Pigs and the Milkman - Update #20

What a difference a few days make. The highs and lows have been almost unbearable. I liken it to riding a coaster at break-neck speed, on a wobbly track with half a seat belt; oh yeah and did I mention that there were no brakes! Being transferred to Abbotsford was great, close to home, I can visit in between clients, Jo can sleep in her own bed and we can enjoy the girls until they get to come home (probably another month at the earliest). Well before we got too comfortable in our little routine, the flu bug has hit. My step mother first and Jo second. Now we are in a holding pattern of frustration, sorta like when you are going to visit family you haven't seen for a long time and you really cant wait to see them again, but there is a security issue in the airport and they wont let anyone out of the plane for hours..... Well this is us, and the peanuts they pass out to make you feel better about it are the pictures I take and show Jo when I get home. The purpose of this entry is not to invoke pity, Joanna is molding into probably the strongest women I know and I am determined to chronicle these events in order to draw strength from later on when another dip in the coaster ride comes along. Situations like this in my opinion would have buried a weaker person, post par tum depression would have set in days ago, yet she holds her head up and is willing to do what it takes to get through this, as emotional as it is, even if that means putting up with my absolutely terrible jokes told in vain in effort to cheer her up.

The NICU has told us Jo has to be symptom free for one week before she can return. Pretty big downer. Of course many ask 'is it the swine flu?', we don't know yet, but it really doesn't matter, treatment at this point is the same. We will be seeking some natropathic immuno boosters, to help her get over the hump. Did I mention already that she is one of the strongest women I know. There's that repeat thing again for those of you who are following along. Those silly pigs are sure causing a stir this season, so please wash your hands, get some hand sanitizer, get lots of rest and fluids and eat healthy. Please pray for a boost in Joanna's health so she can get back to see our babes soon.

My job through all of this craziness is pretty much be the milkman. Momma is pumping for the girls and I am driving it over, holding the sweet ones, changing diapers, bathing them and reassuring them that this will be the last time I change a poopy diaper. That last part there, not happening, I thought is was worth a small moment of thought though. With two bums pooping regularly I can be sure that my new skill set will be put to work soon enough.Not one complaint on my end, every minute is treasured and it is tough to leave every night with those eyes peepin at me.

Ryan




Sorry about the quality, iphone pics.

Top left & Bottom Right Kyra
Top right Marika

Twisters & Tubs - Update #19

Four days ago things looks rosy. We were settling into our routine of me driving all the way into town and seeing the girls when I could, Jo being closer at Easter Seal house and spending most of her days at the hospital. All this was fine and dandy. The girls had been moved from the critical care room to the intermediate room. There was still noise, it was just a different kind; crying babies instead of beeps and buzzes. We had the Easter Seal house booked for two months and were burrowing in for the long haul. As many mornings as I can I try to be a fly on the wall when grand rounds happened and the docs converge on my girls incubators to discuss the days course of action. Thursday morning was no different. I was expecting the same old, 'increase the feeds 2cc every 6 hours' yada yada. Near the end of the skirmish the head neonatologist looks at me and says how would I like to move? I said 'sure sounds great, what kind of time frame are we talking here?" To which she replies, "how about today?" Well I felt like a loony toon cartoon character, jaw on the floor and all..... Quickly, flashes of the main bathroom stripped down to the studs zipped through my mind. These visions were erased as I realized Jo would be home in her own bed for the first time in almost 3 months. As with most things in our life they come quick and leave us to kind of pick of the pieces. Where the breakdown in my twister analogy happens is actually the good part. WE HAVE BEEN MOVED TO ABBOTSFORD!! This particular twister lifted us up unexpectedly and chucked us back out to the valley. The move happened later Friday night. Thursday didn't end up working as the girls needed to be on full feeds before they could move, this happened midday Friday. The infant transport team came that evening and by 9:30 the girls were in their new home. Abbotsford Hospital is brand new, everything is squeaky clean, state of the art and most different is its quiet. Prime reason for the quiet is that this hospital isn't equipped to take critical care babies and as a result; less beeping. They settled in and we headed home. I was pretty excited, Jo was...well a bit weirded out. It was special. To have been so disjointed for this long to have my wife home again truly was a blessing. We set up a bed downstairs, as I don't want her traversing the staircase just yet with her incision still healing.

The work started in the morning, and a new habit is starting. I trucked Jo off to the hospital said hi to the girls and quickly headed back to the house to address the serious lack of bathroom issue we have. A helpful friend has been more than generous with his time and soon we will be bathing in our new tub.

Abbotsford hospital has some regulations that were both disappointing and reassuring at the same time. The main issue was the topic of visitors. Basically the head nurse told us point blank last night: No Visitors. Period. Parents only, no grandparents, no siblings, no long lost friends, no one. At first we were taken a back, but realized A: There's nothing we can do about it. B: Its probably a good thing with it being flu season and especially the H1N1 strain, the little ones immune system is not yet equipped to deal with those problems. So we just adjust and move on, take lots of pictures and continue to pray for the day when my girls can come home.

