All Dried Up

Well our run of good days and nights finally ended. When I first looked in on Luke this morning I figured another good night, he was laying comfortably and his numbers didn't look too bad. However, after talking to his nurse she let me in on his night. Luke has stopped urinating, his blood pressure was low, a chest x-ray showed a cloudy area, and they had stopped his feedings. After watching for urine all day, the doctors finally decided to start a IV of Dopamine to help with blood perfusion to the kidneys. Hopefully this will kick start things. They also gave him another blood transfusion to help. To help with the blood pressure, they went back to Hydracortizone every 8 hours instead of 12 hours. That started to work immediately, thumbs up. The chest x-ray showed a cloudy area in the top right lobe of the lungs. A later chest x-ray showed the whole right side cloudy. They believe it to be collapsed either still or again. They raised his Jet settings and started chest vibrations every 6 hours. This is to help open the lungs back up. One good thing, Luke was on 21% oxygen most of the day, room air. Lately he had been turned up to 50% at some times. They had to stop his feedings due to slow digestion. When I was still there, it seemed like he was chowing down. However, I guess later on his residual was quite larger, so they had to stop the feedings. All together I guess the day wasn't all together horrible, we have experienced worse. I have finally started to understand to just take one day at a time. I can get all upset, but what is that going to do for Luke. So I take the news, pull up a chair next to the incubator, and spend my day reading along side my little man. Occasionally we have some conversations and hand holding waiting till the day I can hold him again. But mostly we just look at one another. I know sooner or later the day will come where these days will seem so long ago.

Unicorn Baby

Add another good day to the books. We started off today with some pretty good news, the echocardiogram results were in and the PDA was closed. Lets hope it stays that way. Also his night went well, so we could start feeding him today through his nasogastric tube. Luke is now on a schedule of 1 1/2 cc of milk every 3 hours. So every three hours he gets roughly 1/3 of a teaspoon. It might not seem like much, but for his tiny belly it fills him up. Every 3 hours they take a syringe and suck out his nasogastric (NG) tube to check for residual (leftovers). This way they can check to make sure he is digesting the food. So far so good, he has the eating habits of his dad. I was also able to give my first "bath." I really wouldn't call it that because he never leaves his "man cave." I just got to wipe him down and dry him off. I also FINALLY got to change my first diaper since Jonathin isn't around. I too was surprised with a poo, however I did not freak out and took care of business. I was happy for a second bowel movement in 2 days, then I come back in later and his nurse told me Luke had another when she changed him earlier. Let's hope this can finally settle down his stomach. I spent most of the day reading next to Luke and he was so well behaved his nurse, Dana, gave him a gold star. He did act up some times by holding his breathe some, but nothing too bad happened, at least not till the end of her shift. Since the doctors removed his PICC line yesterday they place a peripheral line in his other arm to give his fluids till another PICC line can be placed later. Late in the day when giving him his antibiotic his arm began to puff up and look like he had been pumping iron. His IV had infiltrated his arm and the fluids were filling his arm down into his chest area. It was not a great concern, they gave him something to help with absorption. Dana his nurse tried to place another line in a hand and the other arm, but was unable to do so. That left a scalp vein to try. As of right now Luke has an IV in the top of his head till they can place a new PICC line. I'm just worried he is going to pull it out, because every once and while he gets those arms just a swinging around. If he leaves it alone I know it will be okay cause I had a scalp line in when I was a newborn. I'm just worried they will pull out the little hair that he does have when they remove the tape.  Today Luke also began to suck his thumb. It seemed he was doing that in our ultrasound pictures and today was no exception. I don't know how easy it is with all the tubes in his mouth but he makes it work. It doesn't bother me now, but lets hope he kicks the habit before 5th grade. Other than that our day was pretty calm. Thank you everyone for everything you are doing, I feel so grateful.

