- S
- J
Baby Zeke was born on September 11th , 2020 weighing only 2lbs 3oz. Our Tiny But Mighty baby Zeke came at only 26 weeks, and more than three months premature.
Around week 16, the doctor suggested taking a look into why Sarah's blood pressure and enzyme results were showing high, especially this early on in the pregnancy. After more testing, they determined that everything looked within normal ranges and they would continue to monitor closely as the pregnancy progressed. At this point we knew that the doctors were looking for signs of pre-eclampsia. (check out this great article that explains the condition-https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/preeclampsia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355745 )
At week 19, They went in for a routine check up where Sarah's blood pressure was extremely elevated and her proteins and enzymes were showing high again. The doctor suggested a routine blood pressure check at home, which began to paint a picture of consistently elevated blood pressure levels.
At their week 24 check up, upon reviewing the blood pressure checks that Sarah had recorded at home, the doctor ordered another blood lab to be done to check her liver enzymes again. When the results came back, the doctor called Sarah to ask for another blood lab to compare the results in a couple day period for accuracy. Upon both results the doctor diagnosed Sarah with a "mild case of pre-eclampsia." Although hard to hear the results, They were encouraged that the doctor thought and hoped that they would at least make it to week 34 to deliver the baby. We knew for a fact that pre-eclampsia wouldn't allow Sarah's body to sustain the pregnancy to full term, they were excited to know that they would still have some time to get their life together before welcoming their little one into the world. They began to get their nursery organized...
At the beginning of week 26, Sarah took her routine blood pressure as They went to bed on Monday night. It wasn't quite into the ranges that the doctor had suggested would prompt an ER visit, but They decided to go anyway to rule out any possibility of complications that they weren't recognizing. Again, they monitored her blood pressure levels, did some additional testing, and gave her a shot- maybe the most important shot of their lives. The doctor on call in the ER that night suggested that Sarah get a series of Betamethasone shots as a preventative measure to help boost the babies lung development in the case that she needed to deliver much earlier that we were already expecting. They read an entire medical journal about the implications of steroids for premature baby development and the stats surrounding early delivery with and without the medication and decided to go for it.
They were sent home that night with not much more info than we went to the ER with, but at least They knew their baby was safe and healthy for now.
The same week they went to the ER (Monday) and followed up with our doctor for the second part of the steroid shot for lung development, Sarah began experiencing extreme swelling in her face, wrists, legs, and feet. She knew something had changed, but didn't know how to explain the changes and how she felt. On Thursday night she began feeling some excruciating pain in her mid back and abdomen. This prompted a call to our after hours doctor through the clinic which wrote off the pain as "gas." They knew they had an appointment with their regular doctor in the morning (in a few hours at this point) and Sarah decided to take some baths to help ease the back pain and relax her elevated blood pressures.
They made their way to the regularly scheduled appointment at the Women's Clinic the following morning. Sarah felt terrible. (of course she never complains, but we knew she felt bad.) She went through the typical motions of peeing in a cup, checking blood pressure levels, weighing in, and waiting for the doctor to come in to discuss the results. This time was different though, this time her pee had blood in it. This time her blood pressure was way too high. This time the doctor didn't come in with her usual greeting. She decided to send us over to the hospital again to be monitored (3rd time to the ER through the course of the pregnancy). At this point they were both sleep deprived, stressed, and feeling like another trip to the hospital was a major inconvenience to their day (and their finances).
They arrived at the hospital and they began their testing and monitoring to relay back to their regular doctor, who was planning to stop by after lunch to check in. Once the blood results came back, their doctor showed up early, pacing the floor with a look of concern. She explained that Sarah's platelet levels had plummeted since Monday from around 150k to 76k. Her liver proteins were up substantially and her body wasn't stable enough to transfer them to Denver (where their baby had the best fighting chance to survive a 26 week delivery). At this point there was major risk of seizures, hemorrhaging or damage to the baby. They had no choice, Sarah's liver and kidneys were shutting down and the only solution was to get the placenta out. Their doctor consulted with the neonatal team at PVH (who is equipped for 27 week deliveries and beyond) and they determined they would be able to help deliver the baby there, given no real complications occurred.
It was delivery time. Never did we think that they would be having their baby at 26 weeks. How do you prepare for that?
On September 11th, 2020 at 1:36pm, via emergency c-section, a little boy was brought into the world. They heard him cry, They watched them work to help him breath, and they saw him get weighed. 2lbs 3 oz and 13 inches long. He was the smallest, yet greatest gift. It was beautiful and so scary.
Sarah and Nicholas have experienced so much in their short married life together, maybe more than some experience in a lifetime. They celebrated their one year wedding anniversary just days after Zeke arrived . We couldn't be more proud of the faith, strength, bravery, perseverance and Magical Love that these two share.
Please join us at https://nick28815.wixsite.com/mysite-1/blog to see the latest blog posts and updates about baby Zeke and his family. We also encourage you to check our Prayer Requests and Thanksgivings page to know how to pray for our family and hear how our prayers have been answered throughout this journey. Many of you have asked how you can help during this time... Zeke is expected to be in the NICU for minimum of 4-6 more weeks and the overwhelming amount of unexpected expenses continue to grow, so if you would like to donate here or interested in other ways you can support their sweet family go to the link above and click on MORE to see how to best support Sarah, Nicholas and our Tiny But Mighty Baby Zeke. Thank you for your love and support, it is very much appreciated.
