Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying faithfully. Sierra Rose has experienced continual improvments over the past several days. I'll try to post a more recent photograph of Sierra here tomorrow.
IMPROVEMENTS
-Sierra was removed from the ventilator on Monday and she has been breathing well on her own.
-Sierra has just one IV (and she's only taking seizure medicine) and a feeding tube.
-Sierra's warmer has been turned off. She has been able to maintain good body temperature on her own.
-These improvements have allowed her parents and family members to hold her much more easily.
-Sierra has continued to be more wakeful. She opens her eyes several times each day and wiggles around a lot.
-Sierra has been digesting milk well. Nurses increased the amount she receives to 5 cc (cubic centimeters) per hour.
-J's family is in town. They have been a huge blessing to the family.
AREAS OF PRAYER
-Sierra's myoclonus is up and down, but mostly down. Pray that it continues to subside.
-Pray that Sierra will be able to digest even more milk so that she can graduate to a bottle.
-Sierra appears to have at least a mild sucking reflex. R and a therapist are going to train her even more. Pray that Sierra's sucking reflex will increase so that she can graduate to nursing.
-Pray that Sierra will be able to process and eliminate the mucus and other elements that accumulate.
Thank you for being our friends. It's encouraging for us to know that so many people are praying for little Sierra Rose and the rest of the family.
--MK
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Update October 9, 2007
Sierra Rose has been off the ventilator since yesterday. She is doing well. Look for more information (and hopefully a picture) tomorrow.
Thanks for your prayers!
Thanks for your prayers!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Update October 8, 2007
Sierra Rose did well over the weekend. She was removed from the ventilator this morning. So far, everything has been going well. Everyone will observe her closely today to see how she does.
Please pray that Sierra will breath on her own completely and that she won't have any more sleep apnea.
I'll post another update tomorrow.
Please pray that Sierra will breath on her own completely and that she won't have any more sleep apnea.
I'll post another update tomorrow.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Update October 5, 2007
Thank you for praying faithfully for little Sierra Rose and for the rest of the family. Below is the latest update. It addresses the different areas mentioned in the last e-mail update and on this blogsite. By the way, this will probably be the last update until Monday--I usually don't have Internet access on the weekends.
Sodium--It is still high (147) but Sierra isn't losing fluids like she was the last time it was high.
Myoclonus--This has subsided greatly.
Sonogram--Yesterday or the day before Sierra had a sonogram performed on her head. The sonogram did not reveal any new problems.
Digestion--Sierra had some milk left over in her stomach but has been digesting better.
Waking Up--It seems that Sierra is finally beginning to wake up. She had her eyes opened at several points during the day. Sierra has been more responsive. When she yawned she also stretched her arms and legs. It is also evident that she has good hearing; she hears and reacts to different sounds in the room.
Keep on Praying! God is doing good things because of your prayers. Here are the main needs:
-Pray for the sodium level to go down.
-Pray for digestion to continue improving
-Pray for the sleep apnea to go away entirely. Sierra's doctor believes that she can be removed from the ventilator now, but R and J aren't comfortable with this yet. R requested prayer that God would give them wisdom to allow the doctor to remove the ventilator.
Thank God
-Yesterday R and J were able to hold Sierra Rose for about 3 hours total.
-Today R and DAK were able to hold Sierra for another 3 hours.
-Sierra has gained weight. She now weighs 7 pounds.
-Sierra's overall physical condition has improved considerably since first entering NICU over 2 weeks ago.
Sodium--It is still high (147) but Sierra isn't losing fluids like she was the last time it was high.
Myoclonus--This has subsided greatly.
Sonogram--Yesterday or the day before Sierra had a sonogram performed on her head. The sonogram did not reveal any new problems.
Digestion--Sierra had some milk left over in her stomach but has been digesting better.
Waking Up--It seems that Sierra is finally beginning to wake up. She had her eyes opened at several points during the day. Sierra has been more responsive. When she yawned she also stretched her arms and legs. It is also evident that she has good hearing; she hears and reacts to different sounds in the room.
Keep on Praying! God is doing good things because of your prayers. Here are the main needs:
-Pray for the sodium level to go down.
-Pray for digestion to continue improving
-Pray for the sleep apnea to go away entirely. Sierra's doctor believes that she can be removed from the ventilator now, but R and J aren't comfortable with this yet. R requested prayer that God would give them wisdom to allow the doctor to remove the ventilator.
Thank God
-Yesterday R and J were able to hold Sierra Rose for about 3 hours total.
-Today R and DAK were able to hold Sierra for another 3 hours.
-Sierra has gained weight. She now weighs 7 pounds.
-Sierra's overall physical condition has improved considerably since first entering NICU over 2 weeks ago.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Update October 4, 2007
CURRENT STATUS
Earlier today, R was able to hold Sierra Rose for 2 1/2 hours! J should be able to hold her later. The nurse said that they should be able to hold her much more frequently over the coming days.
Sierra was digesting milk a little better. She seems to digest better when she is on her stomach instead of on her back.