An Up and Up Kind of Day

Lets just say I had to take notes today after rounds just to keep track of all the changes that were happening.  I'll start with he had another good night. Melody must be the preemie whisperer. She wraps him like a burrito and he is good for the night. It was a pretty eventful day with everything they decided to do. First, they stopped the once a day tummy x-rays. Apparently his belly is not worrying them as of now. Maybe from that traumatic poo that we had a couple days ago. So one less thing to disturb the munchkin for. Finally after another positive culture the doctors finally decided to remove the PICC line in his arm, yahoo! I'm just hoping that this is where we finally get our answers. They won't replace the line until the cultures come back negative or the line in his leg goes bad. Fingers crossed that the line won't go bad, and we over come the infection quickly now. Starting tomorrow Luke will be treated with inhaled steroids to try and prepare him for removal of the ventilator in the future. Which like I have said before, I can't wait for. Finally we will be able to hold him again. Yesterday he was removed from the Jet ventilator and today we had to go back on it. At least this time we made it an entire day. The reason this time was Luke's CO2, it was a little high. They thought the Jet would help remove some of it, but so far the blood gases are still a little high. This switching of the ventilators is another reason I'll be happy to be off of them completely. Also today they did an Echocardiogram on Luke's heart. They were checking the PDA again to check the size and to see if it closed up again. Either way it isn't a big deal right now, just monitoring. They are also checking his valves of his heart to see if the bacteria has clung to them, like it could have done to the PICC line. I won't know the results till tomorrow because they did it so late. If there is bacteria on the valve they will treat with antibiotics still, nothing too much. Also they turned off Luke's suction that was working on his stomach. It was originally started at Memorial to help decrease his belly bloating. Apparently his belly isn't bloated anymore. The best part is if tonight goes well, we might start feeding him again tomorrow!!! I'm ready for him to start getting some real nutrition, not just IV nutrition. Fingers and toes crossed it goes well. Then we can really start bulking the little man up. Last but not least on my list is the hydrocortisone, the last of the blood pressure medications. Starting today it has been lowered to every 12 hours from every 8 and slowly he will be removed completely. Hopefully his body will be able to comprehend for the removal of the medications. Today didn't really seem that busy, till I go over all of this again. It was also one of those days where I can really see the prayers paying off. Thank you all again.

"It's a preemie thing"

Luke had another good night. I could get used to these, but I know I can't ask for too much. When we arrived at the hospital this morning they had removed him from the Jet ventilator. Don't get too excited, he is still and will be for a while, on a ventilator. He has been removed from the Jet before, so who knows if this will stick. I will take any progression we can get. That was pretty much all of the excitement for today. They are still taking chest x-rays. They just tell me they are fuzzy or cloudy. Then the dreaded answer to everything, "It's a preemie thing." No matter what I ask about why certain things are happening that is the answer I get. I mean they explain what they can, but it all ends up with that answer. Today Luke wanted everyone to pay attention to him, no matter who it was. Every once and awhile his O2 saturation would drop somewhere around 70, then slowly he would raise it back up to 98-100 and sit there till the alarms would drive everyone crazy. I think he was holding his breathe on purpose. The nurses would disinfect their hands and stand there ready to turn up the oxygen concentration, but no, he would bring himself right back. This went on all day. The doctors and respiratory therapists raised his breathes per minute thinking that would help, but no he still did it. They have no real answer for me, other than "It's a preemie thing."
On another note, Jonathin went back to work this evening for a week straight. I hope the week goes quick for him. I know it is hard for him to leave. At least he has the dogs during the day. I hope they remember me when we finally get to go home. Also I would like to say thank you for the Riley postcards that were waiting for me when I got to the hospital. They were so great, and brought a big smile to my face. They are all up with Luke on his shelf next to his isolete. Once again, thanks for all the support, love, and prayers. I don't know how we all could do this without all of you.

Jordan

Pop Petrified of Poop!

