30 December 2007

Dec 30, 2007 4:30 pm

Well, I am home for now because I had to check out of the RMH for 3 days. They make you check out for 3 days after being there for 30. I can't believe I was there for a whole month! I feel like it's my home and when I am at my real home I start to panic. I hope I can get back in on Tues when my 3 days are up. Thank you to Allison who is letting me use her apartment in Greenville while she is away so I don't have to be far from Liam.

When I am not at the hospital I have my mom sit with Liam so he isn't alone. But- I still want to be the one sitting there the whole time...

So my update today comes from my talks with the nurse and my mom-

Liam had to have a transfusion today... they went down again on his vent settings and he needed more O2 to keep that setting. so- back up they went and hopefully the blood will help. Liam still has the ileus in his bowel from the infection he had. They can't give him breast milk until that is gone.

Liam had a bad blood gas a bit ago and they went higher up on his vent... He tries to breath over the vent and he was very active which upsets his "gases" as well. So- they did a follow up gas and it was good. Whew... honestly- I am a nervous wreck.

Rylie is in Virginia at Liberty University for a middle school New Years bash with thousands of other Christians boys and girls. So- I'm home and she isn't even here. ;-( But- she is having a wonderful time.

The prayers for today:
That Liams lungs would grow strong and mighty!

That Liams ileus would clear up so he can start getting feedings. And they won't be real "feedings" He will start with 1 cc every 6 hours for the first week and then
s l o w l y start working in another cc.

That Liam would calm down. He moves alot and is getting agitated. I don't know if it's just his spunk or if it is irritation following surgery.


PRAISE:
Thank the Lord that He answered our prayers and allowed Liam to have a successful surgery and post op recovery!!

28 December 2007

Dec 28, 2007 9:00 pm

Liam's surgery was a success!! The Dr. said everything went well and that his duct was wide open so it was a great thing to get it closed! His body pinked up in color by this afternoon. They also weaned down some on his vent settings which surprised me because all the Drs said to expect setbacks for the next 3 days following the surgery. Liam seemed to do really well. He is VERY sedated tho. I didn't see one flex of a muscle the entire day. He's really out of it right now. Which is difficult cuz he can be so active normally.

Praise:
Thanking the Lord for working through the hands of the Drs and nurses by giving him a successful surgery!

Prayer:
Pray that Liam would recover quickly from his surgery!

That Liam would progress fantastically well with his lungs and ventilator!

They will look at actually feeding him finally this next week if all goes well!! ;-)

27 December 2007

Dec 27, 2007 10:00 pm

Liam has to have the PDA surgery (the duct above his heart) closed off tomorrow morning at around 7:30. It is a relatively non-invasive procedure but he is only 1 lb 14 oz. Once the duct is closed he will have to readjust to the new blood flow. That will take a few days. He also weaned off one vent and onto another today so his body will be making a few adjustments.

Prayer:
Please pray that his surgery will be an easy and uncomplicated one!!

26 December 2007

Dec 26, 2007 8:45 am

It never seemed like Christmas this year. Even being home for Christmas Day was almost surreal. Thank you Ginny for our fantastic Christmas dinner! We would have been fine with sandwiches but you went above and beyond and made the day bettter for my family with your wonderful meal! You have blessed our family greatly!

Liam is doing pretty good. He has stayed at his vent settings for a few days now. The Lord has seen fit to take away Liams infection! He still has "markers" in his blood showing a "shift" but his blood has not grown any infection in days!!

This morning he has an echo to check out that pesky PDA. I have been praying mightily that God would close it without surgery. If they see it open today then Liam will have to have it surgically closed within this next week...

Praise: Liam's life this Christmas has been the best Christmas present for our family. We all fall more in love with him everytime we see him. We know the Lord has a purpose for him and pray that he will come home before his due date in March.

Prayer: That Liam's head would not suffer any more damage than what was shown at his last scan. No more fluid or cysts is the prayer!!

Pray Liam's lungs would grow stronger!

Pray for no PDA! If that is not God's will then we ask for prayer that his ligation surgery would go perfectly!



