Brandon isn’t getting better quickly. Some things improve and some things stay the same. Although over time there is a little improvement, he doesn’t seem to make big leaps towards recovery. We keep hoping that he will reach a point where his recovery will take off.
We called yesterday morning to see how he was doing. We were told that the nurses couldn’t talk because “they were in the middle of a procedure”. This is a phrase you don’t want to hear as a parent of a baby in the NICU. The nurses often take care of two babies so we asked the receptionist if they were doing the procedure on Brandon. The answer was “I think so”.
More than an hour later, we learned what had happened. They had discovered through an X-Ray that he had a pocket of air between his lungs and the sack that surrounds the lungs. They surgically placed a tube into the area where the air was, so they can drain the air. The tube is still in place and it will drain any more air that leaks. Obviously this means there is a tear in his lungs. The doctors have told us that they will need to be careful with the settings on his ventilator but that the tear should heal on it’s own.
While it looks like everything will eventually get better, I feel so bad for Brandon. He just can’t seem to catch a break. He has a lot of personality, even with a tube down his throat, but he has been very sedated in the last couple of days. He is getting older and every time I look into his eyes I can see he just wants to get that tube out so he can be held and start learning to play.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Brandon is doing well
Brandon certainly isn’t completely well but he is making good progress in a lot of ways. Starting Wed night he began peeing, a lot. This is really good because he has so much fluid that he needs to get rid of. His girth has gone down. His ventilator settings have improved. The blood clot has gotten smaller (they had hoped just to keep it from growing). He had another small bowl movement. All of the other tests that they give him have also begun to improve. He was awake and happy a lot more yesterday. The nurse told us how he played with his disco ball for a while yesterday.
I haven’t taken many pictures of Brandon because he has looked so sick. He looks a little better now but the effects are still visibly apparent.
He looks better but as you can see. He still has a long way to go. It does appear that he has finally turned the corner and it is just a matter of time before he recovers from this infection and all of it’s effects.
Katelyn is doing well. However she did decide that she wanted to eat every 2.5 hours last night instead of her previous schedule of every 3-3.5 hours.
We took the boys to see Brandon last night. Derek wanted to wear one of his Bateman costumes to the hospital. Derek has acquired several costumes lately and he loves to dress up as Batman. The costume had the effect he was looking for and he got attention from everyone. He must have had 20-30 people talk to him about being Batman on the way in the hospital. It was pretty cute and Derek was really proud. He was sure that they didn’t know it was him under the costume and that everyone thought he was the real Batman.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Brandon is very sick
It is great to have Katelyn home. She is doing well and it seems that she enjoys being home. She is still attached to the oxygen through a 57 foot long tube. We also hook her up to a monitor for her heart rate and breathing. This makes walking around the house while holding her a little tricky. The monitor has a rechargeable batter and we have some smaller oxygen tanks so we don’t have to stay home all of the time. She had her first doctor’s appointment on Monday and she will have to return often to make sure that everything continues to go well.
I mentioned previously that Brandon was sick. However I didn’t really explain it well. I don’t give a lot of the numbers and details because they are rather confusing and it would take a lot of time to describe them well. However, he is really sick and he looks really bad. He is very swollen over his entire body. He is bigger than Katelyn but that isn’t a good thing. He is usually very heavily sedated. He is back on the ventilator so he can’t make any noise even when he tries to cry. He has a bad infection; they believe it is pneumonia. They also found a blood clot in his heart. At first the nurses were very concerned but the surgeons have told us that, wile it could be potentially dangerous, it is rather common. They are treating it to keep it from growing and they hope it will come out when they remove the tube that it is attached to. His support and many of the various things the tests have been very bad over the last week.
The good news is that he is making progress in the last couple of days. Some of the numbers have started to come down. He had a bowl movement so his operation seems to have been successful. His ventilator settings have dropped a little. He still is very sick but we have hope that he is on his way to recovery. It is still very hard for me to see him in this condition. It is especially hard because, in such stark contrast, his sister is doing so well. He looks an awful lot like Katelyn.
I mentioned previously that Brandon was sick. However I didn’t really explain it well. I don’t give a lot of the numbers and details because they are rather confusing and it would take a lot of time to describe them well. However, he is really sick and he looks really bad. He is very swollen over his entire body. He is bigger than Katelyn but that isn’t a good thing. He is usually very heavily sedated. He is back on the ventilator so he can’t make any noise even when he tries to cry. He has a bad infection; they believe it is pneumonia. They also found a blood clot in his heart. At first the nurses were very concerned but the surgeons have told us that, wile it could be potentially dangerous, it is rather common. They are treating it to keep it from growing and they hope it will come out when they remove the tube that it is attached to. His support and many of the various things the tests have been very bad over the last week.
The good news is that he is making progress in the last couple of days. Some of the numbers have started to come down. He had a bowl movement so his operation seems to have been successful. His ventilator settings have dropped a little. He still is very sick but we have hope that he is on his way to recovery. It is still very hard for me to see him in this condition. It is especially hard because, in such stark contrast, his sister is doing so well. He looks an awful lot like Katelyn.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Birthday with good news and bad news
Brandon before surgeryYesterday was Amy’s birthday. She didn’t get much of a chance to celebrate. The boys helped pick a cake out but we still haven’t had a chance to eat any.
