Services for our son, Nathaniel Ross Dickerson, will be held on Tuesday, July 17th at 2:00 p.m. at Marvin United Methodist Church in downtown Tyler, with Dr. John Robbins officiating.
Nate passed away in his parents’ arms in Dallas on Thursday, July 12. Nate lived for only 16 days, but those days were filled with the love and prayers of many people, all hoping that he would overcome the obstacles that he faced from his early arrival. The caring doctors and nurses at Methodist Hospital worked to help him thrive and make him comfortable, but finally surrendered him to God. Much illness is overcome here on Earth, but some illness can be healed only in Heaven.
Nathaniel is survived by his parents, as well as his sister, Mia, his maternal grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Floyd G. Betts, of Tyler, his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Dickerson, of Tyler, his great grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Nolte, of New Braunfels, and his great grandmother, Ms. Dianne C. Betts, of Dallas. Nathaniel is also survived by his aunt Donna and uncle Clint Phillips, of Overton, his aunt Diane and uncle Terry Hawkins, of Tyler, and his aunt Kelly Betts, of Seattle Washington, as well as many other loved ones.
Nate’s family requests that memorials be made to Methodist Hospital, Dallas, NICU, or to Marvin UMC Missions Department.
Stacy and I would like to thank you all for your prayers and for the many messages of love and support you have sent our way over the past couple of weeks. The love and compassion of so many people--from Methodist Hospital, from church, from our families and from our jobs--has given us peace. Like it or not, you have shown us God's love.
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!
Meet Baby Nate...
Nathaniel Ross Dickerson was born on Tuesday, June 26 in the morning at 10:09. Like his big sister, Mia, he arrived roughly three months early. He was a bit smaller than she was, weighing in at 1 pound, 15 ounces at birth (compared to her 2 pounds, 4 ounces).
The story is this: Stacy felt funny last Sunday; she was spotting just a bit and felt like something was not right. She called her doctor and spoke with the doctor on call, who told her to go to the ER if she felt pain or if the bleeding got worse. Otherwise, she was to relax and keep her appointment with her doctor on Monday. So, that's what she did--she did go in to work on Monday before her appointment, just to do paperwork, though.
By the time Dr. Flannagan saw her at 9 a.m., she was dilated to 4 cm! That bought her a ticket to admission into ETMC for bed rest, which would last as long as we could make it last.
We could only make it last a matter of hours, it turned out. She stayed at 4-5 cm. Monday, but had grown to 6 cm. Tuesday morning, which meant that she could not be transferred to Dallas. Dr. Flannagan called in the neonatal transport team from Methodist Hospital in Dallas--the same hospital where Mia was flown when she arrived in Nacogdoches. Once they showed up, we retrieved Nate from her womb. I watched: it was disconcerting but very cool!
The flight nurse who came to get Nate was Griselda, one of our favorite nurses who took care of Mia for so long. Having her there sort of inspired extra confidence in me; I have always admired her and her coworkers for their sense of mission and compassion. Anyway, seeing her and having her take care of Nate reminded me that God is in control, and that is the best thing to remember when you are in an incomprehensible spot.
Nate in Tyler pre-flight; that is the smallest diaper they had! The Saran Wrap blanket will show up on our bill as a $400, space-age polymer warming blanket. Gotta love our health-care system!
I drove up and visited Nate, stayed at Dianne's house, and visited Nate again the next day. Then, I drove back to Tyler to stay with Stacy. She has since been diagnosed with sepsis (she had e-coli in her blood and was spiking fevers of 103, and feeling terrible. her mom was her first choice of caregivers, but I would have to do, since Sally was on the road to Seattle to help Kelly move up there. Today, Saturday, Stacy has finally licked the e-coli and is feeling better at last. She will hopefully go home on Monday.
Today, I went to my mom's and retrieved Mia. She is taking a nap in her own bed and we are going to spend some good time together before taking food to Stacy this evening. Our little family of three has been expanded to four; we are not out of the woods with Nate, but he is very strong and seems to be a fighter like Mia. If you pray, please remember us in your prayers as we try to work and heal and visit Dallas and keep healthy. I pray the Mia will get the attention she needs during this process, as well. She is too great to be overlooked!
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