Breath of Fresh Air

The C-PAP came off of Rohen today, and he is breathing all on his own! Seeing him without all that stuff around his head is wonderful. I got to hold him again today, and I loved every minute of it. Matt saw him open his eyes while he was on my chest, so I'm hoping he will open them again soon so I can see. They are increasing his food intake every three hours now, and he should be eating about an ounce at each feeding by tomorrow.
The MRI results came back, and there are no obvious signs of trauma. It is still really just going to be about waiting and watching. I felt good about what the doctors had to say though. Often times no news is good news. They still haven't given us any indication as to when he might come home. I think now that he is breathing on his own, if we can get him to eat on his own there should be no reason why he can't come home.We are seeing improvements every day.
So thankful that God is watching over him, and that he is so loved by so many.

Wiggle Worm

Today Rohen was starting to move a lot. He was wiggling around all day. It was great to see some more life in him. This morning they took off the EEG machine and they removed the little probes from his head. Matt and I were surprised to see that they were actually little tiny needles in his head...poor baby. They had each one taped down and you could tell he was getting mad when the nurse was pulling the tape off of his fuzzy black hair. She was being so gentle, but he was holding on to my finger the whole time. Now his head can breathe a little. They turned down his oxygen one level, and if everything goes well tonight he might be off of that machine tomorrow. We are hoping that is the case.
He had his MRI this evening around 7, and the nurse said that she didn't see anything that stood out. We will have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the results from the radiologist. He did really well during the MRI, and they didn't have to give him a breathing tube which made us so happy. We are going to try to get a few hours of sleep tonight, but will head back to the hospital in the morning. I miss my little guy already.

Events of Today

So today was a very exciting day for Matt and I. They took one of the EEG machines off of Rohen and we were able to hold him for the first time. It was the most amazing feeling to just sit there and hold him in our arms. Obviously we aren't doctors, but it seemed like during the time we were holding him his brain activity was better than ever. He is still really swollen, but hopefully when they get that other machine off of him that swelling will go down and he'll be able to open his eyes. He is still on the oxygen, but the levels that they are giving him are the same levels that you and I would breathe. He is doing almost all of the work on his own. They've also increased the amount of food that he is getting each feeding. It is funny, when they put the milk in his tummy he does this little stomach roll. It's pretty cute. Today is my last day in the hospital, and we are going to go home for a real dinner that Matt's mom Audrey is making us (yum)...then we will be back to see Rohen.
Tomorrow they have scheduled an MRI sometime in the early afternoon. We are hoping that this will give us some of the answers that we have been looking for. Because there can't be any medal in the MRI they will have to remove the oxygen from his nose and put in a breathing tube. It is going to be hard to see him with another thing down his throat, but whatever it takes to help things move forward.

So what happened?

So here is the basic story. I went in to the hospital Tuesday morning for blood pressure testing and the doctor made the decision to induce. Labor was going well and some time before midnight I was dilated to a 9 and the doctors were preparing me to push. Suddenly the baby's heart rate dropped and I was rushed off for an emergency c-section. When they got Rohen out he was not breathing, and the doctors began working on him immediately. Within what seemed to be only a few short minutes he began breathing on his own and his color looked good and pink. Unfortunately he had lost some oxygen and he was very lethargic. He was rushed to Emanuel's NIC unit, and I followed shortly behind him after I was stable. Because of his meek condition the doctors made the decision to do a cooling therapy that is similar to forced Hypothermia. My understanding is that this slows everything down and gives the brain time to heal. Within the first 12 hours his brain activity had improved drastically. He was crying, opening his eyes, and suckling just like any baby would do. There was however some unusual activity that looked like it could be seizures. The doctors have put him on a low dose seizure medication which he will continue to take until seizures can be ruled out. The cooling therapy lasted 72 hours and the warming process began today. Currently his temperature is back to normal. He still has the sensors on his head for the EEG tests so his face is a little swollen. We are hoping that tomorrow they will remove the bandages from his head and the swelling will go down. Once they get they get that EEG off of him we should be able to hold him. The good news was that he did get to eat today for the first time. They have put him on a feeding schedule where he gets tube fed one teaspoon of breast milk every three hours to prepare his digestive system to receive nutrients. Tonight they rubbed a little on his lips and he loved it!



We are expecting tomorrow to be a good day, and I will make sure to let everyone know what we find out. Have a great night and keep my little Rohen in your prayers.