Jack's Life: A couple firsts:

Thursday, June 26, 2008

A couple firsts:

Jackson is still doing well tonight just resting and recovering from the Brain MRI. We hope to have the results sometime tomorrow.

A couple firsts:
1. Jackson had a bowel movement for the first time! Of course as new parents, and after nearly two weeks of life, this is very exciting to us. We would have posted a picture for you all to look at, but I’m afraid I forgot to snap a picture of that one in time. Sorry! ;)
2. Jackson was given his first 5 ml of breast milk tonight! They are administering it to him through a feeding tube for now and they will monitor him to see how he tolerates it. If his digestive system kicks in and digests it alright they will continually increase the amount given until he is on a normal feeding amount. During this time they will also determine the best time to introduce the feedings orally. So, please pray that all goes well with the digestive system. Go Jackson!

Thank you all for tuning in and being such valuable prayer warriors for us during this time. We will post again tomorrow on his progress and hopefully the results of the Brain MRI.

Joe

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: What a wonderful first and second.
Praise the Lord!!!!
WOW things in the ordinary I wouldn't have tho't about.
We'll keep praying and may the blessing of the Lord be upon you continually.
Love Ya always
Aunt Sarah & Family; June 27, 2008 at 7:52 AM
emily said...: YAY for poo!!!; June 27, 2008 at 8:17 AM
Anonymous said...: I am so happy to hear about little Jack!!!! I hope and pray everything stays the same and it all keeps getting a little better everyday.

Lot of Love Jonna Grandon; June 27, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Yea for real food and stinkies!
It's what babies do.
I'm glad it's breastmilk--seems like formula would be harder on his digestive system.
Still praying!
Much love,
Brent & Amy; June 27, 2008 at 12:59 PM

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Prayer and Praise Archive From Our Hospital Stay with Jackson

PRAISE!!: Having a private room!
PRAISE!!: Continued health thus far for both of us!
PRAISE!!: Encouragement and strength from the Lord as of late - you all have been such a blessing and encouragement, thank you!!
PRAISE!!: That we have insurance!! Praise the Lord!! Phew. :)
PRAISE!!: Jackson's alertness and how much more he is interacting.
PRAISE!!: Jackson's oral feedings going well!
Prayer - Jackson: That his vocal cords would heal and for complete healing of his throat. UPDATE: 7/19/08 - Praise! Jackson has some vocal activity now although still horse and rather muted. Please continue to pray for his throat.
Prayer - Jackson: That the relearning process for feeding and swallowing would progress without complication. UPDATE 7/19/08 - Praise! Jackson is taking oral feedings again with a thickener added. Please continue to pray that we will get to a point where the feeding tube is no longer needed.
Prayer: Melissa – Pray for good results from her follow-up OB appointment in a couple weeks. She has been feeling a bit strange at times. Pray there is no recurring infections.
Prayer: Jackson - Continued good results for Jackson's motor development. Follow-up- babies on ECMO can exhibit later signs of hearing loss, motor skill development loss, etc... These are things the doctors will be watching for.
Prayer: Insurance- That all would go smoothly and there would be no unexpected expenses.
Prayer: For our marriage and strength and endurance as we walk through this together- that we would continue to grow closer to each other and the Lord through this and praise Him for all that He has done.