Here is an article done on our family for the RMH in Greenville: http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2007/12/26/RonaldMcDonaldHouse.html

The local paper included a picture of my mom, Rylie and myself.

22 December 2007

Dec 22, 2007 9:55 pm



Ok- here's an update on stats: Liam will be 1 month old on Christmas Day! He weighs 2 lbs and has grown 2 1/2 inches in length. They cannot feed him breast milk until he weans down on some of the meds he needs and gets rid of his infection....

This is my most recent picture of Liam and one of my favorites. When he has his hands free to move he loves to cuddle them up underneath his chin.

Up and down on vent settings today but he seems to be holding good. His body is still really battling the infection so much prayer is needed for that battle to be won. And to close his PDA!!!


Prayer:

Please pray that the Lord would touch Liam's duct and bind it shut forever.

Please pray that Liam's infection would vanish.

Please pray that Liam's lungs would stay strong and healthy with the healing power of our Greatest Physician.

Pray that Liam's brain scan next Thursday would show no more fluid and no more cysts!


Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!! From all of us to all of you-

Mark 11:24

21 December 2007

Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:00 pm

Well- Liam was so relaxed yesterday because they gave him a lot of sedation. Actually, more than he needed. He was lethargic this morning and not very responsive. This afternoon he was better. My prayers for today are the same as yesterdays-

Prayer:

That the Lord would see fit to close his duct by His pure power!!

That Liams infection would be vanquished!!

That Liams brain would be protected from further harm (no more fluid or cysts)!!

20 December 2007

Thurs. Dec 20, 2007 10:30 pm

Liam had a very nice and peaceful day today. He came back down again on his vent settings. He had his cardiac echo which shows that he still has his PDA. He is now too old for the endocin to work (I know- a preemie is too old?) so the next step is surgery. He can't have the ligation until his infection is gone so we are looking at next week.... Unless our God would see fit to close it spontaneously before we get close to that day!!! Liams heart valves looked good today on the echo which is great news because the infection he has can effect those.

Prayer

Please pray that his PDA would close on its own.

Please pray that the infection would go away.

Please pray that Liams next brain scan next Thursday would show no more damage!!

Thurs. Dec 20, 2007 9:15 am

Last night was rough. Liam did good yesterday and they were talking of weaning him right to the cpap when his infection is gone because he was about as low as you can go on the jet vent... BUT- at about 8:00 Liam started d-satting in seconds. It was fast and his color would turn gray. He was also very agitated and would jerk a lot. We had 3 resperatory therapists in the room and they fiddled with the vent, changed the tube, suctioned him, etc... all in attempts to figure out what was going on. Nothing worked. So they dialed him up and down on his oxygen for hours, sent for an emergency chest xray and did a blood gas. The chest xray was fine but his blood gas showed him as acidotic. So- they had to up his vent some. When I called in this morning he didn't d-sat after that and his last two blood gases were good. I didn't even get back to RMH until 12:30 last nite... He did have his abdominal u/s yesterday to check about rupturing in his bowels which is what some of the meds he is on can do and it can back good!! He has an echo today to check ont he PDA and last ight they could hear a very loud murmur so it means it has probably tightened up some.

Prayer: Please pray that Liams brain would grow no more cysts and no more fluid... And no seizures!

Pray that his PDA would shut forever!

Pray that Liams infection would vanish.

Praise: Liams good abdominal u/s!

Liams swelling is gone in his belly!

18 December 2007

Dec 18, 2007 9:00 pm

Liams scan of his brain came back showing no additional fluid in his brain. It did show some cystic area in the left part of his brain meaning it was where brain tissue was damaged. We don't know for sure what that means for the future other than developmental delays at this point. I will know more when I get to talk to the Dr. But- I am sooo thankful the Lord saw fit to keep the fluid from increasing.

Liam does not have staph- he has strep! Not the one you think of with strep throat. He has it in his blood... long story short- we all have strep flora in our body. His immune system is compromised and it has made him sick. The good news is that they know what it is for sure now and they have now put him on ampicillen to treat it.

Liams swelling has gone down considerably- I can see his ribs again!

