Dear Friends,
How blessed we are to have you beseeching the Father on behalf of Holden! He is improving!!! Allow me to give you a quick update.... Bronwyn was dismissed from the hospital on Friday and is back home. It feels a little weird to be home while our boy is still at the hospital. We have a crib empty beside our bed in eager anticipation that it will soon be filled with our sweet baby!! What a story this guy is going to have.
Here are Holden's milestones for Friday, as he rests peacefully, weaning off the medicines and getting better all the time! Bronwyn asked Holden's nurse to write down his accomplishments so that we could actually remember what they tell us and so that we could pass them on to all of our sweet friends and family who ask.
1. He got warm, and he likes it! He perked up with wide open eyes just as soon as the nurse began the "thaw." Now Holden is a "normal" NICU baby in that he is resting comfortably in his NICU bed/ heat lamp thingy.
2. He no longer is receiving dopamine, which was being used to control his blood pressure.
3. The rate at which he is using the breathing machine is getting less, which means he is slowly improving breathing on his own.
4. He started sucking! If everything goes well, he will be able to try milk in a few days! Bronwyn has been pumping milk and the NICU is storiing/ saving it for our little guy.
5. After a failed attempt at a PICC line, a doctor was successful at putting in a central line! For more info on what that is go to:
The central line goes in through Holden's neck and will allow the doctors to give him meds as needed. Because the central line is in, the should probably be removing the tube that goes into his belly button. This central line is a better option than a typical I.V. if one is needed for more than a few days.
*Side note, when they were trying to get in a PICC line, one of the spots they tried was in his scalp. So Holden got his first haircut. They shaved a pretty good bit of hair off the left side of his hair. The nurses brought me the hair as a keepsake.
6. We did get to spend good time with Holden on Friday just talking to him and praying for him before we left the hospital. Collin and Rachel Sparks stopped by to help us load up and Rachel got to spend just a few minutes with me at Holden's NICU bedside.
(All of the medical language and terms can be so confusing to me (Bronwyn). Please know that we try to clearly and accurately communicate what the doctors and nurses are telling us, but I am sure we get things mixed up sometimes. I feel like I need a translator - someone who knows and understands the medical side of things who can stand with me as I listen to the neurosurgeon/ nurses and then have that same person sit next to me as we begin to type up an update.)
Many of you have been asking what we need. Just off the top of my head, here are a couple of things that come to mind:
1. Computer help. We need assistance setting up a "group list" so that each time we wan to update friends or family we can just use that same group of addresses. Instead we waste time trying to gather the emails/ names of those we want to include. I know we miss someone each time. If you know how to do this, could you please call Todd or come over and help?
2. Memories. We have been overwhelmed with the love, prayers, affection, treats, kindness that have been poured out for our family. Thank you! If you have a special verse/ prayers/ etc. that you have been praying over Holden or even a story of how you have seen God work during this time, I'd love to know about it. Would you write it down and MAIL it to me? I'd love to keep a memory box that captures some of these things and would treasure it if you had time to write those things down. I to someday show Holden. For example, I have been typing some of the amazing texts that I have received into a Word document so that I can print them.
For more info, stay tuned to Bronwyn's blog. I won't be sending out daily emails, but Bronwyn will be giving updates on our family blog:
Thank you for praying for Holden. He looks so good, and is progressing each day. The doctor says it usually takes 2-4 weeks to accomplish the things needed for him to be able to sustain himself at home, such as breathing and eating.
I'm so proud of him. I keep telling him, "you are such a champ! You have hundreds and hundreds of people praying for you from all over the country! You keep fighting. Your big brothers and sis can't wait to meet you!" We believe that he recognizes mommy and daddy's voice, and we will be talking to him a lot when we sit beside his warming crib. Sometimes he perks up when we talk to him!
Hopefully our other kids will be able to peek at Holden through the observation window soon. Bronwyn is going back to be with him tomorrow - which is now today. 3/30/13.
We can't wait to hold him! We can as soon as he gets his breathing tube removed and begins eating. Stay tuned for more and more good news as God's healing power is at work.
Love you!
Todd and Bronwyn
This was taken at the hospital just before we checked out - about 4:15 pm on Friday. Shaved side of his head is the one you can't see. I hope to get a picture tomorrow. Doesn't he look happy to be warm?
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