I will start with the bad news. Over the ast couple of days Brandon has done really poorly. Every time they tried to wean him from the ventilator he ended doing worse and they had to increase his settings. They had to move him to the oscillator, a ventilator they typically use on more serious cases. He even got to a point where they were giving him the maximum support. Even with the maximum support he wasn’t breathing well.
One of the ways they check to see how well he is breathing is to draw blood and check the gasses in his blood. Brandon’s Carbon monoxide level was really high. This means that he isn’t exhaling like he should. If it isn’t exhaled it acts like a poison. His “blood gasses” continued to get worse. They began checking them every hour.
His stomach was rather distended and it was putting pressure on his lungs. He was in quite a bit of pain and was requiring a lot of pain medication. They figured out that he had an infection. They can see that he has an infection because of the way his white blood cells are acting even before they know what the infection is.
Brandon’s condition was very serious and it was very hard for us to deal with emotionally. We have seen him in a very bad situation but it felt like we had fallen so far back. Everything seemed to be deteriorating with Brandon on the Same day we were taking Katelyn home. A couple of days after the surgery we were talking to the surgeon and he told us that his reconnection surgery was one of the more difficult surgeries he had done, and he is very experienced. They difficulty came because the two section he was connecting were very different sizes. Almost 5 to 1. This made the reconnect very hard. He also had to spend a lot of time removing scar tissue.
Even with the infection and respiratory problems Brandon was showing good signs of recovery from his surgery. His stomach began to retract and become softer and the biggest good news is that he passed gas. This means that his bowls are beginning to work and that the passage way is clear. The good news is that today things are looking better. His blood gas has improved. And they actually have been able to reduce the settings on his ventilator. Even with this good news it is hard to se our baby who was very happy and interactive a few days ago in the state he is in.
On to the good news. … Katelyn is home! Amy spent most of the nights last week at the hospital and I spent the last two nights there. The last two nights they put us in a room by ourselves and we took care of Katelyn as thought we were at home.
It took a little longer than we had planned to get her out of there but the good thing is that the extra day allowed her to get a shot that helps prevent RSV. Seeing Brandon’s reaction to an infection just reminds us how sensitive they will both be when they are home. The doctor stressed that we will need to keep them away from people for six moths to make sure they aren’t exposed. A simple sickness could be devastating for them.
Katelyn was sent home on oxygen and with a monitor that makes sure she is breathing and her heart is beating. I thought I would be more paranoid when we brought her home with this equipment but it actually works out well. We have a couple of portable oxygen tanks so we can make trips to the doctor. We also have a big tank that will last for weeks. It sits in a central location in our house and it has 57 feet worth of tubing. This way we can reach most areas in our house.
Having Katelyn home and Brandon in the hospital will present a new set of challenge but we are so happy to have Katelyn home. It feels like we can actual begin taking care of our three month old baby. (102 days in the NICU.)
I will start with the bad news. Over the ast couple of days Brandon has done really poorly. Every time they tried to wean him from the ventilator he ended doing worse and they had to increase his settings. They had to move him to the oscillator, a ventilator they typically use on more serious cases. He even got to a point where they were giving him the maximum support. Even with the maximum support he wasn’t breathing well.
One of the ways they check to see how well he is breathing is to draw blood and check the gasses in his blood. Brandon’s Carbon monoxide level was really high. This means that he isn’t exhaling like he should. If it isn’t exhaled it acts like a poison. His “blood gasses” continued to get worse. They began checking them every hour.
His stomach was rather distended and it was putting pressure on his lungs. He was in quite a bit of pain and was requiring a lot of pain medication. They figured out that he had an infection. They can see that he has an infection because of the way his white blood cells are acting even before they know what the infection is.
Brandon’s condition was very serious and it was very hard for us to deal with emotionally. We have seen him in a very bad situation but it felt like we had fallen so far back. Everything seemed to be deteriorating with Brandon on the Same day we were taking Katelyn home. A couple of days after the surgery we were talking to the surgeon and he told us that his reconnection surgery was one of the more difficult surgeries he had done, and he is very experienced. They difficulty came because the two section he was connecting were very different sizes. Almost 5 to 1. This made the reconnect very hard. He also had to spend a lot of time removing scar tissue.
Even with the infection and respiratory problems Brandon was showing good signs of recovery from his surgery. His stomach began to retract and become softer and the biggest good news is that he passed gas. This means that his bowls are beginning to work and that the passage way is clear. The good news is that today things are looking better. His blood gas has improved. And they actually have been able to reduce the settings on his ventilator. Even with this good news it is hard to se our baby who was very happy and interactive a few days ago in the state he is in.
On to the good news. … Katelyn is home! Amy spent most of the nights last week at the hospital and I spent the last two nights there. The last two nights they put us in a room by ourselves and we took care of Katelyn as thought we were at home.