This morning we arrived to some lung problems. Luke had apparently had a couple problems throughout the night. His heart rate would drop along with his oxygen saturation level, then it would take a while for him to get back to his normal levels. They even had to bag him twice over the night and once this morning. Originally they thought it was the way he was laying, then they thought it was his ventilator tube. However, after another x-ray, Luke's lungs looked slightly collapsed. This could be due to his ventilator being set so low. This wasn't allowing enough air in the lungs to keep them inflated is how they described it to me. To fix the problem they turned the ventilator up a little and are waiting for the alveoli in the lungs to reinflate. It doesn't make me happy that this is another problem to occur, but I am happy that we know why his heart rate and O2 would drop. It was a little tense when it would happen when we were in there. This might also explain his restlessness yesterday evening. We are still working on the blood pressure. It looks a lot better now with the help of the medications. Every time they try to remove the Dopamine they end of up putting him back on the next 4 hours. He is on the lowest amount, but when they remove it he doesn't rebound like they would hope. He is also still one other blood pressure medication, but it is only given every 8 hours instead of a continuous drip. The doctors had yet to decide if they were going to pull out the PICC line today. They are still waiting for the 3rd culture to come back on the infection. Hopefully tomorrow we can have a decision. Now lets get to entertainment for today. Every since Lucas was born Jonathin has changed the diapers when he is around. I have not changed a one. So today at the 4:00PM changing I went in to change the diaper, however, a certain individual raced me in the NICU to change the diaper before me, so I let him. My rational is when Luke is finally home I know the diapers will most likely be changed by myself, so I'll let him get his share in now. Well as Jonathin went to take the diaper off Luke he suddenly realized at that same time Luke was trying to have a bowel movement. Already Jonathin had removed the diaper and had a clean one in hand. Instead of placing the diaper under Luke or anything like to catch things, he threw the clean diaper on the counter and let out a loud, "Eww Poop!" and walked away leaving our child laying in his mess. This left our nurse to finish cause Jonathin couldn't look that way and I was laughing too hard. Jonathin always said he couldn't handle poop, however I didn't think a blueberry was that frightening. So needless to say I don't think he will be racing me to the next diaper change. This was more exciting than just the diaper change, we were really excited to see the bowel movement due to the watching of the intestines. This just shows that they are just slow hopefully, not constricted. I honestly think I was more excited about that. So pretty much the day wasn't filled with more ups than downs, just a steady day with a few bumps. I was finally able to get in a car and remove myself from the hospital for the first time in a week, that was nice, but my mind would still wonder how Luke was doing. I think it will be pretty difficult when all of this is said and done and we go and leave him with someone for a night out. If I'm nervous now with a bunch of nurses, think how it will be with grandparents or friends, eek! I know I say this every time, but thank you again everyone. The prayers are being heard!

Jordan

Just a Little Finicky

The little man is growing some dark fuzzy hair. I don't think you can see it in this picture, but it seems every day there is a little more there. He didn't have an all too stressful day. They lowered his blood pressure medications once again and even stopped the Dopamine for a while, however, they put him back on it a couple hours later. I wish I could get a definite answer on his belly, but with preemies I have learned there is never a definite answer. They are still looking at his films from the GI. The surgeons don't see anything, but other might see something. So we still keep watching. We had our 2nd cultural come back positive for the infection. They are thinking that it is on the PICC line that is in his arm. So today they started his antibiotics in another line so it can attack that area instead of bypassing it. As of right now they are waiting for a 3rd positive culture then they might pull the line. They would then have to wait 24-48 before placing another line. This would treat him without the causing factor they believe. They would then replace the line. They can't do it too early or the infection will once again collect on the new line. He did have an episode once during the day and twice at night where his heart rate would dip and they had to bag him. Lauren his nurse thinks that this is due to a vagal response. His vent tube might rub his vagus nerve and lower the heart rate. They aren't too worried as of right now, because his oxygen saturation number are still good. Luke did have an x-ray right before we left to check placement on that tube once again. The space is so small they are just making sure he hasn't moved too much and moved the tube. The way he was moving around yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if it moved. The doctors however did not see any movement. I'll be ecstatic when that tube finally gets to come out: 1. I will be able to hold him again and 2. I will be able to hear him cry. I know that is not a parent is ready to hear, but other than a slight whine when he was born, I haven't heard a peep out of him. I know that this is far in the future, but I'm patiently waiting. Hopefully his 2 week birthday won't be as exciting as his 1 week birthday, for him and all of us. Thank you again for the love and support.