The Dr wants to see about getting him off the jet ventilator and on to the oscillator which is a good step. It means his lungs are stronger.


Please Pray:
That Liam would fight off this infection.

That Liams PDA would close!

That Liam would be able to tolerate getting off the jet vent soon.

That Liams brain would not get more cysts!

Praise:
The fluid levels had not increased at this scan.

Liams lungs are growing stronger.

He was more active today than I have seen him and he seemed much healthier than he was this past weekend so some of those antibiotics were working already. He even kept opening his eyes! ;-)

16 December 2007

Dec 17, 2007 9:00 pm

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I have said this before but I can't really explain how grateful I am...

Liam's PDA is still open. He got his second dose of Endocin this evening. He has an extremely swollen belly because his body isn't absorbing fluids like it should. He pees great- lol- but some of the fluids are sitting in the capillaries in his abdomen giving him a big round belly. They gave him some albumin and lasix to help with that.
The infection is staph. It is not the scary one but it is still an infection that his body now has to fight off. My Dr. is "not happy" which is her term for things aren't going well....

PRAYER:
Liam's scan of his brain is scheduled for early this morning (like around 4 am). Please pray that it would be perfectly normal!! I really want it to be normal for so many reasons but also because my Jewish Dr. said she believes in miracles too...

Please pray that his PDA would shut down tight and never reopen!!

Please pray that the infection would disappear from Liams body!!

Please pray that his swollen belly would heal and return to normal!

The Lord is able to give exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask...

Dec 16, 2007 9:00 pm

YUP- His PDA is OPEN... UGH!!!!!
Liam is swollen, his blood pressure is crazy and they think he is getting an infection. It was not a great day... Liams lungs were doing well and because the PDA reopened they had to up his vent settings. His blood isn't oxygenating right and the Endocin that they have to put him back on to close that duct makes his platelets low so they gave him an infusion of platelets today.

PRAYER:
Please pray that the duct would be bound shut with this round of Endocin and that it would NEVER reopen!

Please pray that the infection they think Liam is getting would not turn into anything!!!

Please pray for strength and healing for Liam.

Dec 16, 2007 9:30 am

Liam had an up and down night on his vent settings. His blood pressure is low and they believe his PDA (the duct above his heart) has reopened....

PRAYER:
That Liams brains scan on Tues morning would be completely normal!!

That Liam's PDA would be bound shut and stay that way!!

That Liam's lungs would heal and grow stronger every moment!!

14 December 2007

Dec 14, 2007


Liam got to go down again on his vent settings. The goal is to get him off this ventilator, onto another, and then wean him down to breathing on his own. Each setting change we get to go down on is a blessing! Good blood gases mean vent settings can go down. Liam was not as sedated today as usual so I got to see him squirm and move much more than I usually do. I can't tell you how good it feels to see him look alive!!

PRAYER:
Please pray that God would keep Liams brain protected from harm and keep his fluid levels normal!!

Please pray for continued success on his vents as God breaths life into Liams lungs!!

Pray for no more seizures and good blood pressure!

Praise:
Liam is almost 18 days old and he is a strong little boy. He had a good day today and we give God the glory!

13 December 2007

Thurs. Dec. 13, 2007

Well, after getting the news about Liams head scan I felt my world again turn upside down this month. But- I have my hope in Christ- knowing God hears our families cries for mercy...

PRAYER: Please pray with us in regards to Liams fluid in his brain: That there would be NO additional fluid in his brain at Tues. scan or that the Dr was wrong in what they think they saw on the scan.

Please pray that Liam would stop having seizures. The medication they put him on to stop seizures had gotten high in his body and that can bring on the seizures!

Please pray that Liams blood pressure would regulate itself. He is swinging pretty good on the pressure and they need to see a constant good pressure.

Praise: The Dr. believes they saved Liams lungs! PRAISING GOD as we know he is the One who worked through the Dr. If there is going to be lung damage she thinks it would be small. He has had good blood gases and they have been slowly weaning his vent settings! Thank you all for standing with us in prayer for Liam with his tiny lungs.