It took a little longer than we had planned to get her out of there but the good thing is that the extra day allowed her to get a shot that helps prevent RSV. Seeing Brandon’s reaction to an infection just reminds us how sensitive they will both be when they are home. The doctor stressed that we will need to keep them away from people for six moths to make sure they aren’t exposed. A simple sickness could be devastating for them.
Katelyn was sent home on oxygen and with a monitor that makes sure she is breathing and her heart is beating. I thought I would be more paranoid when we brought her home with this equipment but it actually works out well. We have a couple of portable oxygen tanks so we can make trips to the doctor. We also have a big tank that will last for weeks. It sits in a central location in our house and it has 57 feet worth of tubing. This way we can reach most areas in our house.
Having Katelyn home and Brandon in the hospital will present a new set of challenge but we are so happy to have Katelyn home. It feels like we can actual begin taking care of our three month old baby. (102 days in the NICU.)
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Almost today
Today is day of life 100 for Brandon and Katelyn. She was almost ready to come home today. She needed a shot to get a shot to help prevent RSV. It was finally authorized today and she was the first baby in the State to get one. We were happy to wait one more day to get this extra protection. She will be coming home in the morning.
Brandon is doing well. His recovery is a little slow but he is doing just fine. I will give a better report after I visit him tonight.
Things have been crazy. Both Amy and I spent the night at the hospital last night and we will do it again tonight. Obviously I haven't posted many pictures but I will soon.
Brandon is doing well. His recovery is a little slow but he is doing just fine. I will give a better report after I visit him tonight.
Things have been crazy. Both Amy and I spent the night at the hospital last night and we will do it again tonight. Obviously I haven't posted many pictures but I will soon.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Katelyn – coming home soon
Brandon is recovering. He still has some challenges. His oxygen needs have increased and he seems to be retaining fluids. All of these things are expected but it feels like a big step back because we have already gone through all of this. There aren’t any real problems. We will just have to watch him.
Our frustrations with Brandon have been because of other challenges. They moved him once again. This must be a record because it is his 8th bed space. They also had nurses take care of him that didn’t know him well and information wasn’t being passed on. For example, we know that his urine might be green because of some dye they used during surgery but the nurse had no idea. The hard part is that the nurses all still think they know what is going on. The good news is that he has one of his primary nurses today and he should be well covered for the next couple of days.
Amy has spent that last couple of nights at the hospital with Katelyn. She drops in at home for a while during the day but the boys and I still miss her. She has been feeding Katelyn throughout the night. The current plan is that I need to be at the hospital this afternoon to learn about how to use the equipment Katelyn will need when she comes home. Amy and I will spend the night and make sure we can do everything on our own. If everything goes well, she will be released from the hospital in the morning.
We have a weird mix of Jubilation and fear. We won’t have a lot of the monitors and daily tests that we have become accustom to. I’m sure I will be paranoid all night long. We will also have a new set of challenges as we have one baby at home that needs a lot of care and can’t be exposed to many people because of your weak immune system and at the same time Amy will need to begin to feed Brandon soon. We will work everything out. Even with the fear, our little girl is finally coming home!
Our frustrations with Brandon have been because of other challenges. They moved him once again. This must be a record because it is his 8th bed space. They also had nurses take care of him that didn’t know him well and information wasn’t being passed on. For example, we know that his urine might be green because of some dye they used during surgery but the nurse had no idea. The hard part is that the nurses all still think they know what is going on. The good news is that he has one of his primary nurses today and he should be well covered for the next couple of days.
Amy has spent that last couple of nights at the hospital with Katelyn. She drops in at home for a while during the day but the boys and I still miss her. She has been feeding Katelyn throughout the night. The current plan is that I need to be at the hospital this afternoon to learn about how to use the equipment Katelyn will need when she comes home. Amy and I will spend the night and make sure we can do everything on our own. If everything goes well, she will be released from the hospital in the morning.
We have a weird mix of Jubilation and fear. We won’t have a lot of the monitors and daily tests that we have become accustom to. I’m sure I will be paranoid all night long. We will also have a new set of challenges as we have one baby at home that needs a lot of care and can’t be exposed to many people because of your weak immune system and at the same time Amy will need to begin to feed Brandon soon. We will work everything out. Even with the fear, our little girl is finally coming home!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Surgery results
Brandon’s surgery went well. It took a long time and waiting so long made us very nervous. When it was all over the surgeon sat down and explained what happened. In order to hook everything back up correctly they had to cut out another small portion of his colon. While this sounds scary, the surgeon said it shouldn’t have any long-term effect on him. When we left him he was still pretty sedated. We have called since and he is starting to wake up. We will have to watch and see how well he recovers.
Katelyn has eaten well so far tonight. The nurse told us that, if all goes well throughout the night tonight, she might suggest that we continue during the day and turn this 12 hour feeding period into a 24 hour period. It is kind of scary how fast things seem to be moving with Katelyn.
Katelyn has eaten well so far tonight. The nurse told us that, if all goes well throughout the night tonight, she might suggest that we continue during the day and turn this 12 hour feeding period into a 24 hour period. It is kind of scary how fast things seem to be moving with Katelyn.
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