Jordan

Hopefully Turning a Corner

Yesterday can only be summed up with a SMILE! That is what I came out with after rounds yesterday morning. Luke had a good almost great night with Melody. Her pep talk must have worked. I guess you could call it her "Win One for the Gipper'" speech, because he turned around fast for her. His blood pressure came back and is really good, almost to the point of high. So now we are working on weening him off some of the medications they placed him on for the low bp. Also he peed a lot over the night, allowing him to get rid of some of the fluids they gave him throughout the day. Luke now does not look like the Jet Puff Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters like the day before. I was warned though that preemies do go in waves with the urine output, but you still couldn't dampen my mood. ALSO his GI study came back clear. As of right now there is no NEC or perforation. NO SURGERY! It is still that infection that we have been fighting from the beginning. It is a gram positive staph infection that was introduced to his system from his skin. They originally believed it was from the umbilicus line that was placed right after birth, however now they are leaning on the PICC line that was placed in his right arm when they removed his umbilicus. So today they are weighing out the options on taking out the PICC line. I am fine with this, if it helps the infection. However, this only allows one port to give him all of his medications, the left leg. The only good leg after the blood fiasco. By the way, that is healing. He just has a bruised leg and it will take some time for it to go away. That pretty much sums up yesterday. This little man keeps amazing me. I look at pictures from right after he was born (2nd one), he looks like a completely different child. Jonathin is already planning on Notre Dame games with him this fall. I however am looking at Preemie sized IU jerseys for basketball season. Maybe he will be their lucky charm. Thank you again for all the prayers and notes. Luke can also receive online postcards that the nursing staff can print out and we can place by his bed. I will add the link just in case. Hope this upwards trend can continue.

Jordan

Online Patient Postcards

A Low Kind of Day

I just want to start with a quick story that Mom just told me. She was sitting out in the family room at Ronald McDonald and this man and her started talking. His three year old son had been at another hospital since January up till 4 weeks ago. At this other hospital they told the family that just needed to call hospice cause there was nothing they could do for their child. As of tomorrow this child will be going home from Riley. He was here for 4 and a half weeks and the whole outlook is different. He was praising Riley for changing everything. This is just another reason why I am happy to be here. It might be hard being 3 hours away from all of our family, but if it is the best for Luke there is no reason we should not be down here. Even when we have bad days like today, I know there is no other place we should be. Today the nurses were wonderful. During the day Lauren was there for any questions that I had, and let me tell you Luke made her earn every penny. Then tonight Melody made sure to have a pep talk with my little man about the kind of night they were going to have. She had him last night also. I know that don't always have the same baby, but it makes me feel better when they do. So lets get to today...hold on tight. At 7:30am this morning Melody called to give me an update from the night before. He was pretty good all night till around 6am when his blood pressure dropped pretty low. Now we have been battling some blood pressure issues the past day, so it didn't really hit me how low it was. So when Mom and I arrived at the hospital I went to see him, I finally saw what they meant about a low blood pressure. His blood pressure was at one time 31/14, so super low. They continued giving him dopamine, and then added 2 other medications for his blood pressure. As the day went on his blood pressure stayed low, and even at one time was not able to be measured. Around 3pm the medications finally started to kick in and his blood pressure came back, and was even in a good place. Lauren was even sure to tell me as soon as I walked in the door, to make me feel better.  I was also given the official results of the echo from yesterday on his heart. It is like we suspected, the PDA is open. It is not open much, however it is still there. As of right now since it is so small they are not treating it, hoping it will close on it's own. However, with all the fluids he was given today it might open a little further. They tell me it won't open all the way back up though, let's hope. The doctors then hit me with his stomach issues. He was originally brought down to Riley for suspected NEC, and just two days ago I was told they didn't think that was what was going on. However, today they wanted to do an upper GI study and check to make sure there was not a perforation (hole) or a necrotic section of his intestines. His stomach is still a dusky color and they want to make sure. So a surgeon had been up to see him earlier and they were going to start the GI within the hour. The surgeon did not however think NEC or a perforation was the case, but the nurse practitioner wanted to make sure. At this time I have still have not heard the results of the GI. My fingers, toes, and everything else is crossed that we are not battling a perforation or NEC. This would result in surgery with either and drain or a stoma. I just don't want our little man to be cut open if at all possible. If the GI is negative then it is still the infection from before we are still battling. Once the GI conversation was over we then went on to his ventilator. Apparently since he is so small there is only a small area that works for his ventilator tube and it had moved a little bit. I made the mistake of standing in the room while they manipulated the tube, won't do that again. We can add that to thing I will step out for. It is just a little different when it is your own child, because I never had a problem during clinicals for school. This just puts a whole new outlook on nursing school and how I will do my job when all of this is said and done. By the end of the night when we left the hospital at 8:30pm the little man was resting comfortably, he is swelled up today from all the fluids they gave him to bring up his blood pressure. Hopefully tomorrow he will rid himself of some of it. So as we all go sleep for the evening, my thoughts are on that GI study and if surgery will be taking place. I know what I would like, however it is not up to me. I know there is a reason for everything we are going through and that I can not control it. I also know, like the man said earlier, there is no better place for Luke to be right now. I just have to trust the big man upstairs that he is guiding the medical team. Thank you all again for the prayers, support, and love that you are showing all of us. I know I say it a lot, but we do truly mean it when we say it means a lot to all of us.

