(Mom holding Charissa & Dad holding Chase on Saturday, June 7: 30 weeks 6 days gestation)
June 14, 10PM
Sorry about the 10 day delay since the last post. Over the past week and a half I have been busy helping to organize & run our presbytery's youth conference. Sleeping only 3-4 hours/day during this period left me no time to blog...
Update...
Chase took a step back on his respiration. After being on the high-flow nasal cannula for 2-3 days, the doctors placed him back on the Bubble CPAP. My wife watched with her parents as he would de-saturate (sudden drop in oxygen saturation level) & have sudden drops in his heart rate (from 180 down to 70 in a matter of seconds). But just today, the doctors said that he has stabilized. They will try him again on the high-flow nasal cannula.
Chase will be completely drug free by 4 am this morning! After his final dose of hydrocortisone, the strongest meds he will be on will be caffeine! Chase's latest head ultrasound showed that that the clot had almost completely drained. The doctor said that no more ultrasounds will be needed! Also, after testing his thyroid, the doctors declared that his thyroid levels are normal.
Weight you ask? 3 lbs. 11.26 oz (1.68Kg). He's growing well and actually has some body fat on him. He's so warm, in fact, that they don't even use the heater in his isolette. Feedings? Up to 9cc/hour
Charissa has had a hard 10 days. With lots of desaturations and bradycardias (sudden drop of heartrate), my wife and I had been very concerned. But again, just like with Chase, the doctors keep telling us not to worry. They keep saying that they are having an acceptable amount of bradycardias for their age and that they are actually doing well. Intellectually we know this is true, but emotionally it's difficult watching your kids stop breathing. She's doing well on the high flow nasal cannula. They lowered the pressure from 5 litres to 4 litres. Next step? Well, a simply nasal cannual without any pressure... How long? That's up to her!
Weight? 3lbs. .67 oz. (1.38 Kg). Feedings? 7cc/hour.
Part Deux
So what's part deux? Well... they just have to keep growing. The doctors say that they're respiratory issues will most likely resolve themselves, so not to worry.
They still have two other major exams: 1. Eye Exams (every 2 weeks) 2. Ear Exams.
Tomorrow will be their first eye exam! Preemies are susceptible to a type of retinal damage associated with premature birth. Doctors will examine her every 2 weeks until 40 weeks gestation when they will no longer be at risk. Ear exam? We don't know when they will have their first examination, so we wait...
God has been tremendously merciful to our family.... Please continue to pray for our two kids, especially for their first eye exam!
Blessings,
Choi Family
2 comments:
We’ll continue to partner with you in prayer, asking that God would give Chase and Charissa full health, in their breathing, in their eyesight, in their hearing.
We’ve also been praying that there will be no developmental delay or deficit whatsoever in your children, that God would compensate in every way for their premature birth, that Charissa and Chelsea’s early exit from the womb would have absolutely NO lasting ill effect on their bodies or their minds. We’ve asked that the Holy Spirit bring supernatural growth and healing to each and every cell in their little bodies, so that a time will come, very soon, when any and all consequences of premature birth are gone!
Finally, we’ve been praying for the spiritual growth of your Little Ones. We know this time has not been easy for them, that they’ve endured discomfort and fear and pain and confusion (through no fault of your own, of course!)… and those hurts are perfect entry-ways for the Adversary, to whisper into their forming souls sinful feelings of self-protective fear, rebelliousness, self-reliance, and distrust. We pray that the Holy Spirit would use this trial to teach Charissa and Chase the exact opposite: that their spirits would become good and noble and fine, always oriented towards their Father’s holy light, always resting upon His goodness and grace.
awwwwww charissa has her hands on her face!!!!!
she's doing some "eh-gyo".. hehe
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