Monday, October 27, 2008

From the Weekend - Pictures later

Hello to ALL! You would think that the weekends would be the best time to post and update, but they are actually quite tough. Keeping Thomas entertained while visiting Lily proves to be a very time consuming task. One that usually leaves us just ready to go to bed soon after Thomas.

Last week, I (Greg) spent the entire week in Memphis for some meetings and it was probably one of the most stressful weeks so far. First it was very important for me to devote my attention to what was going on there, while receiving updates and pictures from Holley back home. Thank you so much to Holley's mom who came to help with Thomas. In addition, it was the first week Lily was going to try CPAP and you can see where the stress came from.

I could not wait to get home Friday to visit Holley, Lily, and Thomas. We had plans for Thomas to spend the night out; Holley and I were going to spend the night downtown and have a date. Unfortunately, Lily thought she should be the center of attention that night. After a rough day, Lily decided to scare everyone enough for them to call back in the doctors to evaluate whether or not she should be put back on the tube. Fortunately, her attending physician was still there, calmed everyone down and Lily is still on CPAP. CPAP is much more labor intensive for nurses, and we had been praying hard for better more attentive nurses to care for Lily over the weekend. The Lord answered these prayers all weekend, and we are still on CPAP.

Let me preface this part by saying I am NOT a Doctor, and I am drawing my own conclusions here, but the debate of CPAP vs. Ventilator Tube is the first long term effect debate we have had for Lily's care. What I mean, is the doctors are looking more at what the effects could be down the road of staying on the vent vs. the right here right now. My conclusion: This is a huge milestone in the fact that we believe Lily is mostly strong enough to handle the here and now in order for us to make decisions about the future!!!

The opthamologist will be visiting Lily this week for the first of many evaluations. The doctor will not be able to tell anything about her eyesight yet, but will be looking for signs of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP).

We have been blessed through your prayers and God's comfort in all this, and know the road is still long. For now, please pray that Lily continue to be infection free, that her lungs develop and become strong enough to remove the CPAP, that Lily show no signs of ROP, and that she continues to put on weight and handle her increased feedings.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Greg and Holley ~ I know you are all exhausted and we all appreciate the updates. I promise to pray for the specifics listed here...
I hope you two get your much needed date night soon! You are both wonderful parents, and it is easy to neglect the marriage during trying times like these!
love you all very much
jennifer and family