Ryan's Arrival

Ethan was 2 days overdue when he was born, so Ryan Matthew took us by surprise when he decided to make his appearance 25 days early! Ryan was due on February 25th (and I was scheduled to be induced on the 16th), but my contractions began at 2:30am Jan 31st. I thought that they might subside on their own, but at 4am decided that we should call the doctor and head to the hospital. Thankfully mom was able to come to our house to watch Ethan so that we didn't have to wake him and take him with us to the hospital. Dan and I scrambled to pack our bags (he was so early we were unprepared!) and rushed out the door. At triage it was quickly determined that I should be admitted, so I was officially admitted around 6am, and Ryan was born at 10:27am. He's 7lbs even and 20 1/2 inches long. At first we thought that the sweet "little cries" that Ryan was making when he was born instead of all-out wailing were cute, but I could tell from the expression on the face of our labor and delivery nurse that she was concerned. After he consistently made what the nurse termed "whining" or "singing" sounds, she called quickly for a NICU consult. After the rollercoaster of major complications and health issues that landed Ethan in the NICU for 12 days, we were hopeful to have a nice, normal delivery and hospital experience with Ryan, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case. The NICU staff confirmed that he was experiencing severe respiratory distress and quickly rushed him away for observation. I had held him for about a half hour and Dan got to hold him for just a few seconds before he was whisked away. The neonatologist said that he was having a lot of difficulty breathing and the cause was unknown, could be infection (pneumonia), fluid in his lungs, or premature lung disease. She ordered a variety of breathing treatments and threaded a tube into his lungs and extracted some "junk" and fluid, each of these resulting in very short-term improvement, but he would relapse into respiratory distress. He was put on a CPAP breathing machine yesterday with the plan to try it for 10-12 hrs and then remove it to see how he would do breathing on his own. At 1:30am we received a call that his blood sugar had plummeted to 29 (one of Ethan's most critical issues was having dangerously low and even undetectable blood sugar), so the nurse quickly gave him additional sugar-rich fluids to try to raise it back into the normal range. Thankfully his blood sugar value rose to just above the critical cut-off (40), but the staff is continuing to closely and routinely monitor his blood sugar. When he was first put on the CPAP machine, we asked the doctor what the risks were to using it. She indicated that there was a risk of lung collapse, but that this risk was very minimal. We should have explained to her then that, when dealing with our family, even if there is minimal risk of a complication, you should count on it happening... We tried to get a little sleep this morning, but were awakened by a frantic phone call at 7:30am that the very minimal risk situation had happened, Ryan's lung had collapsed. I guess that there are varying degrees of lung collapse, and his was severe. The neonatologist had to insert a needle into his chest cavity and withdrew 80 cc's (a lot) of air. She later showed us before and after chest x-ray images that showed that during the lung collapse, the collapsed lung was putting pressure on Ryan's heart such that it literally moved his heart dramatically in his chest cavity. After the procedure, his heart and lungs returned to where they ought to be. The doctors have been monitoring him closely to see if the tear in his lung tissue will heal over on its own or if air is continuing to leak out. The CPAP machine was removed, and a hood with 100% oxygen circulating in it was placed over his head. He is currently receiving doses of 2 antibiotics (routinely administered after having the procedure done to remove air from his chest) through an IV in his scalp. He is also not permitted to eat by mouth at this point (he is receiving fluids through IV). All day today he has been restricted to absolute minimal stimulation because if he gets riled up and cries much, he runs the risk of re-opening the tear in his lung. This means that we are not allowed to touch him unless he gets upset and we are attempting to settle him down. We have also not been permitted to hold him since he was admitted to the NICU which has been very difficult, especially when he gets upset or has to be poked or pricked for tests and we cannot hold and comfort him. Another chest x-ray was ordered tonight, and the neonatologist said that it looks as though at this point a lung collapse has not recurred. The neonatologist on duty today had been extremely concerned about his condition this morning (though she didn't reveal to us what the extent of her concern had been until this evening), but she seemed more confident that his health is beginning to "take the right path" tonight. Ryan's nurse turned down the oxygen level in his hood a bit to see how he does. Please pray that Ryan's condition continues to improve and that our nurse will be able to keep turning down the oxygen level in his hood without causing Ryan to relapse into respiratory distress. Please also pray that he is able to take fluids by mouth soon and is able to nurse. Thanks SO much for your prayers and support- they mean the world to us! I will try to post regular updates on Ryan to our blog and hopefully add some photos soon too.