Around week 16, the doctor suggested taking a look into why Sarah's blood pressure and enzyme results were showing high, especially this early on in the pregnancy. After more testing, they determined that everything looked within normal ranges and they would continue to monitor closely as the pregnancy progressed. At this point we knew that the doctors were looking for signs of pre-eclampsia. (check out this great article that explains the condition-https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/preeclampsia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355745 )
At week 19, They went in for a routine check up where Sarah's blood pressure was extremely elevated and her proteins and enzymes were showing high again. The doctor suggested a routine blood pressure check at home, which began to paint a picture of consistently elevated blood pressure levels.
At their week 24 check up, upon reviewing the blood pressure checks that Sarah had recorded at home, the doctor ordered another blood lab to be done to check her liver enzymes again. When the results came back, the doctor called Sarah to ask for another blood lab to compare the results in a couple day period for accuracy. Upon both results the doctor diagnosed Sarah with a "mild case of pre-eclampsia." Although hard to hear the results, They were encouraged that the doctor thought and hoped that they would at least make it to week 34 to deliver the baby. We knew for a fact that pre-eclampsia wouldn't allow Sarah's body to sustain the pregnancy to full term, they were excited to know that they would still have some time to get their life together before welcoming their little one into the world. They began to get their nursery organized...
At the beginning of week 26, Sarah took her routine blood pressure as They went to bed on Monday night. It wasn't quite into the ranges that the doctor had suggested would prompt an ER visit, but They decided to go anyway to rule out any possibility of complications that they weren't recognizing. Again, they monitored her blood pressure levels, did some additional testing, and gave her a shot- maybe the most important shot of their lives. The doctor on call in the ER that night suggested that Sarah get a series of Betamethasone shots as a preventative measure to help boost the babies lung development in the case that she needed to deliver much earlier that we were already expecting. They read an entire medical journal about the implications of steroids for premature baby development and the stats surrounding early delivery with and without the medication and decided to go for it.
They were sent home that night with not much more info than we went to the ER with, but at least They knew their baby was safe and healthy for now.
The same week they went to the ER (Monday) and followed up with our doctor for the second part of the steroid shot for lung development, Sarah began experiencing extreme swelling in her face, wrists, legs, and feet. She knew something had changed, but didn't know how to explain the changes and how she felt. On Thursday night she began feeling some excruciating pain in her mid back and abdomen. This prompted a call to our after hours doctor through the clinic which wrote off the pain as "gas." They knew they had an appointment with their regular doctor in the morning (in a few hours at this point) and Sarah decided to take some baths to help ease the back pain and relax her elevated blood pressures.
They made their way to the regularly scheduled appointment at the Women's Clinic the following morning. Sarah felt terrible. (of course she never complains, but we knew she felt bad.) She went through the typical motions of peeing in a cup, checking blood pressure levels, weighing in, and waiting for the doctor to come in to discuss the results. This time was different though, this time her pee had blood in it. This time her blood pressure was way too high. This time the doctor didn't come in with her usual greeting. She decided to send us over to the hospital again to be monitored (3rd time to the ER through the course of the pregnancy). At this point they were both sleep deprived, stressed, and feeling like another trip to the hospital was a major inconvenience to their day (and their finances).
They arrived at the hospital and they began their testing and monitoring to relay back to their regular doctor, who was planning to stop by after lunch to check in. Once the blood results came back, their doctor showed up early, pacing the floor with a look of concern. She explained that Sarah's platelet levels had plummeted since Monday from around 150k to 76k. Her liver proteins were up substantially and her body wasn't stable enough to transfer them to Denver (where their baby had the best fighting chance to survive a 26 week delivery). At this point there was major risk of seizures, hemorrhaging or damage to the baby. They had no choice, Sarah's liver and kidneys were shutting down and the only solution was to get the placenta out. Their doctor consulted with the neonatal team at PVH (who is equipped for 27 week deliveries and beyond) and they determined they would be able to help deliver the baby there, given no real complications occurred.
It was delivery time. Never did we think that they would be having their baby at 26 weeks. How do you prepare for that?
On September 11th, 2020 at 1:36pm, via emergency c-section, a little boy was brought into the world. They heard him cry, They watched them work to help him breath, and they saw him get weighed. 2lbs 3 oz and 13 inches long. He was the smallest, yet greatest gift. It was beautiful and so scary.
Sarah and Nicholas have experienced so much in their short married life together, maybe more than some experience in a lifetime. They celebrated their one year wedding anniversary just days after Zeke arrived . We couldn't be more proud of the faith, strength, bravery, perseverance and Magical Love that these two share.
Please join us at https://nick28815.wixsite.com/mysite-1/blog to see the latest blog posts and updates about baby Zeke and his family. We also encourage you to check our Prayer Requests and Thanksgivings page to know how to pray for our family and hear how our prayers have been answered throughout this journey. Many of you have asked how you can help during this time... Zeke is expected to be in the NICU for minimum of 4-6 more weeks and the overwhelming amount of unexpected expenses continue to grow, so if you would like to donate here or interested in other ways you can support their sweet family go to the link above and click on MORE to see how to best support Sarah, Nicholas and our Tiny But Mighty Baby Zeke. Thank you for your love and support, it is very much appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Nicholas Moore
Beneficiary