* Sorry for no picture today, I just didn't want to remember my little man all puffy.

An Up and Down Kind of Day...

Luke was a little shy for the camera today, but even the back of his head is so darn cute...

Today was not one of Luke's best so far. It actually started around 2:30AM last night, but not due to any of his medical issues. We were all woken up by Jonathin's cell phone, with a call from Riley's. I was not able to answer it in time, so I had to call back and go through all the operators to get to our nurse. Here we were thinking the worse, that something was really wrong. OH NO, we were just butt dialed by the nurse. I could be upset, but on the other hand I was more relieved. Nothing was wrong and he was sleeping nicely. Whew! When we then arrived at the hospital in the morning we were met with the news that his blood pressure was acting up. The doctors believe that his ductus arteriosis had opened back up again, due to the blood pressure issue. What the PDA is, is a hole in his heart that is open while he is a fetus for oxygen from the placenta and should close when a full term baby is born. However, 50% of micro preemies like Luke have the risk for the PDA to stay open. Luke has already been treated for it once during the first three days of his life at Memorial, and it was thought the hole either closed or was just slightly opened. However, this can go on for a very long time. We are still within the window for Indocin, a medication, to be given again. They will just be watching closely.  

In other news, the results came back on his head ultrasound from yesterday. As of right now there is are no bleeds in the brain....thank goodness. That does not mean that later on he might have some cognitive impairment, or might be playing catch up a bit. However his anatomy looks good according to the nurse practitioner. So that brought a smile to my face. The rest of the day, Luke just didn't want to be messed with, and Jo his nurse knew that. His blood pressure was a little better after they started him on dopamine, but it still wasn't the greatest. Then we had the blood transfusion. Once that started his blood pressure looked a lot better, that was a plus. Then when Dad was in with Luke he noticed that his right foot where the line for his blood transfusion was going in was puffy and looked purple. He called Jo over and instantly she was upset. She had been monitoring it, like you need to be with blood and everything looked good. However after 2 cc's of blood the line that was placed at Memorial on Sunday apparently blew. This then allowed the blood to profuse into the tissues of his foot and ankle. So he has little purple bruised foot. I understand that can happen and did not hold that against Jo, Luke had worked her for all her money throughout today. However, she took it hard and came out and found us in the waiting room. She had been crying and felt terrible and wanted to apologize. It wasn't her fault. So now my little superman has a bummed up little foot. Hopefully that clears up quickly. 

On another note, tonight is Jonathin's first night back to work in almost 2 weeks. I hope it goes well, at least he can call and check on Luke all night. I gave Melody the nurse and heads up that she might get a few calls. I know Friday can't come soon enough for Jonathin. That pretty much sums up our day, or Luke's 10th day. Thank you all again for the support and the well wishes. All the messages, calls, emails really mean a lot and help us get through the days.

Jordan

Our address:

Jordan & Jonathin Molnar Rm# 33

c/o the Ronald McDonald House

435 Limestone

Indianapolis, IN 46202

June 21st

Today we received some relieving news. I was in with Luke during the morning rounds of the doctors. They went through everything that had been going on, and I was left with the answers I was hoping for...they don't believe Luke has NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis). This diagnosis would mean that the intestines had become infected and then begin to die off. That is what the original thought was when we were airlifted to Riley. After the past few days of observations and x-rays the doctors have all but ruled it out at this time. They still believe that we have some stomach issues, but that is from his original umbilicus line that was placed right after birth. That is where the infection came from that is now present. So the doctors are planning on antibiotics for 7 days. They are also still prohibiting feedings other than IV nutrition. They are also going to increase that amount. A small set back today however was we were placed back on the Jet ventilator. However, I figured that was going to happen and almost wanted it to after watching him breath the past day. When they removed him from the Jet his rate increased and he was almost laboring more to breath.  They also did a chest x-ray today before returning him to the Jet just to make sure. It showed that the lungs were looking over extended due to the labored breathing, also the x-ray looked "hazy" so they were going to give him a small amount of Lasix to remove any moisture present in his lungs. Other than that, he had a pretty regular day. We also found out that when he was admitted to Riley he was measured at 12 inches long...yay for growing a half inch in a week. Hopefully we can keep that up.  Right before hearing the news about the NEC, I had read all of the outcomes that could happen with that diagnosis. I can not tell you the amount of weight lifted off of my shoulders. The prayers and thoughts from everyone are being heard, and they are helping my little man get through everything. I can not thank everyone enough. The support you have shown our family is overwhelming. I can't wait for everyone to meet this little superman.

