Brandon: The first week

Brandon’s first week was a little more complicated than Katelyn’s. He had many of the same challenges but also many others. The drop in his heart rate was what prompted the emergency C-section. He needed chest compressions and a lot more attention just to keep him alive at first. Like Katelyne, he was also placed on a ventilator and under lights to treat Jaundice and treated for pulmonary hypertension. The one thing that Brandon didn’t have that Katelyn did was the PDA.

Even before his birth the doctors had seen enlarged bowls during the ultrasound exams. We didn’t know what this meant but it was certainly a concern. Within the first day of life it was obvious that his stomach was distended and that he had a problem with his bowls. The day after his birth the doctors at Utah Valley Hospital became very concerned that he was getting worse and not better. They did not have a full-time surgeon at Utah Valley so they made the decision to immediately air lift him to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake. When he arrived at PCMC (Primary Children’s Medical Center) the surgon’s felt he was too unstable and would not survive surgery. They continued to take x-rays and do tests. Back at Utah Valley Hospital they had given him some die to see how his bowls were working and it wasn’t passing through his system. There was certainly a problem.

The doctors used phrases like “overwhelming infection” and critically ill”. One doctor said that it was certainly possible for babies this sick to recover, but not all did. His coloration began to change. He looked very dark and bruised all over. His white blood cell count (the ability to fight infection) reached alarmingly low numbers. At one point Amy was released early from the hospital because after a particularly unstable night things didn’t look good.

The doctors treated him with everything they could think of. He slowly began to improve. Over the period of a couple of days they began to use words like “stable” but he certainly was still sick. Through a lot of effort and prayers he gradually began to improve. After a couple of days he reached the point where the doctors felt like they could run a couple more test. When they did they quickly discovered that he had a perforation in his bowls. He wasn’t quite ready for surgery but he had reached a point where they had to operate because if it was left untreated, he would quickly turn worse and wouldn’t survive. The doctor clearly explained that the operation was necessary but also very risky. There was a good chance he wouldn’t survive. In fact, he was so unstable they didn’t want to move him to the operation room, instead the surgeons came to him.

The amazingly great thing is that he made it and was very stable through the operation. The veteran surgeon was quite perplexed at his situation and said he had to stop and think about what to do. After a little thought, a technique he had read about came to him. It worked really well. It certainly sounded like inspiration to me. He removed about a 3-4 inch section of his bowls. He then used a T-joint to expose his bowls and allow for flushing them with fluids later.

Brandon is much better. His bowls will be exposed for anywhere from 2-6 months as his system recovers and improves. They doctors will then have to go back in and put everything back together. He still has a long road ahead of him but he is rapidly improving and slowly retuning to normal color. The doctors seem very excited and optimistic. There was a dramatic change in their attitude and in all of the numbers from the many tests they complete daily.

Neither Katelyn or Brandon had any bleeding in the brain. This is a common problem for babies this early that can contribute to developmental problems. They will continue to monitor it but it is very encouraging that their head scans have been normal.

We will continue to add information and try and update this blog regularly. It is amazing how you can Love such small babies so much.