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Hi Everyone,
My name is Kristen Brannan. I am Kyle Boeddeker's sister and Hudson's auntie. Most of you have already heard the story of our sweet Hudson that god brought into our world on May 5th but for those of you who have not, his story is below. Because of your thoughts and prayers, Hudson is growing and thriving in the NICU. We are taking things moment by moment, day by day at this point as we learn more about our sweet boy.
Many of you have asked about ways you can help Kyle and Mel as they begin this journey with their son. The meals, flowers, cards, gifts, texts, emails, thoughts, prayers, help and support are so appreciated by Kyle and Mel and we can't thank you enough.
The doctors and nurses in the NICU at St. Charles have without a doubt been guardian angels for our sweet boy and taken such amazing care of him. We are blessed and thankful for each of them. With this specialized care and Hudson's condition, will eventually come many medical bills and the possibility for some specialized equipment, medicines, etc to continue to help Hudson to thrive. So we have set up this page on Go Fund Me so that Kyle and Mel may be able to focus more on being there for Hudson and whatever he may need and not have to worry about monetary issues when they arise.
Thank you so much in advance for your donation, love and support of our family. We feel your love and compassion and appreciate your generosity during these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Kristen Brannan
Hudson's Story
Just a bit of a back story. Wednesday AM Kyle and I showed up for our 37wk check up. It was your typical weight check, measure, ask questions, see if your progressing appointment. I had asked the dr to measure me and give me an idea if I was measuring ahead or behind. She said of course and proceeded to measure me. After she did she suggested Kyle and I go to imaging center and get an ultra sound. She felt Baby Hudson was measuring small. We went to the ultra sound and everything else was perfect except for Hudson measuring very small. So after 3hrs of ultra sounds we went back to East Cascade and I was hooked up to do a "Non stress test" they wanted to see Hudsons movements / frequency and his heart rate. Did that, and his movements were not where the dr wanted to see them. So she sent us to family birthing center. Once we got there I was hooked up to their equipment and they watched movemement. They were happy with what they saw but still very concerned over his size. Based on the measuring from the ultra sound he was measuring at 31 weeks when I was 2 days from 38 weks. They said he was below 3% of what he should be at. So we sat around with the dr asking questions and getting a game plan on what to do. They believed Hudson was not getting the nutrition he needed inside of me so he was safer getting him out. They were concerned about waiting because of what it could do to him. So kyle and I rushed home, packed our bags, put the carseat in the car and rushed back to have our Son.
They kept us both monitored all night long Wednesday night (everything looked great) and Thursday morning at 7:30am we were schduled for a c section. Luckily with very little timing or prep we were able to get ahold of the photographer we hired to be in the operating room and she captured amazing photos of Hudson's birth. (Tabitha Ward....LOVE HER!). He came out at 3lbs, 13 ounces, 17 inches long at 8:18 on My 5th. He was beautiful, cried and bit and has a lot of hair! I was able to see him briefly before they wisked him off to the NICU. I wasn't able to hold him, no skin to skin or be with my son until hours later. This was devistating. This was not at all how I pictured this going. However with the way we had Hadley I knew that it was for the best, Kyle and I had been down this road before. Thursday evening I was finally able to see him. He was tiny, but we knew he was a fighter. Everything else about him was perfect. They had him hooked up to many machines but the biggest thing was his lungs. Everything else seemed to be operating the way they needed to except his lungs. They had him on an oxygen machine and he's been on one since his birth. The concern was that even though he had been "cooking" for almost 38 weeks his lungs were that of a 31 week old. So we needed to get his lungs to operate on his own and start breathing oxygen not coming from a machine. His blood sugar levels were low, so they needed to regulate that. His skin was all different colors. His chest and arms were a regular "pink" after a baby is born but for a few days following his birth, because of his oxygen levels and lungs from his knees down they were a very dark purple. Since he wasn't able to breastfeed, and because colostrum was too rich for his tiny tummy, they hooked him up to an IV to help give him protien, carbs and fats. Thursday night they informed us that they wanted to perform an ultrasound on his brain to rule out anything they were missing. Their goal at this point was to turn over every rock to determine WHY he was so small. There was not a single thing throughout my pregnancy that would have indicated that he was small or an issue. So they were pretty puzzled as to why.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all pretty much the same, consisting of 1 step forward and 2 steps back. My sweet family changed our Mothers Day plans and we spent it in the hospital. The AMAZING NICU nurses gave me a Mothers Day present with Hudsons tiny foot print on paper with a poem. Everyone in NICU is the best. I'm so happy with the people that are taking care of our son. The best Mothers Day present I got was being able to do skin to skin with Hudson, for well over 2hrs. I was so happy. I was so happy yet sad because Daddy still had yet to hold his son. Needless to say it had been a rollercoaster of emotions and Kyle and I were in a very vulnerable state.
