Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Miracle baby!!!

Sooooo, Mitchell is a whole new boy since our last post. We have had a very crazy life these past couple of days and haven't been able to update as much as we would have liked. Between me driving back and forth from work in Richmond to the hospital in Charlottesville, and Kellie juggling two very young children who seem to never go to sleep. Getting them to sleep in the same room has been a challenge. Right now, however, Kellie is at the hospital nursing Mitchell for the very first time, and the planets aligned and both of our children are fast asleep upstairs. We bought a baby monitor so we don't have to always be in there.

Mitchell had his surgery on Thursday. He was in a tremendous amt of pain afterwards, and so they had him sedated for a few days after that. They pulled the ventilator, chest tube and IV's on Saturday. Upon pulling the chest tube drain that was left from the surgery, he developed a pneumothorax (air bubble around his lungs). He wasn't able to breathe properly because his lungs couldn't expand to let in that much air. The sedatives they were giving him have a negative side effect of depressing his respiratory drive, thus making him very delicate and vulnerable. He turned blue a total of 6 times over the next couple of hours for 1-2 minutes each time. Every time that happened, Kellie and I very much thought he was going to leave us. They x-rayed him and found out about the pneumothorax, and were able to stick a needle into around his lungs and suck out the bubble. He was also taken off sedatives and narcotic pain killers, and given only tylenol. He deperately needed to be able to breathe, and those drugs were making it very difficult for him, although he still needed them for the pain he was going through.

He was put back on CPAP on Saturday, and improved slowly over the weekend. They started to wean him, and he hasn't looked back. They got him back up to full feeds on Monday, and he has been oxygenating his blood better than ever before, so they decided to step down his support and try out nasal cannula. He has now been on that for almost 24 hours. He is tolerating it beautifully. He seems to have finally realized how nice it is to not have to run a marathon every breath of his life. They are stepping down the support he is getting on the cannula, and will continue to do so slowly until he comes off of it altogether. Right now he is breathing room air, but with a higher flow. We don't know how long it will take him to come off of cannula, but at this pace, that could happen later this week into early next week. He is going to have trouble nursing, as we have been told by everybody, because a baby prefers to eat over breathe. So, they have told us it will at the best take a full 2 weeks before he is able to sustain himself nursing. He may take a couple steps back on his respiratory support in that time.

In the meantime, Kellie and I have been in awe at the power of prayer and healing that have worked for this little boy. We are so very grateful that he appears to be over the hump and that he appears to be on his way home to us. That seems like it would be too scary. However, he is going to live a normal life from that point on, as we are assured with the exception of being prone to respiratory infections, and chronic bronchitis. We can do that. He still loves to be held and will calm right down during that 1 hour period, or 4 hours at best, that he is held each day. Kellie, and I call this our little miracle baby, because it seemed as if his case was medically hopeless just 1-2 weeks ago. Today the doctors were talking to us and prepping us for his discharge, and that is a complete 180 from where he was. They still want to do an MRI, to check to see if he has any central nervous system issues that accounts for his contracted arms. They have to wait until he can go in for 30minutes to an hr w/o any monitors, so that will be still a couple of days away at least. His contractures have improved some, and he is getting his Physical therapy everyday. I don't think it is a problem. He had no room to move around inside mom for who knows how long. He has improved quite a bit, and I don't think he will have any issues throwing a ball through windows along side older brother Jansen.

Mitchell a couple of days after surgery w/ his CPAP mask.

Reesa gets to visit Mitchell all the time at this NICU.

This kid is such an inspiration and a champ!

2 tubes left to go Mitchell, YOU CAN DO IT!



27 comments:

  1. YEAH!!! I'm so happy for your family! It's amazing what a heart surgery does for the skin coloring! He looks fantastic!! What a sweet angel. You are all in our thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats you guys! He truly is a miracle baby!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hooray! We continue to pray for you and think of you often. I'm glad the prayers are working! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SO HAPPY for this udpate! Thank you for sharing his day to day story. Mitchell is truly blessed and we can't wait to meet him!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! What a miracle baby! We are so happy to hear about his update!! We love you all and we continue to pray for Mitchell and your family everyday!

