One Week Old

I cannot believe that Monday morning Lily will be ONE WEEK OLD. What an emotional week it has been, one that we could not have persevered alone. We are thankful for your prayers for our family and especially Lily. We can definitely feel God's presence and your prayers for Lily when we look over and touch her in her isolette.


Over the past few days, some big things have happened. Holley changed Lily's diaper, and I think we both almost passed out. Lily's lungs and respiration continue to look good, and we feel like we have a closer relationship with her doctors, which probably naturally occurs, but it pleases us nonetheless. Lily is still able to control her blood pressure with out medication.


However, last night the doctors noticed her white blood cells trending high and her platelet counts trending low. The white blood cell numbers typically mean some sort of infection is occurring somewhere. Since Lily is not able to fight this on her own just yet, the doctors have started two broad spectrum antibiotics. It takes long to find out from blood cultures what we are dealing with so when we receive the results the doctors will decide the best course of action. The platelet counts being low can also be a result of infection, or it can also indicate a bleed somewhere. Micro prematures are very susceptible to head bleeds, so we are obviously worried. The good thing is that the platelet counts have not dropped quickly (which would indicate a sudden move to clot a big bleed), she is still a very active baby, and there are no physical signs of a bleed. As you remember, the first scan came back clear and another was to be performed at 10 days. With the platelet numbers down, the doctors have decided to do a scan in the morning at 7 days. We will be anxiously awaiting the results of this scan.


Lily has still not opened her eyes yet, but we can tell it is close. Maybe in the next few days, we will be able to look into her eyes. The picture with this email is Lily holding my (Greg's) wedding ring. It should give some perspective to her size.


Holley is still recovering and trying to build back up her strength.


Please pray for:
Lily to fight infections
Lily to have a clear head scan
Holley to regain her strength quickly


Thank you all so much, and as time passes, I will continue to update and ask you to pray for specific challenges and milestones.