Thursday, November 20, 2008

Twins Update

Here is an update from Rob about T - please continue to pray for them!

When people tell you that life with a premie has ups and downs they really mean it. 7 days ago it seemed that T had moved along perfectly, small steps each day always towards improvement. I had decided that we were past the scary times and he would be home very soon. People had told us that things often turn around and the twin that is doing so well will stall out or even get worse and the twin that had been struggling would press forward and go home first. I never believed that that would be the case with S and T. We found out about the holes in T's heart just 6 days ago and about a grade 1 brain bleed today. These were very real fears I had the first week after the boys were born. I had prayed diligently about these exact concerns. A month later I had not even thought about them in a couple of weeks, but they are a very real concern for T now. Most brain bleeds develop within the first 5 days after birth. T's and S’ did not. Both had had head ultrasounds that were clear. They both had repeat ultrasounds today and this time they revealed that both had grade 1 brain bleeds. (they are ranked grades 1-4 with 1 being the least severe and 4 being the most severe) S’ bleed looks to have resolved some time in the recent past, but T's look to be active at the moment. We are still learning what this means and where we will go from here. The doctor believes that no damage has been done yet and still expects S to go home with us tomorrow. (He actually lost weight today so we are having to do more fortified bottle feedings rather than straight breast feedings with him and if that works we will probably take him home tomorrow (Friday). With T, we will be watching for any signs that the bleed could be causing any damage and praying that it will resolve itself as S’ did. There is really nothing the doctors actively do to a grade 1 brain bleed. We praise God that S’ bleed is resolved and pray that we will never see any affects of it. We are also praying for T’s bleed to stop with no damage being done. We are also still praying that very soon the holes in his heart will be gone. I also feel like we can tell that he is not doing as well as earlier (especially with eating) so we are praying for that as well. Thanks for your concern and prayers for our boys! Please pray for L as well since “Nan” (my mom) left today and he doesn’t have his grandmother here to dote on his every whim. Although we are incredibly blessed to have great Keystone Friends who step in the gap and adopt our little man for a day or night when his parents have to be at the hospital with his very needy little brothers!

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