Monday came around and we got a visit from Hudson's dr and shared how great things were looking. For any of you that didn't know the air that we breath is 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen. I tell you this because with Hudson's condition and not being able to breath on his own we had spent everyday this far paying attention to his oxygen levels. They would range from a bad day at 35-50% and a good day 35%-25%. Monday he had made it through most of the night with his levels at 23%. His coloring looked amazing He was now all pink. I had gone into the NICU to drop off 1 of many bottles of milk. The nurse had asked if I wanted to hold Hudson and I said no, can my husband do it instead. Went and got Kyle and he was able to hold him. He was so happy, we both were. We finally felt like things were going down a much better, stable path. We got back to our room nearly on cloud 9 because it was the most consistant we had had so far. It felt good.
We knew that afternoon is when they had schduled the ultrasound for his brain. We were in our room when the dr had come in to give us an update. He came in and sat down and said they had found some findings on the ultrasound. Shocked at this point because ultrasounds in the past had all come back good. Dr. Asimi had shared that there were some malformation with Hudson's brain. Trying to process what that meant and what he was trying to say and keep your shit together is pretty difficult. Dr. Asimi informed us that our sweet boy has a disease called lissencephaly. This literally means "smooth brain" is a rare brain formation (11.7 per one million births in the US) disorder caused by defective neuronal migration during the 12th-24th weeks of gestation resulting in a lack of developemnt of brain folds and grooves.
When Dr. Asimi told us this all Kyle and I wanted to know was what is this ? ?? What is his quality of life? He explained that with this condition this affects a babies neural function and the symptoms can be severe. With this condition most children with severe lissencephaly fail to develop mentally beyond a three to five month old function and have a life expectancy of about 10 years. Some children with mild lissencephaly can experience near normal developemnt and brain function. Symptoms include difficulty eating, failure to thrive, seizures, trouble swallowing. We don't know yet the severity of Hudson's condition. Our Dr's don't know a lot about this condition because of the rarity. Dr. Bob (another one of Hudson's Dr's) has reached out to a specilaist in Portland at OHSU (there are 3) and they are sharing information and Hudson's file. They are wanting to do an MRI to verify this is indeed what he has, even though 3 dr's looked at the ultrasound and confirmed it. With the MRI they need Hudson to be more at a stable place to perform this, so we wait.
Yesterday started out so great and quickly turned into the scariest day of Kyle and I's life. All I remember is feeling like I couldn't breath. Like the entire room was caving in on me, I was either going to throw up or pass out. The nurses and Dr Asimi thought it was a good idea to give me a sedative because I could not function.
We are scared, we are sad, we are mourning the loss of who we thought our son would be. When you are told of the condition that your newborn is in and you can't do a damn thing about it, it's pretty much the worst place you could be in. All we want is to hold him, love him and take him home. Today we had to check out of the hospital and leave our Son at the NICU. I can't even begin to explain what that feels like. Kyle and I have had to dig really really deep to find the strength we need to try and process all this. I believe one of the only things helping is the love, support and prayers from every single one of our friends and family. I can't begin to thank everyone enough. Kyle and I feel it every day. Some of the text messages we have recieved have literally helped us through the day. Thank you. The last 24hrs have tested us beyond measure. Kyle and I are closer then we have ever been and I wouldn't be able to do this without him.
So again, thank you for the prayers and words of support and helping us stay focused and not get to ahead of ourselves, its so easy to do. Every minute there is a different feeling and emotion. The flowers, the meal train set up, the visits. You have no idea how much it all helps and what it means to us.
