From: russ
Date: Mon Mar 27 11:07:21 MST 2006
Subject: The story, in detail

Here's the text of an email that I am sending out to some family: Hello all! Last night was a bit of an adventure. Short story: I am now the happy father of a 6 lb 8 oz baby boy! But the road there was rough... Emily stayed home from church last night (our services start at 5pm) because she said that she was tired. However, midway through service a friend pulled me aside. She had Emily on her cell phone. Apparently, shortly after 5pm last night, Emily started experiencing a sharp pain in the side of her abdomen. This quickly progressed to severe pain throughout her abdomen and lower back. After an hour or two of trying to manage it with a bath, she decided she needed to call the doctor. She spoke with the doctor on call at the hospital, who recommended that she come in. At that time, she called me - that was the call in the middle of service. I rushed home, and Emily was in tremendous pain, hardly able to stand on her own. We hurriedly threw together a pack of stuff (not knowing how long we might be at the hospital) and loaded up. Throughout the drive, she was in contant pain - though she said that it varied in magnitude. Even if this was early labor, this didn't seem normal. We got her into the Maternity triage room, and they hooked her up. It didn't take too long for them to conclude that she was having contractions. They were only a minute apart (peak to peak), and the pause between them was only (perhaps) 15 seconds. This was the constant, but varying pain that she had been feeling for a little more than 2 hours now. (We don't know how strong the contractions were...one person said that they looked mild on the monitor, another said that they were severe...but the pain was severe.) A quick examination showed that Emily's cervix was certainly not ready to deliver, and anyway we were only midway into our 35th week. So the nurse consulted with the doctor and started a regimen of muscle relaxers in an attempt to halt the contractions. While this slowed them a bit for a few minutes, soon they were back, stronger and maybe even faster than before. That's when the doctor got called in. When the doctor arrived, she immediately performed an ultrasound. She told us that she was looking for something called an "abruption," which is a separation of the placenta from the uterus (you can search http://webmd.com for a technical description, if you'd like). She found an abruption within moments. Although I didn't realize it at the time (Eric's heartbeat on the monitor seemed strong and regular to me), our son was in serious danger. The doctor immediately called for an emergency c-section. Within seconds, the room was full of nurses and an anaesthesiologist making preparations. I just had time to call a couple of friends & family before I was donning the "paper spacesuit" and they were wheeling her down to the operating room. The operation was quick but tense (you never like to hear the doctor go "oh, my!" when she looks at your wife's uterus). They got Eric out quickly. The cord was wrapped around his neck twice (not a serious issue with a c-section, they tell me), but the abruption had caused a decrease in blood flow and oxygen for some amount of time. That, combined with his being pre-term, meant that they immediately intubated him and a nurse used a hand-held bulb to help him breathe. They said that his color upon birth was good but that his muscle tone was weak; they later said that his initial Apgar score was 2 out of 10, which I believe is pretty low for a newborn. I was able to watch them care for Eric for a few minutes in the operating room. When Emily was sown up, they wheeled Eric over where she should see him, then moved him to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for his weighing and all the other initial care he needs. Emily was elated once they told us that Eric would live. All other desires - to have natural childbirth, to hold him early, and more - seemed far less important when they told us that. It was about an hour and a half more before I was allowed into NICU to see him. I was allowed to escort my parents and my two pastors to see him; I'm told that no one else is allowed until he's out of NICU. He is now breathing on his own (not even a nose tube), but they have is head in a dome which gives him extra oxygen. His color is great, and he is somewhat responsive (he responds to tickling), but I still haven't heard him cry and the nurses are hoping to see him get more response soon. I spent the night in the room with Emily, but right now I'm at home; I came home to take a shower, get a few more things, and send off this email. When I left, Emily had still not been able to see him since those first moments in the operating room, because she had not been able to walk and so they would not allow her into the NICU. But, Lord willing, she is seeing him as I write this: they were expecting to let her in around 10am. So: Eric is well but in NICU; Emily is well but tired, and very much looking forward to touching her baby for the first time. For those few that I had time to call last night, thank you for your prayers. The doctors say that if we had waited a few more hours, we might have lost our son. But God worked it out well, and they tell us that he will be a happy, healthy little boy. Vitals: Eric Tulkas Lewis Born 9:52 PM Mar 26, 2006 6 lb 8 oz, 18 inches Born at 35 weeks

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From: Patricia
Date: Mon Mar 27 16:30:37 MST 2006
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS

From: Krysti
Date: Tue Mar 28 10:45:41 MST 2006
Subject: needs

From: russ
Date: Tue Mar 28 12:03:00 MST 2006
Subject: Updates, and responses

From: russ
Date: Tue Mar 28 13:49:52 MST 2006
Subject: If I might be so bold...

From: Patricia
Date: Tue Mar 28 15:26:18 MST 2006
Subject: helping hand

From: russ
Date: Wed Mar 29 13:04:25 MST 2006
Subject: The latest (until I post another)

As of Tuesday night: Eric continues to look and act more and more like a normal, full-term baby. They took him off oxygen support Tuesday afternoon, and we both have been able to hold him a lot. Emily has started nursing! Since things were going so well, we asked the doctor for clarification about how soon he might come home. He said that his policy was to keep all such babies 1.5 to 2 weeks, just based on him being born early. And my understanding is that they generally do not ever transfer babies out of NICU; if they start there, they stay there until they are released. So you guys won't be able to see him directly for a while yet. I have some pictures, as well as a video. The video doesn't show a heck of a lot, but hey, when the webmaster is the dad, he gets to post whatever he wants! :) Oh, and sorry that the movie is sideways...I don't have the software to turn it. If somebody does, and they want to turn it, they are welcome to email me an updated copy. Baby Eric: With his folks, and a shot of the oxygen hood he was under: Awake, in Mom's arms: Finally, the video: Download (7.5 MB)

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From: russ
Date: Thu Mar 30 10:39:36 MST 2006
Subject: Emily to be discharged...but is she coming home?

Updates for today: Emily is due to be discharged today (Thurs) at 11 am. However, we are hoping that she won't have to come home. The hospital has a couple of guest rooms for parents to stay in free of charge. However, the choice of who gets those rooms is made on a day-to-day basis, so we have no way of knowing if (or how often) she might be able to stay there. Even if Emily does, technically, "come home," we won't be spending much time here, since we will just be sleeping/resting here and staying at the hospital with Eric as much as possible. For those asking about food, call Mary Kay, who has volunteered to organize it. Since we don't know on any given day whether we will be overnighting at the hospital or at home, it's hard for us to say when we'll need meals. But you can put things in the freezer if you'd like.

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From: Patricia
Date: Sat Apr  1 17:41:44 MST 2006
Subject: a little move