2nd Surgery

Connor's second surgery will occur in 3.5 hours. The surgery is to reconnect his small intestine. When he was only 1 week old, he had to have a piece of his small intestine removed as it had a hole in it. He was so little at the time that they couldn't reconnect it and simply left it disconnected and sticking out of the side of his stomach. He has had a colonoscopy bag attached around it serving it's role as an unattractive, see-through diaper. After today, he will no longer have this issue! He will then have to recover, learn to breathe on his own, and learnw to take a bottle before he can come home. But the end is in sight. This is a big step for him and although this surgerys not near as risky as the previous one was, every surgery is risky on a 4.5 lb infant. Thanks to everyone who is praying for him.

4 Pounds

Hey, long time no update.  Connor is doing fairly well.  He continues to skyrocket weightwise.  He now weighs 4 pounds 1 ounce.  Good thing Sara did not carry him to term or she may have broken her back!  He is still on the ventilator and he continues to scare his mama by desaturating his blood oxygen levels.  Hopefully he will start doing better so that he can come off of the ventilator.  He is supposed to be having surgery in a couple weeks if he can breathe well enough.  Please continue to pray for us.  We are very thankful for all the helping hands around us.  I do not know what we would do without all of you.  Thanks so much, please keep Connor in your prayers.

A Real Dad

Connor is doing well.  I was able to hold him on Saturday and umm, I still do not feel like a dad.  I don't know what I'm expecting to feel... older... grouchier... even more insane?  Whatever it is, it has not hit me yet.  It was very relaxing to be able to hold him and he settled down and was doing great (he likes me).  Then when I was done holding him I tried to get a picture of me kissing him.  Unfortunately his ventilator tape was not on very tight and all the weight from the ventilator had been pulling out and as I turned Connor slightly to get a better angle for the camera, he started beeping.  Lots and lots of beeping.  Then all of a sudden there were about 942734892 doctors, nurses, and interns crowding around him.  Sara started to get scared because his numbers were super low and it didn't look good.  Then all of a sudden he was fine and everyone left.  The xray lady came and let us know that his ventilator had been pulled out by one half of a centimeter which had caused him to choke and not breathe right.  He is now fine.  One thing they noticed when they were all standing around him is that he sounded like he had a cold in his lungs.  He is now on some type of medication to help with that.  I have no idea how long he will have to be medicated for.  So that was enough excitement for one day.  Since that time Sara has been able to hold him a couple of different times, which makes me kind of jealous.  Oh well, as long as he says "DaDa" before "MaMa" I'll be alright.

Technicals
Weight - 2 pounds 13 ounces
Length - 1 cubit
Oxygen Levels - 39%
Heart Rate - 165 bpm
Blood Sugar - normal

Please do not forget to pray for this little guy.  Thanks in advance.

1 Month

Connor is doing amazing.  They say that no news is good news, so you probably figured there has been a lot of good news recently.  Sara was able to hold Connor again yesterday - this time she did not need to change into a gown.  She was able to hold him just like a normal, healthy, tiny baby.  Today, I will get to hold him for the first time.  I am very excited!!!  He now weighs 2 pounds 7 ounces.  He has been put on a eating plan and is doing well with it.  His food intake will double every day  until he is a chunky monkey (not pronounced like donkey). 

Not only is Connor doing well, but so is our family life.  This past week about half of our church came over on wednesday night and helped landscape our yard and get some painting done in the basement.  It was a great success.  I think all the work was done in 1 hour; it would have definitely taken me several days on my own.  Our kitchen sink is installed and our garbage disposal is working, the fridge and the laundry appliances are next on the list. (oh joy)  Still with all of that going on, I was able to make it out to a Tiger's game.  We had great seats and a beautiful afternoon to watch the first place team play just like they did the last time I watched them play (that was in 1992).  It was still a lot of fun and we got to eat tons of junk food, so it goes down as a win in my book. 

On the serious side, please continue to pray for us and Connor.  We started getting the hospital bills - OUCH!  Please pray that the medical assistance would work out well and that medicaid would help cover the bulk of these bills  (these things typically do not work out in my favor).  Or else please pray that God would give us 50 extra dollars a week for the next 50 years.  Either way works for me.  Please also pray that Connor would develop quickly so that he can get his intestines reattached so we can take him home.  It is still a struggle to not have him with us, but we know who is on the throne.


And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

Pics

The first time Sara was able to hold Connor:

Baby's First Kiss:

Answer to Prayer

Sara just spoke with our favorite nurse (Niki) and she said that Connor is so stable today that we can hold him.  She is on her way there right now.  I am sooo jealous.  This is much earlier than expected, thank God!  Pictures to follow.


From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. - John 1:16

Update!

I've been sooo busy I let the blog slack, my apologies.  Connor is doing good.  He now weighs 1 lb 14 oz.  Only 5 more ounces until we can hold him.  He has been off of insulin for the past 4 days, although they still check his blood sugar every 6 hours.  He continues to stay on the vent as his oxygen levels fluctuate (averaging 35%, high of 60%).  He did get off of antibiotics on Sunday and had started eating.  However, his tummy looked like it was being overworked, so they did an x-ray.  The results were bad enough to make them stop feeding him last night, but this morning's x-rays look good so they are starting to feed him again.  He received a blood transfusion this morning so those extra red blood cells should help his oxygen levels maintain some regularity.  He looks much better now that he is actually bigger than his birth weight (1 lb 12 oz). 

Sara and I would like to thank everyone who has visited, contributed, and prayed.  Some people have brought us groceries and that is just so appreciated.  Not only can we spend extra money on fuel to go back and forth to Grand Rapids, but we do not have to spend that time at the store.  Especially as newly independent people, we do not know all the tricks and tips to shopping cheaply and efficiently.  Several people from our church have brought us meals as well.   This has been awesome as it is a time saver too and as newly independent people, we do not know all the tricks and tips to cooking cheaply and efficiently.  Anyone noticing a trend here?  We also appreciate everyone's prayers.  Connor is doing as well as can be expected (for a newly dependent person).  Please continue to pray for him.  Also give praise to our God who can do all things.


The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  - Zephaniah 3:17