Saturday PM Update

Ultrasound Results
The hospital did routine ultrasounds on Tommy's heart and brain on two different days. Larry was there for the heart ultrasound--it was really cool to see. It came back perfectly normal--so that was good!!

The brain ultrasound was done yesterday and revealed a "moderate" amount of blood in the fluid surrounding the brain. The internal structure of the brain was fine with no bleeding. The blood there is definately a concern, but the Dr said that it is relatively normal. The blood vessle walls in the outter brain are paper thin and are easily ruptured. They will continue to do weekly brain ultrasounds to see if the bleeding is continuing or if it the blood is being absorbed back into the body. Tricia has met another mom online--Annie--who had quads. One of her babies also had blood on the brain, but it went away after the next ultrasound. So, pray that Tommy's brain is not damaged and that the blood does not get any worse!!

Ventilator
Tommy is now only being delivered 4 breaths of air per minute via the ventilator--he does the rest of the breathing. That is such a good thing and the Dr. cites that as a positive indication that the blood in his brain is *probably* not a life-threatining issue at this point. He is so fiesty. He loves to grab onto his ventilator tube. I think he just wants that thing out of his mouth and lungs, and I don't blame him. As long as he continues to do well with his breathing and oxygen levels, I think he'll be off that thing before we know it! And then we'll be able to hold him. They call it Kangaroo care which is when we do skin-to-skin contact with him on our chest. That will be good for Tommy AND us! We can't wait!

Tricia Update
Tricia is still making good progress. We rented a new breast pump for her and she is able to get quite a bit of milk for Tommy. They are'nt feeding it to him just yet, but we are taking it up there and putting it into a freezer for later use. I think we have at least 10 ounces or so waiting on him, and she makes about a half an ounce each time she pumps so far. Her pain is still very much there, but she has been expanding the amount of time between pain meds, so that is good.

The other Kids
Grandma is hangin in there at home--Robby had a little bit of a fever today, I guess, but he is doing well. Kaitlyn misses us pretty badly, but that is to be expected with all this craziness going on. Overall, it sounds like things are going well. Through church, the squadrons and everyone, we have gotten more support than I can even describe. Grandma is getting meals brought to her every other day..Jenna Roper is heading up our "meals on wheels" program--that is such a great help. Sara Pierce brought over some lunchables for the kids today as well. Our kids are pretty picky eaters, but they get so excited for lunchables!

God continues to bless us with great friends and seems to work out all the situations that come into our path.

Grandpa's Visit
Oh--I almost forgot! Grandpa Nance drove down from Omaha today to see the baby. Not sure if he will go visit the other kids in Altus yet--that is somewhat complicated as my mom isn't allowed to "sponsor" people on the base, but I'm positive that we can work something out for someone else to stand in as the "sponsor." I suspect that he'll probably come back down to Altus once Tommy gets home.

Thanks for all the help! Keep those prayers comming!!

Larry

Tommy is progressing

We went and saw Tommy this morning. The nurse said a normal baby breaths between 30-60 breaths per minute. Tommy was breathing around 40 breaths per minute, but the ventilator was only giving him about 10 breaths per minute, so he was doing the extra 30 all on his own...good stuff!

Tricia's milk has also come in, and she has been able to pump. They freeze the milk and will be giving it to him sometime in the near future. We rented a new fancy breastpump from the hospital which seems to really be working much better than the pumps she has used in the past...being a dad, I have no idea why, but she says it feels just like a real baby. She typically has had a lot of problems breastfeeding, but she is really able to get quite a bit of milk now, so that is just awesome--it will be very good for Tommy. Right now, they have started feeding Tommy some sort of solution that has lots of electrolites and vitamins in it--not milk yet, but at least he is getting some nutrition now. Before, they were giving him mostly saline mixed with some sugar solution.

Tricia is still hurting pretty badly when she moves around, but she was able to get in and out of the bed, the car, the bathroom, etc, so that is promising. Once we get her off of the pain meds and her eyes fully recover, she'll be able to drive and get around on her own. She wanted a wheelchair to get into the hospital, but I was a meanie and made her walk. the whole trip is really only a few hundred feet once I drop her off at the front door. I just think she needs to get as much exercise and confidence as she can--and she is doing well.