May 1, 2008
First, thank you so much for your prayers & concerns. I would like to update all of you on the condition of our three beautiful children.
The Choi Triplets were born on Friday, April 25 @24 weeks gestation (i.e. 3 months early).
1. Chase Jongmin Choi born: 9:12 PM, 13 inches length, 1 lb. 11 oz.
2. Charissa Jonghae Choi born: 9:13 PM, 12.5 inches length, 1 lb. 8 oz.
3. Chelsea Jonghee Choi born: 9:13 PM, 12 inches length, 1 lb. 4 oz.
At 24 weeks gestation, the doctors tell us that each one has a 50% chance of survival. Each one also has about a 70% chance of having physical and/or mental disabilities. Although these numbers are daunting, we are thankful to God for our children. They are already precious in our sights and we know that the Lord has His own sovereign purpose for all three of them. We will not know whether they will survive until around 30 - 32 weeks gestation (July 1 - July 15) or even later. Doctors are very reluctant at giving any definitive dates. They warned us that it will be a LONG and TUMULTUOUS rollercoaster ride; the babies will most certainly have their share of good and bad days. The emotional anxiety of thinking that your baby will survive one day and the next day thinking that the Lord will take one home has already been extremely draining.
Please pray generally for:
1. God's mercy on the survival and health of all three of our children.
2. God's strength to trust him everyday. Although Yu Ran and I know of God's grace & sovereignty, we are truly being stretched. Pray that the Lord will give us
peace.
Our kids are now 6 days old!!! I want to share with you some specific prayer requests, but before I do let me explain some things. If the medical jargon gets to you, just skip ahead and pray! : )
During the first days of our children's lives, the neonatologists are concerned about 3 things: Circulatory System, Respitory System, Bleeding in the Brain
1. Bloodpressure: Preemies are born with low blood pressure. They are given three different medicines to help stabilize them: dopamine, dobutamine, and epinephrine. First, they will give them dopamine. If the maximum dosage of 20micrograms does not stabilize the child, they proceed to dobutamine. Again, if the 20mgms of dopamine and 20mgms of dobutamine fail to stabilize him/her they move on to the epinephrine. Maximum dosage of epinephrine is also 20mgms. After they have maxed out on all three, then there is no other medicine they can give the child. Therefore, if Chase is on 12mgms of dopamine, that's pretty good, but if Chelsea is on 20mgs of dopamine, 20 mgs of dobutamine, and 12 mgms of epinephrine, then that's not so good. Needless to say, this is the first thing we check everytime we visit them.
2. PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus). http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/pda.htm Follow this link for a full explanation. Basically, this duct is almost always open in preemies. In order to close it the neonatologists prescribes a 'packet of medicine' in 3 doses, usually indomethacin. If it still doesn't close, the neonatologist usually orders another 'packet' some days later, and perhaps even surgery.
3. Respitory System. Preemies are always on ventilators to help them to breathe. At this age, the lungs don't "remember" to "breathe." The ventilator breathes for them. Another issue is the amount of oxygen they need. Room air is 21% oxygen. The goal is therefore twofold. 1. Wean them down to 21% room air. 2. Get them off the ventilator and onto a nasal CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). CPAP provides oxygenated air and keeps the lungs open, but does not breathe for the preemie.
4. Brain Bleeding. After a week, the neonatolist usually does a sonogram on the brain to make sure there is no bleeding. If there is, then there could be future mental disabilities depending upon its severity.
So how are our kids doing....
Chase Jongmin Choi. Chase is doing considerably well. He was diagnosed with PDA and was immediatley given a packet of indomethacin. 24 hours later, the neonatologist confirmed that the duct was closed. Yeah!! His blood pressure has been stabilizing and he needs 14mgms of dopamine. However, the neonatologist is befuddled as to why he isn't completely off the medicine as of yet. He has no medical explanation except for the fact that Chase is a preemie. Chase's respitory system is doing well for now. He is only on 21 - 25 % oxygen depending on the day, but the nurses tell us that he usually breathes room air! They have tried to take him off the ventilator at least once, but the lungs still won't breathe for themselves. We need them to start working in the next couple of days.
Charissa Jonghae Choi. Charissa was doing really bad in the very beginning. She was maxed out on dopamine and dobutamine and the doctors were about to put her on the epinephrine. She was diagnosed with PDA and the duct was very large. They immediately put her on a round of indomethacin (the same time as Chase). Whereas Chase's duct closed completely, Charissa still had a small opening. But today they did another echocaridogram and found that the duct was completely closed. Yeah! Her blood pressure stabilized and she is completely off the medicine. Another yeah! She is in the same boat as Chase as regards the ventilator and oxygen levels. She too needs to get on the CPAP in next day or two. Another bit of good news is that Charissa may also begin to be feed tonight, about 1 cc of mom's milk.
Chelsea Jonghee Choi. Chelsea is the smallest of the three and the one we are concerned about the most. She was born without a heartbeat and the nurses needed to perform CPR. In the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), she looked so fragile and small. At the outset she was put on 20mgms of dopamine and on and off the dobutamine. Her respiration was like that of her brother & sister (my wife was given two steroid shots on the Monday & Tuesday prior to the delivery. This helped the children's lungs to develop faster), but she was given a dose of surfactant to help her along. However, yesterday (April 30), we received an urgent call in the morning. Chelsea's blood pressure had crashed... ...she was maxed out on all three drugs and the doctors were at a loss. They didn't have an explanation as to why, but later on in the afternoon, the condition resolved itself. She is now only on Dopamine and is being slowly weaned off. Needless to say, yesterday was one of those down moments for us. Chelsea was also diagnosed with a small PDA, but the duct closed by itself.
So what is our specific prayer requests for our three kids... ...well Friday & Saturday are big days for all three. Please pray:
1. Sonogram of the brain. All three are scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, May 2). Pray that there is no bleeding in any of them...
2. PDA. Even though all three ducts are closed, they could still reopen. Pray that they would be kept closed...
3. Respiration. All three need to be off the ventilators soon and switched to the CPAP. Pray that this would happen tomorrow...
4. Blood Pressure. Pray that Chase & Chelsea may get off the blood pressure medicine and be stabilized enough to eat!
5. Yu Ran. She is healing quite well from the emergency c-section. Pray for her emotional stability that she may be able to lactate for our soon to be hungry little ones.
These are literally just small steps, but as you can see, we are exhausted. But we know our God "never slumbers or sleeps" and we trust in Him. Please forgive us for not being able to respond to each of your e-mails individually. We appreciate your partnership with us in praying for our children. Your PRAYERS have been the means by which God has held our family up. Thank You.
In His Grip,
Young & Yu Ran.
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