Our son Link Alucard was born on August 23, 2021 and weighed 4lbs 12oz at a gestation of 36 weeks 6 days, my pregnancy was completely normal when it came to me and he had a little bit of a restricted growth after the 1st trimester. Everything was great with him while we were in the hospital from what we were told by nurses and the doctors, he even gained 2 ounces while in the hospital. We brought him home after 2 days and even went to his newborn check-up within a day and a half, everything was normal so we were told from the doctor who looked him over. I started noticing that all he was doing was sleeping and my husband told me not to think to much on it as he was born early and is sleeping a lot cause perhaps he was putting all his energy into growing. By Saturday I wanted to call his doctor and make sure, the doctor that was on call wasn't answering the phone. I was with my mother at the time who pointed out to me that he was cool to the touch so we checked his temperature and it was dangerously low. He was taken to Hughes Spalding because he had a temp of 89 degrees, he hadn't been eating as much that day and been really lethargic. He was initially doing great in the hospital and when he first came home Wednesday. He wasn't breathing the way he should upon admittance to Hughes spalding so he was given a breathing tube and placed in a heater to get his temp up. Once stabilized they had the neonatal flight team transfer him to Egleston where he is now being monitored and kept stable. They believe all this may be happening possibly due to an infection somewhere in the body, we are waiting on results from his bloodwork to know for sure. He recieved an x-ray of his chest and stomach, an ultra sound of his brain and will have an ultra sound of his heart which we are still waiting on results. Link is a fighter and will overcome this! Just really sucks watching your child go through something like this. The next day Link had a lumbar puncture done to test for meningitis and encephalitis, however they were unable to get any spinal fluid so they will reattempt at another time. In the afternoon he was hooked up for an EEG to see whether or not he is having seizures and will be closely monitored as of right now for the next 24 hours. I also learned today from the practitioner that he received a dose of caffeine to see if that had any effect on him....it did not. When we got into his room this morning he was moving his arms and legs, gripping our fingers slightly and dad saw him open his eyes for a split second. Link has only received one dose of fentanyl while he was at Hughes Spalding and has not gotten anything else that would make him sleepy or keep him from waking up since his arrival to Egleston. Yet, doctors are a bit stumped as to why he won't wake up fully. We are all waiting anxiously for answers as to why he won't wake up. Link is breathing a little bit on his own, but not well enough that the doctors feel comfortable taking him off the ventilator. As of right now we do not know how long Link is going to have to stay at Egleston, we just have to stay strong for him and hope they can figure it out and the sooner the better. The practitioner calls him their mystery baby, as everything they have tested him for so far that have the same symptoms as he has are coming back negative. Please keep sending healing/good vibes Link's way and keep us in your thoughts. Thank you. I am so thankful for the sleeping rooms that are provided for the parents so I am able to stay here overnight with Link.

However with all this said and as his journey continues I will update along the way, bills will keep coming in and with myself just giving birth unable to work at the moment and my husband losing his job during all of this we are struggling to keep up financially. We are reaching out for help which is the last thing we ever want to have to do, but sometimes in life you have to and right now this is one of those times. My husband is trying to find new work on top of all of this happening, he has been able to pick up a couple side jobs here and there yet it's not going to be enough to cover our rent, utilities and other bills which are coming up fast on the due dates and that doesn't include the gas to get back and forth from the hospital when we have to leave, parking fees and the food as I am breastfeeding, now I am having to pump to maintain my supply and build a stash for when he is able to start feeding again. Link also has three older siblings, two of which live with us in the home, we have some help with childcare when family is available to watch the two yet there are times we are unable to find childcare due to not being able to really afford it. We never imagined this would happen to one of our children and the wave of emotions you go through during a time like this is something I don't wish on anyone else.

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Thank you very much for taking the time to read his story and to follow his journey <3