The last time I wrote on our blog, Max was in the 31st week and we were dealing with some blood pressure problems but were still going strong. A lot has happened since that post including that I have given birth to our son! On January 17th I turned in a 24 hour urine collection to the hospital to make sure my kidneys were functioning properly for the third trimester. On January 19th, I was preparing to hold a Scentsy party at my sister's house when I got a call from our wonderful OB. I returned his call and learned that for some reason, my protein had increased in my urine two-fold and this would mean I would need to head to Louisville, Kentucky and be admitted to Norton Hospital.
We quickly called Anthony's work and began to try to take care of business in order to leave. By 6:00 pm that night, we were admitted and put into a labor and delivery room awaiting my doctor's orders. It was a long night as they had ordered me to be without food/drink until the doctor made rounds. I did not see a doctor until the next morning but luckily they lifted the no food and drink policy later that evening. When I saw the doctor the next day, I was told that they felt that needed to do more strict monitoring of me in my last trimester due to the elevated blood pressures and the protein in my urine as I had moved into what looked like Preeclampsia. She stated that I would be staying in the hospital until we delivered Max because it was safest for him and myself. This came as a big shock to me since Max was only 32 weeks and 6 days into gestation at that point. Anthony and I quickly talked about what that might look like and started to be not only scared but also just really hurt that I would be spending all of my time in the hospital.
It did not take long for us to cry that out and deal with it. My baby shower would have been January 26th and we now knew that it would have to be rescheduled and a lot of things were left undone at our house including getting Max's room together for his arrival. We just thanked God that I was in a safe place for the rest of the pregnancy and that Max would be heavily monitored. The next few days went without a hitch. They came into my hospital room promptly at 6 AM to put Max on a monitor for an hour, check my blood sugars, and blood pressure and round the clock delivered the appropriate meals, medications, and attention so it seemed that all was well.
On January 22nd, my regular wake up call happened and Max was on the monitor for 15 minutes when his heart rate went drastically down. At this point, Anthony and I had already decided that he would travel back to Orleans and return to work the following week in order to keep our finances okay while I was staying in the hospital and he would take his leave when the baby was coming. This incident of the heart rate caused my doctor to make a "room-call" that morning and tell me that if he saw that happen again, he would need to deliver Max. His hypothesis was that Max was just laying on the umbilical cord and it probably wasn't a big deal. Back on the monitor I went after putting me practically upside down in the bed to get Max's heart rate back to normal. An hour passed, and my doctor returned to the room and told me that Max's heart rate had gone down again and he would need to deliver.
My mind was completely thrown into a whirlwind. Anthony had gone downstairs in the hospital to grab something to eat and I was alone hearing that my child would be born 7 weeks early. I quickly called Anthony's cell phone and as odd as it sounds, he had made a stop off in the chapel and was praying. He ran back upstairs and we began to prep for surgery. They were not going to take any chances of Max or me being in distress so a Cesarean section was in order. Honestly, I stayed pretty calm until it took about 8 tries and several blown veins to get my IV in. That was not calm inducing at all. I quietly cried to myself and prayed that God would get me through this surgery but more importantly that the ramifications of Max being born early would be bearable on him and us.
It didn't take long to prep and before I knew it, Anthony was wearing his blue scrubs and I had the sexy gown/hair net combination that was sure to impress anyone and into the operating room we went. I had the most fantastic anesthesiologist and had a spinal and an epidural done in case I needed more medication as we made our way through. He did a great job getting me numb and prepping me for one of the most exciting and exhilarating experiences of my life. Anthony was brought in last and my doctor came in to start the process of getting my sweet pea into the world. Everything went very routinely and I had absolutely no complications with medication or anything and after approximately 45 minutes, at exactly 2:56 pm the doctor laughed and said "Guess who is CUTE!?" and I heard it...the most beautiful sound a mother can ever hear, the very first sounds of her child. Max let out the sweetest little cry to let me know he was alright and all of the pain of three years, losing another child, and carrying this one in fear melted away and my heart was full of joy and mine and Anthony's eyes full of tears.
Max was immediately taken to the Kosair's Children's Hospital to be put into their NICU. The doctor's let me know that he would be transferred that evening to the intermediate NICU because he was able to breathe on his own but they did not have any space at the moment. This was good news since the NICU at Kosair's is a more critical area. I was able to see Max for a few moments before they left and Anthony left with them so that he would know where Max would be when we wanted to see him later. I was sewn back up and taken to recovery where I laid alone thinking about the past three days and what had just happened. The overwhelming feelings began to surface and all alone in that room, I wailed before God thanking him, asking him questions, and wondering what in the heck just happened. Well that and enjoying the amazing drugs I was on that made me doze in and out of sleep. :)
Later that evening, I was able to get out of bed enough to transfer to a wheel chair and head down to the intermediate NICU where Max was. I got there and sure enough he was as beautiful as I remembered and completely coming in and out of consciousness, I held my boy for the first time. My heart was absolutely full but it was hindered a bit by the new knowledge that since he was so early, he would not be able to come to my room at all and I would have to visit him in the NICU. Again, the water works started. This mother gig was certainly proving to be difficult.
