11 Feb 07

I don't have incredible news just yet...besides the fact that we are VERY close to getting to room in with Tommy!! (That IS incredible news, isn't it?)

Tommy gained a little weight yesterday, so they put him back on the 3 bottle - 1 nose feeding schedule. They have a CAT scan schedule for tomorrow to take a detailed look at his brain and see how things turned out up there. I am not sure whether or not he'll need to be sedated for that. If he does, I would bet he won't take his bottles very well that day, but I might be wrong! It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe the second or third time, but definitely not the first :)

He took all of his bottles today very well--he is up to 38ml's per feeding which equates to 1.28 ounces per feeding and a grand total of 10.24 ounces per day. Still not much than a cup of coffee, but considering just a few weeks ago, he was taking half of that, that is incredible!

Tricia also noticed that he had most of his "brady" episodes (where his heart rate drops and his breathing drops) right after he ate. She talked to the nurses about that and they seemed to think that may have something to do with his reflux--most premature babies struggle with reflux to some degree--the valve that closes off the stomach is often not fully developed and leaks. This, in turn, can cause these brady episodes. The nurses talked to the Dr. who recalculated the dose of medicine which treats reflux based on his current weight--it was low, so he increased the amount of that medicine (I think this happened on Saturday). Tricia told me that he very rarely has any brady episodes at all.

We are in such a blessed position as a family--my squadron commander and the office in which I work has been so incredible--while I try to work as much as possible, my absence creates extra work for them. Not once has anyone fussed about me working reduced hours. That, in turn, gives Tricia the ability to almost completely focus on Tommy. I would not consider this such a blessing, but I guess that many other families don't have this opportunity as most if not all of the other babies don't get visited by their parents nearly as much as Tommy does. I talked to the nurses about that and how I was surprised that even on the weekends when I visit, there are usually only one or two other parents up there visiting in Tommy's room where there are six babies. From all the research I have done, I realize that this makes all the difference in a premature baby's development. Getting held, loved and cared for by a parent does all kinds of interesting things--keeps them healthier, actually causes them to grow more, develops their brains faster, etc. So, although you might not think that bringing a meal or taking care of our animals is a big deal--you are directly helping Tommy, and for that we'll forever be grateful! God has blessed us with great friends and he has held Tommy in his loving arms this whole time.

One of my friends sent me an email quite a while ago, and I have been meaning to share it with y'all <--- I am starting to speak "Oakie"!! I have no idea whether or not this was true, but regardless, it made me cry--right at my desk in the office in front of the person who sent it to me (Henrietta Pugh)! How embarrassing!
Rain

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one"
Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived. She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. "No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away
But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.
Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.
All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God wou! ld stay close to their precious little girl. There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.
But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
Go ahead, cry...
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain."

Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced,"No, it smells like Him.It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest." Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children. Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.



While I can't see God, and I've never heard God's audible voice, I can feel God. And I know, through your prayers, Tommy has felt God's comforting presence in his struggle to live. I hang on to this picture in my mind of Jesus in all his Glory leaning over Tommy's crib and hugging our precious boy giving him hope and understanding better than any parent, nurse or doctor could. Nothing calms my frantic heart better than remembering that Jesus loves Tommy!

We'll keep you posted! Hopefully, we'll have some picures of him safe and sound at home soon!!