Ryan

Hope has bloomed into full on optimism.. - Update #18

Our nurses now enjoy coming in for their shift knowing they are getting our girls. They have minimal 'issues' and right now many of the initial prayers we have had have been answered. The girls have stabilized nicely and now don't need much assistance. Marika's is now able to take full feeds, the result is she can have her feed tube removed. Kyra has had all her lines removed except for her iv that tops up her nutrition and her feed tube that delivers mom's milk down. They are both completely off medication and now their main focus is to grow strong.

Joanna and I have moved into Easter Seals House, a subsidised hotel like facility special for parents/kids who need to be close to the hospital. The transfer was a bit emotional as Joanna has been in the hospital for 10 weeks. Stepping outside was a great moment and made me realize that we as humans can get used to some of the craziest things. That is not something I ever want to get used to again.

What a day today has been. Simultaneously we got to hold the girls. Jo got to hold Kyra and she was content in her mommy's arms after a minute or two of fussing. She likes to peep out of one eye and catch a glimpse of her new world, which right now involves one of our faces in rather close proximity. Marika fell asleep quickly with me and we enjoyed 'family time' for the first time. This optimism is exciting, even though I have to head back to work this week, I am happy with all the staff that cared for our babies and the housing situation the Jo will be in for a bit.

Our main areas of concern as of now is continued strong breathing, so they can remain off of any support. Also for Joanna's continued recovery, she had a difficult C-section and mobility is not comfortable yet. Things continue to get better, and the optimism is starting to compound. Your continued prayers have made a huge difference, we continue to thank everyone for your support.

Lungs and Cuddles - Update #17

Today was an amazing day. ....well everyday is an amazing day but it was super special because I got to cuddle Marika for the first time. We spent about an hour together. Its difficult for me to properly articulate those moments, other than it was outstanding. I always had this apprehension about handling little ones, especially because they weren't mine and I was extremely inexperienced. I had no such fears with my little one, as delicate as she is she settled down nicely and I look forward to many many more special times with her.

We have put up a link for a web cam as nice little view into our lives. Take a peek if we're online.

Live cam here.

C'mon now, why would we put up a live link, that ridiculous. I hope that some of you clicked on there and saw the dogs. You'll have to do with pics and my bad jokes. Sorry video just takes to long to sort out and between all the little husband errands I run, no shot I am waiting for video to upload.

Kyra had another good day today, just before bed she has had one of her chest tubes completely removed. She will have an xray in the morn to check if everything is holding well. We are hoping for no pneumothorax. When air escapes the lung, (through a small hole) the chest cavity fills with air and actually makes the lung collapse. This is the current reason for the remaining chest tube. She has a super grip and spent some mommy daughter time with her clenched fingers on Jo's pointer finger.

The ward we are now on is a short term post partem ward. The people her are quite different, the nurses have a mandate to have a quick turnover. After 9+ weeks on bed rest in anti-partum this pressure was not received well on our end. Seeing all the moms/families with their babies up here has been difficult as well, that being said, it is nice to have uninterrupted sleep still. Some of the families are pretty funny as well. There have been countless dads who look like death warmed over.... merely a statement not mocking at all, I am sure there will be many times when I am in this semi-nuked state and have no idea how I made it to where I was going. Grandparents are the best though by far, well seasoned in the art of child rearing I overhear countless tidbits of advice that seem to sound more like orders than helpful hints.... thankfully we had none of that in our room.

I find the grand rounds in the morning fascinating, the doctors bantering back and forth, and the nurse spewing numbers, which in turn results in a different angle on the listening doctors eyebrows. We had a good chuckle as the nurse misspoke and said that Kyra's lung was clamped although she meant chest tube. It was a 'had to be there moment' of which she recovered nicely by mentioning she does this semi-regularly to see if anyone is listening to her ramblings. Seeing the normally stoic doctors break into chuckle, reminded me that they are human, really good ones at that, who have helped my girls recover.

Continue to pray for strong lungs for my babies, also that we would be able to get into the Easter Seals House so Jo can be near the girls. Also that she continues to heal well which in turn keeps her mobility up. Sorry for the late blog posts, but this seems like the best time to get to it as Jo is sleeping and has need of my time.

Ryan




My baby girl Marika and I share our first cuddle.




Kyra with no tubes for a minute....

Back on so she can grow stronger

Progress - Update #16

Our precious gifts are having a good day. We visited this morning and Kyra has been extubated. This means she has had the breathing tube removed. She is still having a tough time when she is sleeping to continue to breath. As a result they have put her on a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) this is through small tubes that just enter the nose but don't go all the way down. They are weaning her off of the morphine which has probably sedated her too much to have her breath solely on her own now. Her urine production has picked up significantly and as a result her catheter has been removed. Pray for her lungs to strengthen and to eventually have her two chest tubes removed. They are going to be moving her out of the special room that she has been in to the more general area; hopefully she can be close to her sister. The doctors are pleased with her progress and she seems to be out of the initial hot water she was in. These girls will be a testament to the power of prayer. Ky –ruh (like Tyra) More pictures tonight.