11 December 2007

Dec 11, 2007

Today was one of those days that people prepare you for in the NICU but you are never really ready for it. Liams head scan came back with no bleeding which is fantastic... BUT... it showed a higher level than normal of fluid in his brain which the Dr said means he has lost some of his brain tissue. Now- what that means for the future is completely uncertain... but this is the prayer- That there would be NO MORE FLUID AT NEXT TUESDAYS SCAN. If there is more fluid it will mean more trouble for Liams future. He did well today on his vent settings and is holding pretty steady with that. Our DR is very good- she is just very blunt and goes to the worst case scenario with me which I don't want to hear because I know my God is bigger than any issue we face!! She gets me depressed.

PRAYER:

Please lift up prayers for Liam that there would be NO MORE additional fluid in his brain at next weeks scan!!

Pray that God would breath strength and power into Liams little lungs.

Pray that our God would show himself in a mighty way through our journey with Liam.

Jesus said that if we pray in his name God would answer. And that if we have only the faith of a mustard seed we could move mountains....

10 December 2007

Dec. 10, 2007

Today was a good day for Liam. ;-) He got to go back down on his vent settings and he did well on it throughout the day. He started his steroid which helped his blood pressure so he is off of the dopamine.

PRAYER:
Please pray that tomorrows brain scan will show NO BLEEDING!

Pray that the edema in his right lung would disappear.

Pray that Liams lungs would grow stronger and healthier allowing him to wean down on his ventilator!

Praise:
Liam had a good day. The respiratory therapist he has today is a Christian along with the nurse who worked today. It was great to have them around me.

09 December 2007

Dec. 9, 2007

The last 24 hours were a NICU roller coaster. Liam was up and down on his vent and up and down on his gases. They had to up his Dopamine (sp) for his blood pressure (then brought it back down a bit) and they decided to put him on a steroid. He had another echo today which showed no PDA still! He also had a lung x-ray this morning that showed edema on his right lung but his afternoon x-ray showed it had lessoned quite a bit!!

And this may seem bizarre to some but I wanted to tell you this: Liams arterial line which monitors his blood pressure acts up once in a while. It acted up for quite a while this evening where there was no reading at all for over half an hour. Then all of a sudden his pulse ox and his heart rate monitors went out. So I went over and sat down and starting praying for the demons to get out of his room and for God to keep his angels around Liams bed and before I finished the prayer the monitors just popped right back on. And I heard the nurse say- wow- that was weird. ;-)

PRAYER:
That Liam's lungs would improve in a way that shows how big our God is!!

That Liams blood gases would continue to be good and ONLY good!

That there would be no bleeding in Liams brain (a concern until Tues cuz then he's 2weeks and it shouldn't happen after that)!

Liams blood pressure would stabalize.

Liam is anemic- his little body can't make everything it needs properly. The anemia interferes with his bodies ability to absorb oxygen.

PRAISE:
Liams edema went down.

Still no PDA!


Thank you again for your emails, pages, cards, money, food and prayers. Everyones insightfulness to our families needs at this time has been a huge blessing to us. I want to thank each of you personally!

08 December 2007

Dec 8, 2007

Liam had an up and down day. The vent settings changed numerous times.

Please pray:

He got upset, as always, when people messed with him tonight. With his fiestiness comes issues. He has a blood gas taken in a bit and it needs to be good so his vent settings don't have to go back up. Pray that his blood gases woud be good and stay good!!

Still no PDA today!! Please pray God pinches it permanently shut!

Pray for no bleeding in his brain and no seizures.

Pray that with his good blood gases he can be weened down in his vent settings for his little lungs~


Thank you all for standing with us in prayer. I feel alone sometimes and knowing that you are there praying us through helps me so much!

8 Dec

Pictures of Liam at 1 week old. For scale, when he holds my finger, his hand is the same size as just my fingernail.



Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

He likes to point the big toe on his right foot.

07 December 2007

Dec 7, 2007

PRAYER:
Liams blood pressure has been low and they believe his PDA might have opened up again. PLEASE- Pray that it will stay CLOSED! His Dr. said that in preemies the PDA's can be gone but not forgotten because they can open back up. PRAY PRAY PRAY!