The next morning after breakfast, Anthony and I headed down to the nursery again to see our little guy. We were given the opportunity to take his temperature and change a diaper. I opted for the temperature. HA :) I also started pumping breast milk this day since I had intentions to breast feed Max even if I couldn't be with him all of the time. It is my personal feeling that this is best for him and I had made the decision months before. I was also given the opportunity that night to use some of the pumped colostrum and give him his first bottle. Max quickly ate the very small amount that preemies are allowed and clearly liked the liquid gold.
The next day seems like months ago but realistically, it was only 4 short days ago. Anthony went down to the NICU to deliver some breast milk to the nurses and found out that Max's belly was extremely swollen and tight and the nurses/doctors were concerned as he had not had a bowel movement yet and was two days old. The meconium in his bowels should have come out in at least one dirty diaper. Anthony came upstairs and told me this but assured me that they were going to do a lower GI or enema and it should be okay. They also ordered X-rays in order to make sure they knew what they were looking at.
Anthony was able to go down and attend his X-rays and Lower GI and said that his intestines were FULL of meconium with areas of gas where things were compacted. After the Lower GI he was able to pass all of the meconium in two dirty diapers but the problem was, his belly did not go down. It stayed distended. This meant to the doctors that Max was probably suffering from some digestive disorder of some type. They started throwing out ideas as to what might have caused these issues. The obvious one was that Max was born 7 weeks early and that means that not everything is completely done and ready to function properly so maybe his body just didn't know how to digest things correctly. Another option was Small Left Colon Syndrome, which is common in children of Type I diabetics. It is exactly what it sounds like, an obstruction in the colon. The third thing that doctors were considering was Hirschprung's disease, which is a problem with the large intestine where it has no nerve cells and therefore cannot function. This means his body would not be able to get rid of solid waste. Two of these situations would most likely require surgery so January 24th felt like the Earth stood still. We could not imagine our 2 day old child needing surgery before he even met most members of his family, was circumcised, or even lost his belly button piece! It seemed infeasible.
We spent most of that day with our heads spinning and crying quite a bit. We also realized that in just a few short days, I would be discharged from the hospital and Max would not. The worst thing was coming true, we would be two hours away and our kid would be in the hospital. There is a pain I cannot describe with that reality. We quickly started to pray that God would find a way for us to be in Louisville with Max and not have to return home immediately. The money issue is a very big part of this since I was no longer working (clearly), Anthony had to take off several days for the emergency of having Max, and it is incredibly expensive to stay in hotels and/or commute back and forth 1.5-2 hours in order to see him daily and we knew seeing him daily was the only emotionally sound decision. We just couldn't leave our baby. We started to see God working almost immediately.
We let a few friends and loved ones know what was going on and asked our Facebook friends to pray for Max. It was amazing how people responded. I know that many hit their knees and prayed for Max and for Anthony and myself as we battled the idea of going home. In the hospital room, Anthony and I prayed and sought God's direction on what was best for our family. We decided that since we did not have the money to stay in Louisville that we would have to go home and commute back as much as we could afford over the time that Max was here. That reality was so painful, it felt like our hearts were being ripped out. I cringed at the idea of January 26th when I would be discharged and have to say "see you next week" to my sweet miracle.
The hospital referred us to the Ronald McDonald house which caters to families in these situations by offering a reasonable place for them to stay close to the hospital. Reasonable price is around $15 a day and I wish I could say we could even afford that, we can't. We knew that it would take many miracles to make this work. On top of lodging we still had to consider gasoline to get to and from hospital, Anthony losing work and not being able to pay our bills, and food as I am a diabetic and need sound meals. There was also the reality that we could not sit up and sleep in waiting rooms as I am recovering from surgery. Yep, it appeared hopeless and the pain is something I'm not sure I could describe.
It didn't take long for God to show up. We immediately had friends who were offering to help pay for hotel rooms and put cash into my bank account to help pay for our expenses. As of today, we have our lodging paid up until February 7th by just generosity of people paying for rooms. Also, we were given a great gift from a friend of a $150 food credit at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino so that we would not have to think about food while staying there either. So far, we have gotten through these last few days on kindness, God's blessings, and grace. We do not know when Max will go home so we are just praying God provide for the bills we won't be able to pay, the food we can't afford, and the rooms in order for us to stay close. We know He will provide as He has so far. We also really appreciate those of you who have stepped out and helped us, prayed for us, and offered encouragement.
The current update on Max is this....
This morning we got his biopsy of his rectum back and he was absolutely cleared of having Hirschprung's disease. We are over the moon happy about this since again, this would entail surgery to correct this problem. Also, he was under the Blue light for Jaundice and his bilirubin levels came down as well which means we get to hold him for longer periods of time. The last piece of good news is that Max was able to eat for only the second time today. When they noticed issues, he went onto IV fluids and today he was able to be fed again. We are very happy about this as he can gain the necessary weight to grow and develop as needed. He looked so great today as we snuggled him. He looked content at finally getting actual food in his belly!!
So this is the official announcement of a lot of things but mostly that the sweetest blessing I have ever gotten has arrived...
Maxwell Jackson Jude Lewis
Born on January 22, 2013 at 2:56 P.M.
Weighing: 4 lbs, 9 oz
Length: 17.5 inches
Weight as of today: 4 lbs, 5 oz
Again, thank you for your prayers, encouragement, love, and absolute generosity. Please continue praying and I will update the blog as I can.
Anthony & Erica
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