Birth to present

Here is some background info on how we got where we are today with Jackson in the NICU.

Day 1, Friday June 13th

THE BIRTH ~ I began having contractions around 1 a.m.- very close together but sporadic. Woke Joe up at 3, started timing- again, extremely close together (30 seconds to 1 minute 40 seconds) and still sporadic. Very odd. My water broke at home and we noticed that it had meconium (baby's first stool or poop) in it. We drove to the hospital and were admitted. Meconium was present, but it wasn't considered a huge issue at the time as this is not an uncommon occurrance. Labor progressed extremely quickly and we really thought it was going to continue that way. At 2:00, things appeared to be going well, the printouts looked normal, everything was progressing. However, several things started to get complicated after that. At around 3, I began to get a fever. My fever spiked within two hours, indicating that there was some infection involved, which was immediately treated with antibiotics. Also, the contractions were coming so quickly that Jackson wasn't having much opportunity to "rest" and they wanted to give him a break. So, they gave me some medication to slow the contractions. After giving him a break, they decided to start pitocin. Also, another concern at this point was that he was turned sunny side up, and he just wasn't turning, which would make delivery difficult. His vitals were fluctuating and it seemed like he was getting exhausted. When the doctor reviewed the printouts of his vitals, she decided that even though I was 9 centimeters dialated at this point, he would not be able to tolerate the projected 2-3 hour labor, and they decided an emergency C-section was the route we needed to go.

From this point, Jackson was born via C-section within about 20 minutes. I received a higher epidural block en route to the surgical room. Jackson was born and immediately it became apparent that a C-section was definitely the right decision. First of all, he was 9 pounds, 7.6 ounces! :) We thought he was about 21 inches long, but my doctor stopped and saw him today and said she thinks he's at least 22 or 23 inches long, we're not quite sure as he hasn't been measured yet as this isn't a priority at the time with him being so sick. But he is a big chunky boy. :) I'm not sure where he got his height, definitely not me!! :)

POST DELIVERY ~ Immediately following the c-section it became apparent that he had been in distress for quite some time in utero, and had aspirated (inhaled) large amounts of meconium. Most of the time, meconium aspiration is not necessarily a serious problem, but in situations where there is heavy amounts aspirated it can become life threatening, as it is in Jackson's case. In a nutshell, the inhalation of meconium into the lungs can plug airway exchanges and, worse, causes a chemical reaction resulting in irritation and inflamation in the lungs. When this happens blood cannot sufficiently flow and exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Therefore amount of oxygen flowing through his blood is severy reduced resulting in low blood oxygen saturation. Extremely reduced blood oxygen can result in brain damage and death. For more info on this condition click on this informative link.

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/lungs/meconium.html

It also became apparent that Jackson was also fighting off an infection of some sort, just like mom, only this infection was unknown (and partially still is). Combined with the meconium this infection has aggravated the situation even more and appears to be a large part of our problem now as well.

Immediately following the birth, he was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he was placed on a respirator to attempt to increase the oxygen flow to his lungs. This failed to provide the necessary oxygen levels to support him and therefore he was placed on an oscillator, which pumps short, quick bursts of oxygen into his lungs to keep his lungs fully inflated as much as possible. While this helped, it only produced enough oxygen to keep his oxygen saturation above brain damage level. It was at this time that they determined he should be transported to Children's Mercy Hospital in downtown Kansas City.

THE TRANSPORT ~ I (Melissa) was stitched up and they started working on decreasing my fever and dealing with my infection. The Children's Mercy transport team stopped by before they left to let me see Jackson as I was only, briefly, able to see him from a distance as they rolled him out of the operating room. Here is what he looked like before he left. It broke my heart.

Joe and my father Darwin followed Jackson to Children's Mercy and my mom stayed with me at North Kansas City Hospital.

ARRIVAL AT CHILDREN'S ~ At Children's Mercy, Joe and dad met with the medical staff to discuss options. The concern was that on the oscillator, by the time Jackson would be able to recover from the meconium aspiration, that his lungs would have been beaten badly and fail under the long term strain of the machine. At that time, Jackson was given a 20% chance of survival if he remained on the oscillator. However, as a last resort, the doctors gave us the option of performing a process called ECMO, which they believed would give him an 80% chance for survival. They use this process as a last resort due to the complications and severity of the surgery being performed. The ECMO machine, which is basically a heart and lung bypass machine, continuously pumps blood from Jackson's body through a membrane oxygenator (basically an artificial lung) that oxygenates his blood and pumps it back into his body. In order to do this, Jackson's right carotid artery and external jugular vein were severed so that cannulae (tubes) could be inserted into each, one taking the blood away from his heart and the other returning the blood to his heart. For more information on ECMO, click on this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMO

After much discussion with the medical teams, Joe and I made the decision to place Jackson on ECMO and the surgical team was brought in around midnight to begin this process.

Day 2, Saturday, June 14th

The ECMO surgery was performed from midnight until approximately 1:30 a.m. and went well. Jackson stabilized shortly after the surgery and his oxygen saturation climbed to 100%. Joe and dad stayed at Children's Mercy throughout the evening monitoring Jackson's progress while mom stayed with me at North Kansas City Hospital. This is a picture of Jackson immediately following the ECMO procedure.




Sunday through present

I (Melissa) was discharged from North Kansas City Hospital on Monday afternoon, after they determined my infection was under control and I was able to finally see my little son. He is beautiful and chunky, with little cheeks and a button nose. :) From the time of surgery until he comes off of ECMO, we are basically in a stabilization period, waiting for Jackson's lungs to recover, for the infection to be subside, and meconium to reabsorb into the body. We will post daily prayer requests as issues and situations arise for which we would greatly appreciate your prayers. Our most immediate prayer request tonight is that you would pray Jackson's oxygen saturation levels would come up, they were low last night & throughout the day today. We are taking it one day at a time & are so thankful for your support & prayers through this difficult time. We are trusting the Lord that He can provide our miracle. We love you all.