First Full Day at Riley

After a crazy day like yesterday, today was pretty uneventful, and that is okay with me. We were able to sleep in for a while before heading to the hospital. Luke's night was pretty relaxed after his big flight. First off today Jonathin and I were able to meet Luke's doctor. He seems really nice. Since it is a teaching hospital, he was working with a nurse practitioner and 3 other doctors. They went through Luke's history along with my history during my pregnancy. Once we went through all of the information, the respiratory therapist was able to take Luke off of the Jet ventilator. He is still on a vent, but he is a step down from where he started. There is now a little more work being down on Luke's part, but he was on the lowest possible settings on the Jet so they chose to move him down. The nursing staff is also moving his position every 4 hours. This is preventing his skin to break down.  However, if Luke had a choice he would definitely be a belly sleeper. His belly problem isn't out of the woods, but we're holding steady as of right now. They are just watching it, and he gets a belly x-ray every 12 hours just to make sure. Tomorrow he will have an ultrasound on his head to check for bleeding in the brain. Usually that is done earlier, however the doctors at memorial were not as worried about it due to his labs. So please pray that goes well in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to get our room at Ronald McDonald tomorrow, so I can be close to Luke each night. Hopefully tomorrow is another good day for our little man.

One Week Birthday, and a helicopter ride

Yesterday was one very long day. Right after church Jonathin and I received a phone call informing us that Lucas would be receiving a blood transfusion soon due to a low hemoglobin count. This was nothing new to us, we knew that it was coming sooner or later. So we left and headed straight to the hospital. Once we arrived, his doctor came and checked in with us and informed us that his belly was looking even worse. The measurements weren't going down, and maybe even going up in size. The doctor gave us the option to send him to Riley before his belly could perforate and cause a large infection, and I jumped on the chance. Don't think that I wasn't happy with all the work Memorial had done for Luke, but I want to be safe and not sorry. Riley has the closest surgeon that could do the surgery if a perforation did happen. And to be honest our little man was not looking too good yesterday. Within 20 minutes we heard an ambulance was on the way from Indy up to pick up Luke. Originally he was supposed to fly in a plane out of the airport, but the weather in Indy wasn't allowing that to take plane. We were sitting in the hallway when the team arrived, and all we could all think of was Armageddon when the guys are walking out in their suits. There was an EMT driver, nurse practitioner and 2 nurses. They were in these IU jumpsuits and that made me feel a lot better, sad I know.  So Jonathin and sat next to Luke as they worked on moving him over to their isolet for the travels. Once they were almost ready to go, they received new plans, and a helicopter was coming from Indy to fly Luke back. They were a little worried about the vibrations while driving to due his tubes that were down his throat. The helicopter arrived a little over an hour later. The hospital allowed us to go up to the helicopter pad and watch him leave. We rode up the elevator with him, and all I could see was his tiny eyes looking at me, "Where are we going Mom?" So yesterday Luke was able to see the sunshine for the first time on his one week birthday. I will have to say the worst part of yesterday was watching the helicopter lift off with my little man, I think that was the most I have cried in the past week. Once he was on his way, Jonathin and ran by Notre Dame to light and candle, before we headed home to pack up for a long stay. Right before leaving we received a phone call that Luke had arrived and did well on the flight and was getting all comfortable in his new bed. It was like a huge weight was lifted off of me. I know that he is in the best possible place right now. We arrived in Indy around 11 PM, and shortly later arrived at the hospital after quite a trip around Indy, this is not the easiest place to find at night along with construction. Once we were able to walk into and see Luke for the first time, I felt like I could finally breathe. He looked so peaceful and his nurse was great. She walked us through everything for all the new procedures down here. She said that he looked a lot better than what they thought he was going to look like from the information they received from Memorial. The surgeon had also been into evaluate him once he was settled. The change of perforation is the biggest concern, due to air that is in his intestines. However, there isn't a surgery to do until he has already perforated, which has not happened. Once we felt comfortable and Jonathin changed his diaper, we left him for the night and headed to the hotel. I believe we all felt a lot better and got a good nights sleep after seeing him laying comfortably. As of right now we are looking at a stay of at least a month here, and maybe even might stay down here till his due date, just to stay on the safe side. It is all up to Luke right now, but no pressure on him.

