Oakley Updates:

11/14

Oakley is 4.1lbs! She is getting stronger every day. Just this week she started to drink milk through a bottle instead of her tube once per day and that has gone really well. She will try to breast feed next week! She is breathing almost entirely on her own but still uses the breathing tube as she still has times she forgets to breathe and needs the help. She was transferred into her own room because she is strong enough! She had her echo yesterday to see how her PDA (hole in her heart) is doing and it is healing well. She is still in her tube but they hope to put her in a crib soon once she is able to control her body temperature a bit more consistently. She also has been trying tummy time and loves it! Besides her mom and dad who visit her everyday throughout the day, she has many visitors, grandparents, aunts and uncles and more family. She is so loved. We cant Thank you enough for the prayers and donations.

11/7

Miss Oakley is 3 pounds 8.8 ounces. She’s on a nasal cannula as she’s not ready to be without oxygen but also doesn’t need as much support that the bubble c pap was giving her. She’s in the 10th percentile growth rate for preemie baby’s so the biggest thing is her gaining weight. She is Infection free and doing OT to learn how to eat by mouth in the next couple of weeks. That is a big challenge! Please continue to pray for weight gain and no more complications. Thank you all!

10/15

The hole is closed and the procedure went well! She is still intubated and taking a bit longer than expected to get off of that but they expect to have her back on the CPAP and mamas milk by tomorrow. She had a blood transfusion this morning so her levels are back to normal (11.2).

10/14

Oakley’s heart EKG came back yesterday, and unfortunately, the hole in her heart hasn’t closed on its own. She’s currently undergoing a procedure under general anesthesia to have it closed manually. The doctors say she’s a good candidate for it, but of course, there’s always risk. We’re trusting in God’s plan and believing everything will go smoothly. Please pray that the procedure goes well, that her little body recovers quickly, and that this helps prevent future infections and other complications.

10/10

She weighs 2lbs 10oz and is getting her mom’s milk every two hours so far her bowel and tummy are handling it really well. She is still on two different antibiotics for the next two days. The main concern is still that the pda (heart hole) is still open and the Tylenol is not helping close it. They think that is what could be causing the infections so if it doesn’t close more by Monday they will have to do a procedure where they go in through her femoral artery and close the hole. They are meeting with the surgeon on Monday to talk more about it after the eco.

10/8

Big picture is she is doing good -Items to pray for: she is a little low for her hemoglobin. It was at 9.1 yesterday and they want it at 12 so they gave her a blood transfusion/add to boost. They start feeding her mamas milk today. Pray that her digestive system, except it well. She’s had negative blood cultures still which is great. She's up to Weighs 2 pounds 3oz.! her pda (heart valve) is still open they are stopping Tylenol today and then doing another eco tmr. They don’t seem worried about it still being open they said it has gotten a lot smaller though. She's one tough cookie.

10/1

Great news is she's had two negative test for sepsis in the blood work, which is tremendous. Still has a potential infection within the bowels still. They put a PIC line in her leg to her chest for an IV. The pick line has a better direct route for fluids, meds and nutrition. She's definitely a fighter and feisty. Thanks again for all your prayers

9/29

Oakley had a hard weekend. On Saturday morning she had a small amount of blood in her stool and her tummy was swelling a little bit. This lead the doctors to believe she had some sort of infection in her bowels. So, they upped her antibiotics and stopped giving her breast milk so they could find out what it was. Her vitals were still looking good but they started keeping an extra close eye on her and doing X-rays every 8 hours to make sure there was no air in her bowels. As of this morning they found of she does have an infection. Still no air in the bowels but they are giving her even more antibiotics and doing brain scans regularly. Please help us pray her infection goes away, she doesn't get any air in her bowels, her vitals stay strong, and she can start back on Hazels milk. If there is air in her bowels she may have to undergo surgery.

9/27

She gained 100 g! This is the first time she’s been above her birth weight! The majority of the nutrition she is getting is from Hazel‘s breast milk so that’s really great news too! At yesterday‘s rounds her white blood cell count was elevated from the days before - they are not overly concerned about it because she’s not presenting with any other symptoms like a fever or respiratory distress. She continues to have some heart decells. Last night she had four they were all related to feedings. She is also able to self resolve them without medical intervention.

9/25

Last night was a harder night for her. She got her breathing tube out and was only in a CPAP. It look a bit for her to get used to it. There were 18 episodes of her stopping breathing and her heart rate falling extremely low. Her last episode was at 7:00am Wednesday morning. Her blood cultures remain clear—no streptococcus—but they continue to monitor. She’s getting Hazel’s milk through a feeding tube every 2 hours, and today she didn’t lose weight for the first time. Pray for no more episodes tonight. Clean culture in the morning, a balancing of her electrolytes and bilirubin levels within normal range. She will have a brain scan this week to determine if there have been any brain bleeds. Praying against that. They say she is entering a harder time. We pray for strength for her little body. Her lungs, brain and heart work closely together effecting each other.

9/24

Yesterday, Oakley’s breathing tube was removed! This was a scary and risky step, but a necessary one, as leaving the tube in carried a high risk of infection. The doctors wanted to see if she could breathe with just the help of a CPAP—and she did! She is one strong little girl. With that comes some hard work on her lungs and heart so we ask for prayers for her to her to be able to smoothly settling in to her new way of breathing without any complications. (see main photo)

Oakley was able to get off of one of the two antibiotics she was on. Now she is only taking the strep b antibiotic and as of right now there are no signs of infection in her.

Today is the last day that Oakley will get nutrients from her mamas placenta. Starting today she will be getting all her nutrients from supplementation though she is still drinking mamas milk. These next few days bring worry and nerves as mom and dad watch that transition. Please continue to pray for sweet Oakley Rae and her amazing parents.

Hi Friends and Family! My name is Brooke, I am Karls big sister and Hazels sister in law!

As many of you know, Karl and Hazel got married this past summer and had the most beautiful wedding! They have been so excited to welcome their baby girl, who was due on December 27, 2025. Unexpectedly, Hazel went into labor Saturday night, September 20th, after having some intense contractions. Karl brought her to the hospital, and they quickly realized that in order to keep Hazel and their baby safe, they needed to do an emergency C-section. At 1:33 am on September 21st, baby Oakley was born 14 weeks early! She is 1 lb 14 oz of strength and sweetness! She is doing so well for how little she is. The main thing we want to avoid is infections in Oakley, so we are asking for prayers that Oakley continues to grow stronger every minute and avoids infection. Mama is doing very well, knowing that her baby is being well taken care of by the NICU nurses at the U of M. She is able to sit up without too much pain and even walk a small amount! Hazel and Karl got to hold Oakley for the first time on Sunday night and Monday morning, and the nurses said that Oakley was so content they could take her ventilator out, and her heart rate stabilized!

Doctors are expecting to have hazel in the hospital for 4 nights and then she is able to go home. Oakley, will be safely taken care of in the NICU for the next 14 weeks.

With all of that being said, we have two asks of our family and friends.

The first is we ask you to join us in prayer for:

The second is Financial Support.

As you can imagine, the road ahead involves lots of unexpected expenses — medical bills, extended time away from work, travel to and from the hospital, and more. Baby Oakley is not yet covered by insurance. With Karl and Hazel just starting their life together at 20 and 19 years old they could use the help of all of us. If you feel led and are able to give, it would mean the world to this young, little family.

I’ll keep this post updated with how Karl, Hazel, and Oakley are doing, and will share specific prayer requests along the way.

Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers. We know Oakley is a miracle already, and we’re trusting God to carry this family every step of the way.

With love,

Brooke