Prayer and Praise Archive

Prayer - Jackson: Pray for continued clearing in his lungs as his breathing is still difficult. UPDATE: 7/19/08 - PRAISE! Jackson's congestion has improved significantly with only minor congestion once in a while. Yeah!!
Prayer - Melissa: Pray the low grade fever she has as well as her overall health would improve today as she is feeling flu like symptoms today. UPDATE: 6/27/08 - Melissa has been diagnosed with a bacterial infection and is not feeling well at all. We are also going to find out the results of other labs the hospital had taken from her yesterday. They believe she may have another infection on top of the one they know of. Please pray for her. UPDATE: 6/29/08 Prayer Request: Melissa was diagnosed with several infections. It has been a rough couple of days but she is beginning to feel better. Please continue to pray for her health and recovery- we still have a ways to go. UPDATE: 7/19/08 – Praise!! Melissa has made a full recovery to date from her illnesses.
Prayer - Jackson: That the Lord would breath life into his lungs and that they would begin to function more fully. UPDATE 6/23/08 8:45pm - PRAISE! X-ray looked better this morning showing more air in the lungs. Though they are still collapsing off and on they are looking much less cloudy indicating that the inflamation and gunk is clearing. Please continue to pray for coninued healing. UPDATE: 6/24/08 12:30pm - PRAISE!! Left lung is almost fully inflated and is drastically improved in clarity. Right lung airway appears to be blocked by secretions. Please continue to pray for his lungs, and praise God for the imporvement! UPDATE: 6/25/08 - PRAISE! X-rays still look good this morning! Pray that they continue to heal. UPDATE: 6/27/08 - X-ray looked good today! Praise the Lord for this answered prayer.
Prayer - Jackson: That the Brain MRI scheduled for Thursday, 3:00 pm, would show normal results. UPDATE: 6/27/08 - PRAISE!! Brain MRI results showed a slugish blood flow in a portion of the left side of the brain indicating there may be a clot in the brain. However, several hours and many prayers later a head ultrasound of the same area showed no sign of a clot. In fact, the results showed a very good blood flow through the brain. No visible signs of damage were detected!!
Prayer - Jackson: That the Lord would remove the infection that he is fighting or reveal to the doctors what it is. UPDATE: 6/22/08 - Still unsure what is causing the infection. Still on antibiotics. UPDATE: 6/23/08 - Blood cultures sent in today. Pray that they can ID the cause of infection. UPDATE 6/24/08 12:30pm - Praise! Cultures have identified an organism that is growing and antibiotics have been changed to fight this infections. Please continue to pray there are no others that are unknown an that the Lord would heal him! UPDATE: 10/25/08 - PRAISE! The organism that was identified from Jackson’s cultures is a bacterium that is not and will not cause Jackson harm. His white blood cell count is down today indicating that the infection that he did have, whatever is was, is gone!
Prayer: Melissa - that the soreness of the c-section would continue to diminish and that she would heal quickly. UPDATE: 6/22/08 - Melissa's recovery has been slow. Pray for continued healing so she can spend more time standing at the bedside with Jackson. UPDATE: 6/23/07 - Praise! Melissa's sorness has been more managable today. She has been able to go all day without a wheelchair for the first time. Please pray for continued healing even as we praise Him for some relief. :) UPDATE: 6/24/08 12:30pm - Melissa is feeling much better today and was able to get in the car with the use of only one hand to support herself!! :) Praise the Lord for her healing so far and continue to pray that her pain would completely subside.
PRAYER: That the weaning process would go smoothly and that Jackson would be able to tolerate the lower flows. UPDATE: 6/24/08 - PRAISE! Jackson has done very well on the lower flows and they will be taking him off of ECMO soon!
Prayer - Jackson: that the doctors would be able to get an arterial line in place to draw blood from and that there would be no issues with bleeding. UPDATE 6/23/08 8:45pm - Praise! Arterial line is in with no complications or bleeding! Thank you Lord!
Prayer - Jackson: that his heart rate would come down and stabalize after having the oxygenator (artificial lung) replaced in the ECMO circuit. UPDATE: 6/23/08 8:45pm - Praise! Jackson's heart rate has come down and stabalized! Thank you for your prayers!
Praise! The care we are receiving here- the nurses, doctors, and staff both here and at North Kansas City have been so encouraging, supportive, and kind through all of this. We have no doubt Jackson is where he needs to be and are so thankful for them all.
Prayer- Jackson: 6/21/08 They changed one of his bandages today & he was bleeding & not forming a clot where they were wanting him to. It appears to be okay although he continues to bleed a little bit. Please pray for the bleeding to slow. They have given him blood and everything is stable, but prayer for this would be appreciated. While on heparin, their blood is thinned, so bleeding is always a concern. Thanks. UPDATE: 6/22/08 - Praise!! Clot has formed around the cannulaes. Bleeding is minimal.
Prayer - Melcher family - continue to pray for the Lord's healing hand on their daughter Kinley. PRAISE!! Kinley is off of ECMO safely and recovering. The Melcher's could still use prayer for Kinley's continued healing, but praise the Lord for a good surgical outcome.
Praise! The Melchers - family with daughter on ECMO in same room as us. Daughter Kinley had surgery on ECMO this morning and resuts were better than expected. This is a HUGE praise.
Praise! Melissa - her infection appears to have subsided. Although she continues her antibiotics to the end we are thankful for the Lord's quick healing.
Prayer - Jackson: that his oxygen saturation would climb as it has been decreased for a few days. UPDATE: 6/19/08 Oxygen saturation is still down, please pray fervently for this as it is critical. UPDATE 6/20/08 4:40 pm - PRAISE!! Oxygen saturation has climed to the high 90's and is right now at 100%! UPDATE: 6-21-08 Jackson's oxygen sats are still looking good today! Thanks for the continued prayer!