    Love,
    Shauna and Alex

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dad Geyer Said....

    When shall I come down off the roof shouting for joy? Yahoo! Go Mitchell!

    Thank God, thank the doctors and nurses, and thank Mom Kellie and Dad Jake for your faith and care.

    Love Dad Geyer

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jake and Kelly I've been on vacation so haven't heard about the updates until now. I'm so happy and overwhelmed at the greatness of the healing power of the priesthood and Heavenly Father's love for you and little Mitchell. I saw one of the earlier photos of Mitchell and was impressed with the life and fight I saw in his eyes. I felt then that somehow he would make it. I pray that is so. It was the same with Kathy's little Arlo. I could see the same determination that he would pull through and not only that but with a calmness and a serenity that even us adults didn't always feel. Love Aunt Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  8. so glad to hear the WONDERFUL news!!! wow, he has been through so much already, I can't imagine what great things he will accomplish when he is grown! I'm glad everyone is well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We've been following closely and are so excited for you guys! Way to go Mitchell!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kellie and Jake, We have been following Mitchell, praying for him daily, and Evan and I fasted for him on Sunday (Adam worked all night.) I can't wait to tell Evan that his fast helped! I am so happy that he is doing so much better. We'll keep rooting for him from here in Indiana.
    Kari Gregory

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a beautiful little boy. So nice to see his little face. He looks just like Jancen. Well Jake, now you have even a better idea of what Dad and I felt everytime you ran in a race. Our hearts were in our throats each time as we felt the love swell and the pride and faith that you would overcome the many obstacles we saw you pass through thoughout your running career. Parents can never express that deep, deep devotion they feel for their children, especially as they face challenges. We have felt a renewal of those same feelings as we have watched each of our children run, finish and win their own races with life's challenges. Thanks to both of you for being such wonderful examples in so many ways.
    We have truly witnessed another miracle. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this journey. Love, Mom
    Love, Mom

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's amazing to read your blog every day. We're praying for you and pulling for you back in Midlothian! Get that boy better and bring him home.

    Ben & Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  13. He is a miracle baby. What a blessing to be his parents. Mitchell is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  14. So grateful to read your last post. Mitchell is a champ! Thank you for blogging and allowing us all to be a part of this miracle.
    Our love and prayers are with you,
    Kimberly Brown

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love you guys so much! I am so grateful the Lord has granted us another miracle! We pray for you everyday and love to read the updates. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. We love you guys!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am so happy for your family! I honestly am so amazed at how much of an improvement that sweet baby has made!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm almost in tears having read this post! I'm SO, so glad you seem to be over the hump. I've just been waiting for this news. We have been praying for you and are so happy to hear good news! Hang in there. Thank you for sharing your miracle with all of us, and here's hoping you'll have a baby boy in your home soon!

    ReplyDelete
  18. We're so happy to hear about the amazing progress little Mitchell is making. He truly is a miracle! Our prayers are still with you and your family. We can't wait until you get to bring him home.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yay! I love to hear about miracles. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for sharing your difficult journey with us, You are all an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yay! What a trooper Mitchell is. We're sure thinking of you guys all the time. lots of love!! - Heather

    ReplyDelete
  21. Glad things are better. We are praying for you-

    Love Stacie & Steve

    ReplyDelete
  22. YEAH! I am so happy for you guys!

    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  23. Such wonderful news that your sweet baby is improving. We continue to pray for you. Love you so much. Rachelle

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a miracle and what a tough little guy to have gone through so much already! He's a fighter! I can't even imagine how hard this has been for you to go through. Thanks for being so strong for Mitchell and for the rest of us! Know that we are thinking about you and praying that you all get through this! We love you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. We will continue to pray for you all, YEAH for Mitchell!!! What a studly little man, we are so happy that you get to keep him with you!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I am so glad that things are going well! The power of prayer is truly amazing. He is adorable and we will keep praying! xoxo

    ReplyDelete