CURRENT PRAYER POINTS
-Pray that Sierra's spells of sleep apnea would stop. Because she is still having apnea, R and J do not want her removed from the ventilator. Currently, when Sierra stops breathing due to apnea, the back-up ventilator provides oxygen for her. If the ventilator were to be removed completely, Sierra would be without oxygen until a nurse could go over and stimulate her or give her oxygen.
-Pray that Sierra would wake up. She has been asleep the entire 2 weeks that she has been in NICU. We're not sure if this is because the part of her brain that affects sleep was damaged, because of her medications, or because of some other reason.
-Pray that Siera's digestion would improve.
-Pray that Sierra's sodium level would go back down. It went high again (147).
-Thank God that Sierra Rose could be held by her mother for the second time since being born. This is great for both of them.
Thank you for your prayers. It's a joy to know that all of you are praying for Sierra Rose and for the rest of the family!
--MK
Earlier today, R was able to hold Sierra Rose for 2 1/2 hours! J should be able to hold her later. The nurse said that they should be able to hold her much more frequently over the coming days.
Sierra was digesting milk a little better. She seems to digest better when she is on her stomach instead of on her back.
CURRENT PRAYER POINTS
-Pray that Sierra's spells of sleep apnea would stop. Because she is still having apnea, R and J do not want her removed from the ventilator. Currently, when Sierra stops breathing due to apnea, the back-up ventilator provides oxygen for her. If the ventilator were to be removed completely, Sierra would be without oxygen until a nurse could go over and stimulate her or give her oxygen.
-Pray that Sierra would wake up. She has been asleep the entire 2 weeks that she has been in NICU. We're not sure if this is because the part of her brain that affects sleep was damaged, because of her medications, or because of some other reason.
-Pray that Siera's digestion would improve.
-Pray that Sierra's sodium level would go back down. It went high again (147).
-Thank God that Sierra Rose could be held by her mother for the second time since being born. This is great for both of them.
Thank you for your prayers. It's a joy to know that all of you are praying for Sierra Rose and for the rest of the family!
--MK
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Correction and Update to October 3, 2007
Sierra Rose's fever was not 102.5 degrees, but 101.2. Results from the blood test showed a normal white blood cell count, thus indicating no infection. Also, her temperature dropped to normal (98.8) later in the afternoon. Praise God! Thanks for praying!
Update October 3, 2007 with SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST as of 12:40 p. m. Wednesday: Siera Rose has a fever of 102.5 degrees. The nurse was going to call the doctor to find out what to do. Pray that this fever is not caused by an infection or other problem. Pray that it will subside.
Dear Friends,
Last night R called and provided an update Here is the information:
-Sodium level is still good
-Thyroxine (hormone) level is good
-Cortisol (hormone) level is 1.9. It should be 2.-something. Nurses will keep an eye on it.
-Sleep apnea (cessation of breath during sleep)--Apparently, it is not uncommon for newborns to experience some apnea. The nurses don't seem concerned about this.
-Myoclonus (involuntary muscular contractions) is less frequent
-Digestion is not too good. Nurses had been feeding Sierra 20 ml every 3 hours. They chaned that to 2 ml every hour.
BIG PRAISE
Thank you for praying for God's provision regarding hospital bills. J and R were approved for Medicaid assistance. Medicaid will cover all of Sierra's health care costs for 1 year and R's for 3 months. This is a huge answer to prayer. (Just to give you an idea of the coming bills, one hospital ride was $1,300.) It's hubling enough to be in a position of needing help from friends and relatives. It is even more so to be in a position of receiving help from the government, but we still thank God for His provision.
PRAYER REQUESTS
-Pray for Sierra's fever to drop
-Pray for her cortisol level to improve
-Pray for the apnea to stop
-Pray for the myoclonus to continue declining
-Pray for the digestion process to work properly
-Thank God for His financial provision!
Thank you for your continued support. This has been a difficult ordeal. It's a blessing to have friends upon whom we can lean for support.
God bless.
--MK
Dear Friends,
Last night R called and provided an update Here is the information:
-Sodium level is still good
-Thyroxine (hormone) level is good
-Cortisol (hormone) level is 1.9. It should be 2.-something. Nurses will keep an eye on it.
-Sleep apnea (cessation of breath during sleep)--Apparently, it is not uncommon for newborns to experience some apnea. The nurses don't seem concerned about this.
-Myoclonus (involuntary muscular contractions) is less frequent
-Digestion is not too good. Nurses had been feeding Sierra 20 ml every 3 hours. They chaned that to 2 ml every hour.
BIG PRAISE
Thank you for praying for God's provision regarding hospital bills. J and R were approved for Medicaid assistance. Medicaid will cover all of Sierra's health care costs for 1 year and R's for 3 months. This is a huge answer to prayer. (Just to give you an idea of the coming bills, one hospital ride was $1,300.) It's hubling enough to be in a position of needing help from friends and relatives. It is even more so to be in a position of receiving help from the government, but we still thank God for His provision.
PRAYER REQUESTS
-Pray for Sierra's fever to drop
-Pray for her cortisol level to improve
-Pray for the apnea to stop
-Pray for the myoclonus to continue declining
-Pray for the digestion process to work properly
-Thank God for His financial provision!
Thank you for your continued support. This has been a difficult ordeal. It's a blessing to have friends upon whom we can lean for support.
God bless.
--MK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)