Baby Elias Eric Crone was born on October 3rd at 12:56 am, he came prematurely at 31 weeks 6 days and is such a little fighter! Jacqueline's water broke due to unknown reasons and she was admitted to labor and delivery on the 2nd at Peacehealth, where everything progressed very quickly, so she was only able to recieve one dose of betamethasone to help Elias's lung development before birth. Right after delivery he was placed on a CPAP machine due to his lungs being so underdeveloped still, then was sent over to the NICU to be monitored and cared for.
Around 3 am on October 4th he had a spontaneous pneumothorax in his right lung and it had collapsed, and air started to fill the chest cavity surrounding that lung so he had a chest tube placed to pull out that extra air in his chest cavity while remaining on CPAP. He also had a little feeding tube placed at the same time so he could start eating. Around 1 pm he was taken off CPAP, then had a breathing tube placed and was put on a high frequency oscillator ventilator to reduce his CO2 build up. He is getting a low dose of morphine to keep him as comfy as he can be. They also started him on phototherapy to treat jaundice and reduce his bilirubin levels.
At 7 am this morning October 5th they have had to place a catheter in the right side of his chest to pull off some extra air, and took some x rays that showed some residual air that still needed to be pulled off, but the catheter has been able to help with that throughout the day so far. The goal for today was to switch from his IV in his hand to a PICC line which lasts longer and will give the nurses better access to the large veins near his heart, he would then recieve his nutrients and medications this way. They attempted once but were unable to place it, so they will try again tonight and if unsuccessful try in the morning tomorrow.
Elias isn't expected to be able to come home until he is closer to full term, sometime mid-late November depending on his progress. The NICU team has been so amazing, Ethan and Jacqueline are very thankful that Peacehealth allows them to visit at any hour of the day or night to just be next to him, but it has been a very fast moving and unexpected past couple of days.
Ethan just started a new job and has now taken some time off to be able to visit Elias with Jacqueline more frequently and get real time updates from his Doctors as things have been changing pretty fast with him. Ethan is the sole supporter of the family, so being able to take time off work is a hard decision and will impact them financially, but the right one in this circumstance. Any support is greatly appreciated, and thank you to everyone who has reached out to us during this difficult time.
It is very hard to only be able to see Elias and not hold him yet or touch him. We ask for prayers for his lungs to heal and begin making surfactant so he can breathe on his own and get off his ventilator, and of course for his body to continue to get stronger ❤