From the bottom of our hearts, we love you and thank you for the prayers. Please don't stop, we need them more than ever.
xoxo
Love Melaine
My name is Kristen Brannan. I am Kyle Boeddeker's sister and Hudson's auntie. Most of you have already heard the story of our sweet Hudson that god brought into our world on May 5th but for those of you who have not, his story is below. Because of your thoughts and prayers, Hudson is growing and thriving in the NICU. We are taking things moment by moment, day by day at this point as we learn more about our sweet boy.
Many of you have asked about ways you can help Kyle and Mel as they begin this journey with their son. The meals, flowers, cards, gifts, texts, emails, thoughts, prayers, help and support are so appreciated by Kyle and Mel and we can't thank you enough.
The doctors and nurses in the NICU at St. Charles have without a doubt been guardian angels for our sweet boy and taken such amazing care of him. We are blessed and thankful for each of them. With this specialized care and Hudson's condition, will eventually come many medical bills and the possibility for some specialized equipment, medicines, etc to continue to help Hudson to thrive. So we have set up this page on Go Fund Me so that Kyle and Mel may be able to focus more on being there for Hudson and whatever he may need and not have to worry about monetary issues when they arise.
Thank you so much in advance for your donation, love and support of our family. We feel your love and compassion and appreciate your generosity during these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Kristen Brannan
Hudson's Story
Just a bit of a back story. Wednesday AM Kyle and I showed up for our 37wk check up. It was your typical weight check, measure, ask questions, see if your progressing appointment. I had asked the dr to measure me and give me an idea if I was measuring ahead or behind. She said of course and proceeded to measure me. After she did she suggested Kyle and I go to imaging center and get an ultra sound. She felt Baby Hudson was measuring small. We went to the ultra sound and everything else was perfect except for Hudson measuring very small. So after 3hrs of ultra sounds we went back to East Cascade and I was hooked up to do a "Non stress test" they wanted to see Hudsons movements / frequency and his heart rate. Did that, and his movements were not where the dr wanted to see them. So she sent us to family birthing center. Once we got there I was hooked up to their equipment and they watched movemement. They were happy with what they saw but still very concerned over his size. Based on the measuring from the ultra sound he was measuring at 31 weeks when I was 2 days from 38 weks. They said he was below 3% of what he should be at. So we sat around with the dr asking questions and getting a game plan on what to do. They believed Hudson was not getting the nutrition he needed inside of me so he was safer getting him out. They were concerned about waiting because of what it could do to him. So kyle and I rushed home, packed our bags, put the carseat in the car and rushed back to have our Son.
They kept us both monitored all night long Wednesday night (everything looked great) and Thursday morning at 7:30am we were schduled for a c section. Luckily with very little timing or prep we were able to get ahold of the photographer we hired to be in the operating room and she captured amazing photos of Hudson's birth. (Tabitha Ward....LOVE HER!). He came out at 3lbs, 13 ounces, 17 inches long at 8:18 on My 5th. He was beautiful, cried and bit and has a lot of hair! I was able to see him briefly before they wisked him off to the NICU. I wasn't able to hold him, no skin to skin or be with my son until hours later. This was devistating. This was not at all how I pictured this going. However with the way we had Hadley I knew that it was for the best, Kyle and I had been down this road before. Thursday evening I was finally able to see him. He was tiny, but we knew he was a fighter. Everything else about him was perfect. They had him hooked up to many machines but the biggest thing was his lungs. Everything else seemed to be operating the way they needed to except his lungs. They had him on an oxygen machine and he's been on one since his birth. The concern was that even though he had been "cooking" for almost 38 weeks his lungs were that of a 31 week old. So we needed to get his lungs to operate on his own and start breathing oxygen not coming from a machine. His blood sugar levels were low, so they needed to regulate that. His skin was all different colors. His chest and arms were a regular "pink" after a baby is born but for a few days following his birth, because of his oxygen levels and lungs from his knees down they were a very dark purple. Since he wasn't able to breastfeed, and because colostrum was too rich for his tiny tummy, they hooked him up to an IV to help give him protien, carbs and fats. Thursday night they informed us that they wanted to perform an ultrasound on his brain to rule out anything they were missing. Their goal at this point was to turn over every rock to determine WHY he was so small. There was not a single thing throughout my pregnancy that would have indicated that he was small or an issue. So they were pretty puzzled as to why.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all pretty much the same, consisting of 1 step forward and 2 steps back. My sweet family changed our Mothers Day plans and we spent it in the hospital. The AMAZING NICU nurses gave me a Mothers Day present with Hudsons tiny foot print on paper with a poem. Everyone in NICU is the best. I'm so happy with the people that are taking care of our son. The best Mothers Day present I got was being able to do skin to skin with Hudson, for well over 2hrs. I was so happy. I was so happy yet sad because Daddy still had yet to hold his son. Needless to say it had been a rollercoaster of emotions and Kyle and I were in a very vulnerable state.
