room, she was pretty restless the first night. By the second night though, she had adjusted. She continues to sleep very well at night, for which we are grateful.
Moving On
As we look forward, there are a couple of remaining issues. 1.) The retinopathy will always be an issue for J. There are a couple of things that we are watching closely for the time being, but she will always be at a greater risk for retinal detachment. Also, any eye problems, like nearsightedness, could likely be worse than they would have been otherwise. Fortunately, there are solutions to all of those things.
We continue to be obsessive about her nutrition and risk for infection, and we cope with the monitor (I will refrain from calling it names for the time being), and oxygen daily. Someday we will be able to get in the car with only the typical baby periphenalia and not the additional fifty pounds of support gear!
After a month at home, we have settled into a delicate balance between routine and mayhem. The steady stream of visitors and support crew is a welcome change to the drudgery of hours on the road and a seeming eternity in the NICU--although I can't possibly fit another thing in my fridge! If you want to stop by for a short visit, call us. We'd be more than happy to show off our little answer to prayer!!
Many Thanks!!
There are a few people that we would like to extend our gratitude to:
WP--How can I ever thank you, W, for all you have done? You provided a haven for both body and spirit when I needed it most and a ready friendship when I was so far from home. May God richly bless you for your willingness to help.
R and T V--We thank you for the fellowship and cheering up when we needed it and for giving us a chance to forget why we were in Peoria for awhile.
All our family and friends--You provided a steady stream (and sometimes a flood!) of encouraging notes, "gas money", and prayers. We could not have done it without you.
It goes without saying that we will be forever grateful to the doctors, nurses and staff at St. Francis. There could not have been a better place for our daughter.
Most of all, we extend our meager praise to our Lord, who provided an experience that would cause us to grow and allow us to partake of a deeper measure of His love and grace.
Even after almost seven years, I feel the gratitude to these people as deeply as ever.
That was the last newsletter to go out. We did have the opportunity to visit a number of the churches that were on the prayer and mailing lists and what a blessing that was!
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