- A
- J
I was diagnosed with pre-term labor at barely 23 weeks into my pregnancy. My husband and I rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital as advised by the obgyn specialists where they did several tests to check and make sure our unborn son was okay and unharmed by the exposed amniotic sac. The doctors even recommended that we terminate the pregnancy due to the complications and risks of birth defects. We suddenly had a huge decision to make, but we knew that terminating the pregnancy was not an option as we put our faith and trust into God. Our son was the last of our embryos from the Fertility treatments. The doctors did a procedure called cervical rescue cerclage (an intervention that is used to prevent miscarriage in the second trimester of pregnancy) and kept me in the hospital from February 27th until after our he was born (3 weeks of very limited activity bed rest).
Aiden was born on March 18th at 26 weeks gestation and weighing only 990 grams. A week after Aiden was born, they found a brain bleed. We were told that if the bleed increases, Aiden most likely will have cerebral palsy in the future, but we won’t know it until after certain developmental milestones.
After three weeks of being in the NICU, one of the neonatologist doctors told us that Aiden had a very high bilirubin level of 16.5 ( average level is 5). They didn’t know what caused the sudden spike while he was already under the normal treatment for jaundice. If not treated immediately, it can stain the brain and cause permanent damage, which would affect his motor functions. What was disheartening about it was that they have not had any (3 weeks old and premature babies) prior cases and they had to contact Stanford Lucile Packard for advice. They finally agreed on an experimental treatment called a double volume exchange transfusion, in hopes that his level would rapidly decrease without causing long term permanent damage. As of now, the procedure lowered his level to a normal, but we will not know if it will have any affects until they do an MRI (before he is discharged).
Aiden will have many medical appointments over the next few years. Over the past couple months, my husband has had to continued to work (without any overtime so he can visit me then Aiden and take care of the rest of the family) to make up for the unanticipated bills since he doesn’t get paid family leave. We have done our best help each other through this difficult time. He is at the hospital before and after his work everyday. During the time that I was in the hospital from Feb. 27th - April 5th, we had to rely on family to help with our 5 year old son so my husband could work to provide for our family. We aren't the type to ask for donations, but we are feeling overwhelmed. Having a baby in the hospital is hard enough, having to worry about our bills and debts are really stressing us out. Thank your for any and all help you graciously give and God bless from our family to yours. Feel free to share our story with friends and on Facebook if you would like.
Aiden was born on March 18th at 26 weeks gestation and weighing only 990 grams. A week after Aiden was born, they found a brain bleed. We were told that if the bleed increases, Aiden most likely will have cerebral palsy in the future, but we won’t know it until after certain developmental milestones.
After three weeks of being in the NICU, one of the neonatologist doctors told us that Aiden had a very high bilirubin level of 16.5 ( average level is 5). They didn’t know what caused the sudden spike while he was already under the normal treatment for jaundice. If not treated immediately, it can stain the brain and cause permanent damage, which would affect his motor functions. What was disheartening about it was that they have not had any (3 weeks old and premature babies) prior cases and they had to contact Stanford Lucile Packard for advice. They finally agreed on an experimental treatment called a double volume exchange transfusion, in hopes that his level would rapidly decrease without causing long term permanent damage. As of now, the procedure lowered his level to a normal, but we will not know if it will have any affects until they do an MRI (before he is discharged).
Aiden will have many medical appointments over the next few years. Over the past couple months, my husband has had to continued to work (without any overtime so he can visit me then Aiden and take care of the rest of the family) to make up for the unanticipated bills since he doesn’t get paid family leave. We have done our best help each other through this difficult time. He is at the hospital before and after his work everyday. During the time that I was in the hospital from Feb. 27th - April 5th, we had to rely on family to help with our 5 year old son so my husband could work to provide for our family. We aren't the type to ask for donations, but we are feeling overwhelmed. Having a baby in the hospital is hard enough, having to worry about our bills and debts are really stressing us out. Thank your for any and all help you graciously give and God bless from our family to yours. Feel free to share our story with friends and on Facebook if you would like.