Day 6

Today was one of those roller coaster kind of days they warned us about. Like yesterday we were told that his tummy was his main issue at the moment. This morning while visiting Luke, his on call doctor ran through the situation with us. Luke has gas build up in his intestinal tract. Yesterday suction was set up to help pull some of the gases out of his system to help relieve the pressure. There were able to remove air, but his tummy is still full. The measurements were the same throughout the day. His doctor had warned us that there is a possibility that a trip to Indy could happen. This would be due to there not being a surgeon that could perform the bowel surgery if needed anywhere closer. So weighed heavy on our minds throughout the day. However when we went to visit tonight we were blessed with the news that he did poop. I don't think I have ever been relieved to hear about poop, and this coming from a nursing student. Now don't take this the wrong way, we are not out of the woods yet, but we are moving in the right direction. So tonight before fall asleep we will make one more call and check on him once more. Hopefully he can sleep comfortable tonight. Even thought today seemed like a low day we did have a great thing happen. When we went to check on him this morning we realized he had opened one eye. His left eye is cracked open slightly. He doesn't leave it open for to long, but it is the greatest feeling to know that maybe, just maybe, Luke can see us finally. Sorry to not have any pictures, but tomorrow I hope I can catch him with eye open.

Day 5

Luke was able to have another good night last night. His lab scores came back the best they have been so far, great news. However his hemoglobin is getting a little low, which was expected. This being due to his size and that he isn't producing enough red blood cells for all the testing they are doing. So most likely tomorrow he will receive his first blood transfusion. So hope all goes well there. They are also watching his belly right now. It seems to be a little bloated. It was measured earlier today at 16, however right before Jonathin and I left him for the night it was down to 15 1/2 which is good. Also it was feeling a little more soft. The reason for the concern is there is air in his belly that could cause a small hole in his intestines which could then lead to infection. The larger issue is that if this does occur, we will have to be sent else where due to there not being a surgeon here at this hospital for that procedure. So praying that the belly continues to go down with the suction that is being done at this time. Other than that his day was pretty uneventful, until finally tonight he was able to sport his new IU hat that was specially made for him. Shawna that works with my Aunt Pam was able to make him his first special hat to show off to all the girls. However, Jonathin is already putting in an order for a Notre Dame hat and maybe a Purdue just to keep things even. So I made sure to add that photo for tonights posting.

The Beginning...

In the early morning of Friday June 10th I awoke to some chest pain, and after a couple hours with no relief I was left to call the on call doctor to check in with him. Dr. Durbin decided just to be safe I should go to Memorial Hospital just to be checked out. My mom drove me to the hospital and we met Jonathin once we got to the hospital. I was given an ultrasound that resulted in a realization that the aminotic sac did not have as much fluid as it should have at that time. I was also diagnosed with preeclampsia due to my high blood pressure that was resulting in swelling of my ankles and face. I was placed on bedrest for the next 48 hours at Memorial Hospital and was given 2 doses of steroids to help the baby's lungs develop before his birth. On the morning of June 12 I was taken in for my c-section. When Luke was born we were able to hear a slight cry and he was kicking in Dr. Meekhoff's arms. He was instantly taken to the NICU for them to assess him and prepare him for the next 3-4 months. I was able to finally see Luke once I left recovering and before returning to my room. To see him for the first time was so emotional. He was so small, and wrapped in plastic wrap as they worked to keep his body temperature steady. I was only allowed to see him for a few minutes, but thankfully Jonathin was able to visit all through the day. Along with my Dad and his video camera, I was able to watch numerous videos throughout the day. We were told the first 96 hours would be the most critical to begin with.

Throughout the next 96 hours, life was pretty much stable, THANKFULLY! The support and prayers that we have recieved is insane. I never would have thought so many people would be there for us during this time. I hope to update this every night or close to it as we move along this journey especially as we get in to a routine. Thank you again everyone!