NICU News

Over the past couple of days, Lee & I have been back and forth between the hotel and the hospital to visit Cory. The first couple of days were relatively easy… getting used to seeing Cory with an IV line, a couple of monitors on his chest, a blood pressure gadget taped to his right hand. Everyone was telling us that he was doing so well… that he was quite healthy… that they were really impressed with his progress. Lee & I were able to hold Cory and cuddle with him. It was difficult with all the lines and monitors attached to him, but we were still able to spend some time bonding with our son for an hour or so at a time. We’ve been asking the nurses and doctors a lot of questions… trying to gain a little more understanding about our son’s condition and what we’ll be facing in the coming days and weeks. We were feeling pretty confident as our little guy was doing so well and looking so good.

Yesterday (January 4th) they decided to insert a PIC line to replace Cory’s IV tube. Not a big deal. The PIC line is a little more permanent and more reliable than the IV. No problem. Cory still looked good. The nurses were telling us that some of Cory’s stats were a little off. They were keeping a close eye on his blood pressure, his oxygen levels in his blood, his breathing. Everything was being monitoring and the nurses were keeping on top of everything. Again... no problem.


This morning (January 5th) the hospital called us and told us that they were going to have to insert a breathing tube into Cory to regulate his breathing and to help regulated his stats (blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart beat, etc.) more proficiently too. Lee & I were somewhat prepared for this as the previous day the doctor had told us to expect that a breathing tube would likely have to be inserted in the next couple of days. Lee, my Mom, Molly, and I went to Cory’s bedside to see him before the breathing tube was inserted. We were able to spend some time to holding him and cuddling with him. About an hour later we all left, deciding that it would be best to let Cory get some rest before they inserted the breathing tube.

When Lee & I went back to the hospital later that afternoon, we were not as prepared as we thought we were to see Cory hooked up to the breathing apparatus. He has a tube running up his nose and down his throat which has now taken over breathing for him. The machine is doing all the breathing for him, in hopes of getting his stats to acceptable levels. Cory has also now been given medication to keep him in a paralyzed state so that the breathing tube does not get moved or pulled out by accident. He is on pain medication as well because they can’t tell if he is in pain or not because now he can’t move, can’t cry, can’t do anything on his own. We spent another hour or so with Cory this afternoon, then decided that we should go home, get some supper, and let our brains wrap around everything that was happening to our son so far.

Tonight Lee & I went back to visit Cory. We arrived to find a new tube poking into our son. This one was a little more disturbing and took us aback when we saw it. Turns out that the medication that Cory was getting through a tube in his hand (on the same arm where the PIC line was inserted) had to be moved to a different location because his hand was quite swollen and they couldn’t be sure that he was getting the medication he needed through the swollen hand. This medication is the one that keeps the ductus open in his heart… which is crucial to Cory at this point. They moved the line from his hand into the right temple area on his head. We were definitely NOT prepared for that. I’m really not sure how I kept from passing out.

So now that Cory has both the breathing tube AND the medication going into a vein in his head, Lee & I will no longer be able to hold our son. The nurses tell us that he can hear us and that he can feel us touching him… but that is little consolation. Our little boy is only four days old and we can’t even hold him any more.

I guess it is reassuring knowing that there are so many qualified people there to take care of Cory. As Lee & I were sitting there tonight we watched as the nurses consulted each other, the respiratory therapist checked and rechecked one of his monitors, and some other woman was called in to consult on something else. And we were only there for less than an hour tonight. It really is mind boggling to think how many people are taking care of our son around the clock. As the group of them were watching Cory’s monitors, I found myself looking up at them too. Looking at all the numbers and readings and blips on screen as if I knew what they were all about. I don’t. But somehow it seems reassuring to look up there and see his heart is still beating, the blips are still blipping, and that he is still our little trooper who just wants to get this over with and go home.

Tomorrow the cardiologists, the surgeons, and the neonatologists are supposed to be doing grand rounds to decide on a surgery schedule. It really is sad when you find yourself hoping that your son is sicker than the other kids on the floor so that his surgery can be scheduled sooner than later. The nurses have told us to expect that Cory will soon start to look sick. It is so heart breaking to see your son laying there… knowing that there is nothing you can do to comfort him or to help him. The only thing we can do is pray that he remains strong and will make it through this whole ordeal.

I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has sent emails and has phoned us at the hotel with well wishes. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to know how many people out there care so much for our son’s recovery. Please keep your comments and emails and phone calls coming, as it really does a world of good for Lee & I. Thank you so, so much.