Monday came around and we got a visit from Hudson's dr and shared how great things were looking. For any of you that didn't know the air that we breath is 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen. I tell you this because with Hudson's condition and not being able to breath on his own we had spent everyday this far paying attention to his oxygen levels. They would range from a bad day at 35-50% and a good day 35%-25%. Monday he had made it through most of the night with his levels at 23%. His coloring looked amazing He was now all pink. I had gone into the NICU to drop off 1 of many bottles of milk. The nurse had asked if I wanted to hold Hudson and I said no, can my husband do it instead. Went and got Kyle and he was able to hold him. He was so happy, we both were. We finally felt like things were going down a much better, stable path. We got back to our room nearly on cloud 9 because it was the most consistant we had had so far. It felt good.
We knew that afternoon is when they had schduled the ultrasound for his brain. We were in our room when the dr had come in to give us an update. He came in and sat down and said they had found some findings on the ultrasound. Shocked at this point because ultrasounds in the past had all come back good. Dr. Asimi had shared that there were some malformation with Hudson's brain. Trying to process what that meant and what he was trying to say and keep your shit together is pretty difficult. Dr. Asimi informed us that our sweet boy has a disease called lissencephaly. This literally means "smooth brain" is a rare brain formation (11.7 per one million births in the US) disorder caused by defective neuronal migration during the 12th-24th weeks of gestation resulting in a lack of developemnt of brain folds and grooves.
When Dr. Asimi told us this all Kyle and I wanted to know was what is this ? ?? What is his quality of life? He explained that with this condition this affects a babies neural function and the symptoms can be severe. With this condition most children with severe lissencephaly fail to develop mentally beyond a three to five month old function and have a life expectancy of about 10 years. Some children with mild lissencephaly can experience near normal developemnt and brain function. Symptoms include difficulty eating, failure to thrive, seizures, trouble swallowing. We don't know yet the severity of Hudson's condition. Our Dr's don't know a lot about this condition because of the rarity. Dr. Bob (another one of Hudson's Dr's) has reached out to a specilaist in Portland at OHSU (there are 3) and they are sharing information and Hudson's file. They are wanting to do an MRI to verify this is indeed what he has, even though 3 dr's looked at the ultrasound and confirmed it. With the MRI they need Hudson to be more at a stable place to perform this, so we wait.
Yesterday started out so great and quickly turned into the scariest day of Kyle and I's life. All I remember is feeling like I couldn't breath. Like the entire room was caving in on me, I was either going to throw up or pass out. The nurses and Dr Asimi thought it was a good idea to give me a sedative because I could not function.
We are scared, we are sad, we are mourning the loss of who we thought our son would be. When you are told of the condition that your newborn is in and you can't do a damn thing about it, it's pretty much the worst place you could be in. All we want is to hold him, love him and take him home. Today we had to check out of the hospital and leave our Son at the NICU. I can't even begin to explain what that feels like. Kyle and I have had to dig really really deep to find the strength we need to try and process all this. I believe one of the only things helping is the love, support and prayers from every single one of our friends and family. I can't begin to thank everyone enough. Kyle and I feel it every day. Some of the text messages we have recieved have literally helped us through the day. Thank you. The last 24hrs have tested us beyond measure. Kyle and I are closer then we have ever been and I wouldn't be able to do this without him.
So again, thank you for the prayers and words of support and helping us stay focused and not get to ahead of ourselves, its so easy to do. Every minute there is a different feeling and emotion. The flowers, the meal train set up, the visits. You have no idea how much it all helps and what it means to us.
From the bottom of our hearts, we love you and thank you for the prayers. Please don't stop, we need them more than ever.
xoxo
Love Melaine
Organizer and beneficiary
Melaine Boeddeker
Beneficiary