Some Pictures

This picture shows Abilgail wearing her CPAP. It was removed on Friday morning.

Daddy is feeding Abigail using a syringe filled with milk from her mama. The milk goes directly into her tummy through the tube that can be seen in her mouth in other pictures.

Today. the CPAP is gone. The mask protects her eyes from the ultraviolet light used to treat jaundice.

New Challenges and Progress

This morning, Lori awoke with a tremendous headache and high blood pressure.  Literally within minutes, doctors had arrived and diagnosed Lori with postpartum pre-eclampsia.  Due to the potentially serious consequences (seizures and kidney failure), Lori has been put on an IV medication and moved back to the Labor-Delivery wing of the hospital so she can be monitored more closely.  So far, her blood pressure has dropped from 195/92 to more manageable levels and her kidney function remains within the expected range.  She still has a headache, but things are looking up from the scare we received this morning.

Abigail continues to improve.  Nurses have removed the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) mask that helped keep her lungs inflated.  One of the chest tubes now has a “water seal” which is the first step leading to its removal.  The only new issue with Abigail is some jaundice which is being treated with ultraviolet light.

DSC

Abigail’s Early Battles

After her mama labored for more than 38 hours, Abigail Elizabeth arrived around 2:15 on Wednesday morning.  Lori is doing great and anticipates a quick recovery.  However, Abigail has been facing some early battles.

Soon after she was born, we noticed that our little girl was having difficulty breathing.  The doctors evaluated our baby’s condition over the next few hours; and by daybreak, Abigail was in an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Even though the delivery was only 3 weeks early, we knew that Lori’s gestational diabetes may have delayed Abigail’s lung development.  Clearly, these problems not unexpected, but I cannot say we were prepared for them.

After considering several different possibilities, the doctors determined that Abigail’s lungs have small holes in them that cause the air she breathes to leak out into her chest cavity.  This condition creates a pocket of air known as a pneumothorax.  Besides depriving her bloodstream of necessary oxygen, the pneumothorax also prevents the lung “sacs” from fully inflating which is necessary for them to heal.

In most cases, these holes heal without invasive procedures, but in Abigail’s case, the doctors have inserted chest tubes through her ribs and into the chest cavity on each side.  The tubes are attached to a slight vacuum which draws the air out of her chest.  With the pressure of the pneumothorax removed, the sacs can fully inflate and begin to heal.

We have been encouraged as we learn more about her condition.  We have learned that a pneumothorax is relatively common (approximately 1 out of 100 babies struggle with them), and we have learned that the doctors are confident of her full recovery within 1 to 2 weeks.  We are anxious to hold her again as soon as possible.

We have also been reminded during this ordeal of the blessings that God has poured out on us and of our reliance on, and faith in His grace.  God is good.

Sadly, there are parents and children alike that suffer through much more than our family has these past few hours.  Please lift all of them up in prayer as you pray for Lori, Abigail and the rest of my family.  Please pray also for the doctors, nurses and caregivers that are God’s instruments for delivering His grace to these needy babies and adults.

Thank you

DSC