Today I spent the afternoon with my sister-in-law, Shelley and my niece, Isabelle. Isabelle was supposed to be 4 months older than her cousins, but because Logan and Olivia came so early they are only 1 week apart. I feel like I haven’t gotten a chance to get to know Isabelle because of everything that has happened over the past two months. At the same time I felt guilty about holding a baby who wasn’t Olivia. I know. . .that’s really strange. I then met some friends for dinner. It was nice and they brought me all kinds of things. They made me a mother’s bracelet and I got a onesie that says ‘little angel,’ a stuffed giraffe and a home cooked dinner complete with brownies! It was nice spending time with everyone today.
Okay, on to my baby girl. I got to hold her last night and when I arrived at the hospital tonight, Olivia was cuddled up with dad. She also gained another 40 grams last night and now weighs 1300 grams or 2 lbs 14 oz!! She did not get extubated today, but her vent settings were turned down once more to 16/5 with a rate of 13. I think tomorrow is the big day! If she does well through the night and has a good blood gas in the morning. . .CPAP here we come! I believe she also has another eye exam tomorrow, so please pray for her throughout the day.
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Park City Utah
2 years ago
4 comments:
I hope Olivia keeps showing her strength and soars onto C-PAP! Great pictures of dad holding her:)
I got this email yesterday and it just goes to show that life is definitely not always random. I've never gotten an email "story" about a premature baby before yet right when it's relevant here one shows up in my inbox:
As the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing, she was still groggy from surgery.
Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.
That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.
At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs.
"I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could.
"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."
She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.
"No! No!" was all Diana could say.
She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four.
Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.
Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.
All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.
There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.
But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.
At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time.
And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life, she showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.
As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?"
Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."
Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"
Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain."
Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced,
"No, it smells like Him.
It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."
Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children.
Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along.
During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
Olivia knows the scent of God just like little Dana Blessing; I'm sure of it.
It was great to see you last night Jodi!! Love always,
Kerry
Oh my goodness! What fantastic pictures! I hope I didn't sound too demanding!! But they were such a blessing to see and all my friends in my geography class were viewing them with me as well. It was so great to finally see this 'big' girl. It seems like its been forever since the last time I saw her. She looks so comfortable on dad's chest.
Jodi,
It sounded like the perfect thing to be with family and friends. I hope you had a good time as I enjoyed reading about your fun filled day. I'm glad you got to have some 'Jodi time'. And I hope you had a good day!
I pray so strongly that tomorrow will be the day when Olivia will be able to start CPAP! Wouldn't that be amazing! She is only 2lbs. and 14 ounces, and yet through all the tubes and wires, she is such a fighter. I can only hope that one day I will be as strong as her. She continues to amaze me everyday as do her mom and dad. Jodi, I look up to you so much. You are so graceful, faithful, and willing, to do everything that you can for your little girl. God has given such a battle that I couldn't handle. You take everything so well and through everything you continue to be such a humble servant and such a faithful believer. You are such a strong person, and I see where Olivia gets it. She is so lucky to have parents like the two of you.
Thanks again for the pictures! They are fantastic!!!
Love always,
Stay Strong,
Shea
Love you Guys!♥
YIPEE! YIPEE! YIPEE! CPAP!
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