Please pray for no bleeding in his brain.

Please pray that Liams lungs would improve.


Thank you for not forgetting about us. I appreciate your prayers more than words could ever convey. Your prayer pages help me more than you know- ;-)

06 December 2007

Dec. 6, 2007

PRAISE:

Liam's PIE in his lungs are gone! That is great news because it means his lungs are getting better oxygenation.

Another echo today showed the PDA is still gone!


PRAYER:

They believe Liam was having seizures today. Due to the immaturity of his body he can jerk and have spastic motions that mimic seizures. They aren't positive thats what they were but they put him on anti seizure medication to be safe. I had a really hard time with that decision. Please pray that he would suffer no serious effects from the meds or from any seizures!

Please pray that there would be no bleeding in his brain. Preemies can bleed in their brain up to two weeks after birth. His first scan showed no bleeding but please pray that there would be no bleeding ever!

Liam's blood pressure was low tonight.

05 December 2007

Dec. 5th, 2007

I had a really rough day today. We buried Brady next to Kyle Ann. The weather was cold and I couldn't believe I was burying another child and all within the same year. My eyes are swollen from the tears. Even little Aidan was crying. And I am scared to death of losing another child.

PRAISE:

Liam had a good day for him! They were able to lower his oxygen and adjust the ventilator settings.

PRAYER:

Continued prayer that Liam's lungs would grow stronger.
Continued prayer that Liam's PDA would NOT return.
Continued prayer for the P.I.E. in his lungs to disappear. The PIE prevents areas of his lungs from getting air.

04 December 2007

Dec. 4, 2007

PRAYER:
Liam had a very rough nite last nite. His oxygen levels plummeted and they had to bag him for quite a while. Because his PDA closed after birth and reopened this past week it sent too much blood into his tiny little lungs. The Dr really needs to see him come down on his oxygen. He was sitting at 64% when we left tonite. PLEASE PRAY THAT HIS LEVELS WOULD COME DOWN! We need to see him drop down farther in the next few days. Also- PLEASE PRAY THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MORE SETBACKS FOR HIS LUNGS THIS WEEK.

PLEASE PRAY THAT THE P.I.E. IN HIS LUNGS WOULD VANISH!

Liam is getting an infection of some sort. PLEASE PRAY THAT THE INFECTION WILL BE CONTROLLED BY THE ANTIBIOTICS.

PRAISE:
LIAM IS STILL FIGHTING!


For my Christian brothers and sisters who are paging me. It feels so good to get buzzed and know someone just sent a prayer up to our God for my litle guy.

For all of the emails from old friends and new and people I've never even met who want to let me know they are praying for us. I am blown away by your "Kingdom Living"!

03 December 2007

Dec. 3, 2007

PRAISE:

Liam's PDA is closed!!! It's wonderful news because it means no more of the medicine and the pressures in his lungs could improve.

They did a cranial scan today and his brain showed no signs of bleeding!

The Drs do not believe he is having seizures. They continue a maintenance dose of an anti-seizure medication just in case but it seems to be agitation on Liams part and not seizures.

I got to feel like his mommy again by changing a poopy diaper and putting on lotion!

His weight is up to 1 lb 12 oz.

And for my precious family in Christ gives me so much love and support I get overwhelmed. Thank you Mary'beth for the pager!

Prayer:

That Liam would continue to do well on his ventilator and that his lungs would progress well in his treatments.

That Liam would surpass expectations for a micro-preemie.

That my faith, although rocked hard this week, would stay firm in Christ and on His word.

02 December 2007

Dec. 2, 2007

It's so crazy to me to be here in this moment. My life has changed so much this past week.

I will try to get on here to update about Liam and our family and post prayer needs.

Prayer: Liam has had two doses of Endocin to close his PDA. He will get one more dose in this round. Please pray that it will close and a second round won't be needed. The medicine has serious side effects.

Pray that Liam wouldn't suffer any seizures.



Praise: I got to change Liam's diaper tonite, take his temperature and put lotion on him. It felt so good to feel like a mother to him- even if it was only for a moment. I left the hospital in much better spirits just from those precious moments.