Nate Update
Mom, Dad, Mia and I drove up to Dallas on Sunday after church to visit baby Nate. Mom and dad had not really gotten to see him, and Mia was excited to go even though she didn't get to actually see the baby she refers to as "my baby." After braving rain and poor traffic conditions, we visited Nate and came back to Tyler in time for dinner.
Stacy is STILL in the hospital in Tyler, enjoying fevers from 99 to 103. Because I stayed with Mia Friday night and Saturday, Stacy was feeling a little lonely, so I got my sister, Suzy, to keep Mia (they get along really well!) for the night; the plan was that I would sleep at the hospital but pick Mia up by 8:30 and take her to therapy.
Dr. Kolni called me at 2:00 a.m. with some bad news: a sharp-eyed nurse had noted a bruise on Nathaniel's belly. As it turns out, he has what is called a perforated colon. Dr. Kolni said that he had a surgeon who would be there within the hour, who would call me back for authorization. We had been blind to problems with Nate's bowels. Mia had faced heart, lung and brain issues and since Nate had no problems in those areas, we sort of supposed that he was in the clear. However, problems with his colon could turn out to be worse in the long run. I couldn't go back to sleep so, after I spoke with the surgeon, I drove up to Dallas to visit my son. He made it through the surgery, and now the fin begins.
Presently, he has two sections of his bowels exposed through his tiny belly. One part is obviously dead; the other part is ill. If he can grow to 5 pounds or so, being fed intravenously, they will try and resection his bowel, inspecting his digestive tract for further problems. If he can't absorb nutrients, he can't grow, though.
To top that, now he is beginning to grow bacteria in his blood similar in class to the e-coli that Stacy is still fighting. I don't know what is possible and what is impossible anymore--everyday miracles abound in the NICU--but I wonder how Nate can make it through with his little, immature immune system when Stacy has been grounded for seven days....
So, if you pray, please pray for Nathaniel, that he will not be in pain and that he will heal and grow. Stacy and I figure that it is out of our hands, so prayer is the only recourse. Thank you, sincerely, to all of you who have emailed and written expressing your kind and loving thoughts, as well as to everyone at Marvin who has offered us hugs and compassion. If there is a bright side of this kind of experience, it has to be that every day I get to see people at their best, acting unselfishly for the benefit of others. I get to tangibly feel the love that friends and relatives freely offer. In the blur that is life lived between two hospitals, I doubt I could make it without the love and support that seems to come from everywhere. Thank you all!
Stacy is STILL in the hospital in Tyler, enjoying fevers from 99 to 103. Because I stayed with Mia Friday night and Saturday, Stacy was feeling a little lonely, so I got my sister, Suzy, to keep Mia (they get along really well!) for the night; the plan was that I would sleep at the hospital but pick Mia up by 8:30 and take her to therapy.
Dr. Kolni called me at 2:00 a.m. with some bad news: a sharp-eyed nurse had noted a bruise on Nathaniel's belly. As it turns out, he has what is called a perforated colon. Dr. Kolni said that he had a surgeon who would be there within the hour, who would call me back for authorization. We had been blind to problems with Nate's bowels. Mia had faced heart, lung and brain issues and since Nate had no problems in those areas, we sort of supposed that he was in the clear. However, problems with his colon could turn out to be worse in the long run. I couldn't go back to sleep so, after I spoke with the surgeon, I drove up to Dallas to visit my son. He made it through the surgery, and now the fin begins.
Presently, he has two sections of his bowels exposed through his tiny belly. One part is obviously dead; the other part is ill. If he can grow to 5 pounds or so, being fed intravenously, they will try and resection his bowel, inspecting his digestive tract for further problems. If he can't absorb nutrients, he can't grow, though.
To top that, now he is beginning to grow bacteria in his blood similar in class to the e-coli that Stacy is still fighting. I don't know what is possible and what is impossible anymore--everyday miracles abound in the NICU--but I wonder how Nate can make it through with his little, immature immune system when Stacy has been grounded for seven days....
So, if you pray, please pray for Nathaniel, that he will not be in pain and that he will heal and grow. Stacy and I figure that it is out of our hands, so prayer is the only recourse. Thank you, sincerely, to all of you who have emailed and written expressing your kind and loving thoughts, as well as to everyone at Marvin who has offered us hugs and compassion. If there is a bright side of this kind of experience, it has to be that every day I get to see people at their best, acting unselfishly for the benefit of others. I get to tangibly feel the love that friends and relatives freely offer. In the blur that is life lived between two hospitals, I doubt I could make it without the love and support that seems to come from everywhere. Thank you all!
