Missy's Moments

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/31/2016 Well, Brielle continues to do very well. She's still on the ventilator however they weened the nitric oxide off completely, so she is breathing what you and I are breathing and seems to be tolerating very well so far. Her blood gases have remained consistent, and her feedings have increased by a cc every two hours. Her respiratory problems have seemed to kind of subside for the time being, so much that there is talk about coming off the ventilator all together and just being put on the c pap. It's incredible really, her ventilator is set to take 35 breaths a minute but she's breathing on her own at about 60. She is so little but fighting so hard, the reconstruction to her heart is the next big step and that won't be for awhile because she still has some growing to do before she can tolerate that. Thank you again for all the prayers (taken from CB)

Journal entry by Missy Eagen — 1/29/2016 Grandma Missy here with nothing but praises to report! So how many nurses, respiratory therapists, and family members does it take to get one 2 1/2lb baby girl cuddled up to her Mama!?!? Today Jordan and Beca found out the answer. Up until today Jordan and Beca had only held her in her isolate during her cares. Today one respiratory therapist, 3 nurses, Grandpa Shawn to man Bennett and Jordan helped get Brielle out and on her mommy. 💕 She did great! Tomorrow is Dad's turn and I know he's excited. The vent continues to go well, her blood gases are right where they need to be, her feedings resumed yesterday and are going well, basically she continues to wow us and the doctors. We are all so grateful for the prayers as Brielle continues to live the meaning of her name- God is my strength. Big brother Bennett turned 1 today! We celebrated with an 'unofficial' party since I'm out of town the rest of the weekend. Bennett...

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/28/2016 Guess who's off the oscillator?! Brielle is on standard ventilation as of about an hour ago! Her blood gases have remained consistent enough and her oxygen stats have been high enough that doctors thought it was time, and so far they're right. She is tolerating it well her oxygen stats are staying where they need to be and they will be doing blood gas tests quite frequently just to be sure things are where they want them. This means we can hold our baby finally :). This comes just two days after we were sat down and told that the next few days would probably tell which direction Brielle would take and so far it's been slowly uphill. All we want is progress not perfection and that's what we're getting. She also started eating today. I'm noticing in the NICU life there are a lot of ups and downs and some days nothing changes. Today was a great day for Brielle. Her rollercoaster ride is far from over and the...

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/27/2016 One week ago we were told we'd be lucky if Brielle made it out of the delivery room, today she is 7 days old. There is still a very large amount of uncertainty of what the future for her looks like, but for every morning that clock hits 6:11am and she's still with us we are truly blessed. At this point there isn't really too much anybody can do physically to help her, she is just to small. Short term goals at this point are just to put some meat on her bones so the doctors can make the repairs she needs. The heart repair is going to be crucial, and hopefully at some point soon those little lungs start tolerating life outside the womb a little better. She will be starting a round of steroids today that'll hopefully make that happen a little sooner. Besides that, there is not much new information. We just keep praying and thanking god for the days we've had and the days we are so hopeful that come. As her parent...

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/25/2016 Today is one of those days where staying positive becomes very challenging. No set backs or anything, but not really any progress either. After her transfusion yesterday, doctors expected that her blood gases would kind of normalize, however that didn't occur. So now the big question of why pops up again. Is it respiratory or metabolic. That answer at this point is unknown, we're hoping for some answers either later tonight and if not tomorrow morning. That puts a definite delay on coming off the oscillator, which is unfortunate, but she's still with us and that's all that matters at the end of the day. She's five days old now and each of those 5 days has been a blessing and a gift and we are so thankful. They've also been a very scary five days, we just try to remember it's in God's hands and he has a plan. Thank you again for all the thoughts and prayers. (taken from CB)

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/24/2016 Brielle now weighs 2lb 7.2oz. That's 4.2oz larger than her birth weight. Hearing the nurse practitioner say "Brielle is stabilizing" is just an answer to all of our prayers. She still definitely has a massive journey ahead, one that could be described as rollercoaster. But that fact that she isn't digressing just gives us so much hope. She received her first red blood cell transfusion today, not because she is loosing too much, but all the testing being done daily is just a little too much for her small body to keep up with. Once that's done if everything looks ok they are going to try the standard ventilator. Hoping she tolerates this change and doesn't get to upset about it. The ultrasound done on her brain yesterday came back negative for any blood on or around her brain. Blessings. (taken from CB)

Journal entry by Jordan Heyer — 1/23/2016 Tomorrow is a big test for baby girl, she will be coming off the oscillator and on to a standard ventilator. This means going from constantly receiving oxygen to taking about 70-80 breaths per minute. (600-700 with oscillator). We are really hoping and praying she tolerates this change. Docs don't really have a prediction on how this will go but please pray for the best. She had another ultra sound on her brain today, radiology reports from that will be back tomorrow. All in all we are very happy with the way things are going and appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers. (taken from CB) Lily Lamb and Brielle