Marika is doing well also. She had a little erratic breathing pattern (Tachypneic) after she was fully on her own and due to that she also has had a CPAP put on. We were told that if feels like sticking your head out the window of your car when driving. Joanna got to hold her for an extended length of time today skin to skin. This was a special moment. Hearing her tiny squeaks and squeals makes me feel like a million bucks. Soaking in everything right now. To see her outside and doing well is so encouraging.

Mah-ree-kah

I hope to put up some video as soon as I find out how to convert the file types.

Ryan

Oh what a feeling! - Update #15

The day started well with a large meeting just outside precious Kyra's room. There were over 10 people sitting in with different levels of nurses and doctors all giving their input and reasons why things were happening. 3 words 'first rate care.' A couple concerns have been urine production and kidney function. Others include fluid around her lungs and the possibilty of an unknown infection. Today it really seemed like they were more on top of problems as opposed to reacting to them. I understand it is a day to day hour to hour battle, but I know my little blessing is up to it and she is in fantastic hands. On a positive note she is breathing room air with a little assistance, her color looks much better today, they have taken the parylyzation off so that she can move on her own and she seems to be taking that well and not fighting the intubation. Her moving a little more should help with some of the puffiness she is experiencing as well. Tomorrow I will be at the meeting clipboard in hand so I can take notes on what we can pray for specifically.

Marika also had an encouraging day, she had all her air tubes removed as she is breathing well by herself. Mama got to hold her today for the first time for about 10 mins. They dont tell you how special a moment that is. She calmed right down after Jo took her; lets hope this pattern continues. She is now being fed donor milk as Jo is waiting patiently for her milk to come in.
Initially it looks as though Marika has my skin tone but is a little smaller while baby Kyra has Jo's skin tone but is proportioned slightly more towards me. This can change quite a bit but just my initial observations.

Mom is doing well, healing is coming slowly as is her movement. Pray for continued good sleeps. As of now we have had many visitation requests and trust me it is much appreciated, but right now I think it best to let mom rest and babies get a little stronger. I will let people know when the time comes for visitors, hopefully sooner than later. Again thank you sooooo much for the prayer, we know it makes a difference.

Ryan

First 3 are Marika and the last is Kyra. Kyra was 1775 grams and Marika was 1752

Babies are Here!! Update #14

Fitting that update #14 comes on the 14th of October, the day of our baby girls birth! Wow a few hours after my post last night I got a phone call from Jo to let me know there were some contractions. Well contractions turned into a quick labour, full dilation and a super speedy C section. Traffic held me up but I was able to make it into the OR 5 min before Kyra Lee was born(9:46am). Marika Ruth came two minutes later(9:48). As predicted I got super light headed and spent a few minutes laying on the floor of the OR trying to regain my faculties. Stayed concious though, pretty happy about that. Jo was a rock, she really was calm throughout even though I had to take breaks....

Both girls are in the NICU and Marika is doing really great, she is almost ready to be taken off the ventilator. Kyra on the other hand is fighting hard for her very life, she has had a rough go and with the water being broken for so long so she is no stranger to advercity. Please pray she fights hard, her cardio respiratory system is being heavily supported and she has a tough road ahead. Thanks again for all the well wishes, life has changed and we are excited for what the future holds. (More pics to come)


Ryan


Kyra Lee Jobs


Marika Ruth Jobs

Big up close, small from far. Update #13

My apologies, I have dropped the ball. Coach never put me in because I had the best hands in the world, he put me in to score. Well you can't score if you drop the ball. So I apologize for the lengthy absence from my ramblings, oh yah and the familial updates.

Joanna continues to rock this whole 'my water is broken I need to be on hospital bed rest for 10 weeks thing'. We had another false alarm last week which landed us downstairs for a brief visit, resulting in nothing other than her resting a few hours and me sleeping on the obligatory husband 'foldoutthingy.'

What seemed nearly impossible two plus months ago is now just any day away. Those first few nights all the obstacles and hurdles and questions seemed like a mile high wall that we were not equipped to scale. Little did I know, and all that we have been through in our lives I should have had a touch more perspective. We have faithfully pulled though to a point were excitement and anticipation now has overwhelmed fear and apprehension. This is not something that just happens, people, a lot of people are praying. I tried the other day to start working out the odds of the whole situation, now mind you math is the furthest thing from my strong point, but I quit after 50% of 50% of 50% of 3 out of 84 this and this week this is 22% increase that.... Its a really ridiculously small odds of everything that has gone down to have occurred. With all the odds and numbers and chances not meaning a whole lot now those once massive walls look rather smallish these days. Wish we could take some credit, but we know where that lies.

This past week and a half, we have accomplished a lot around the house, super huge thanks to those that came out to the work weekend and painted, chiseled, cleaned, hammered and generally had a super fun time. The hard work downstairs has paid off as we have found some renters for November 1st. Yay! Upstairs, well as some of you who have seen my Facebook status testifies a different tale. The bathroom is down to the bones, and I think the plumber is on the to do list this week.

One of the strollers arrived....are you kidding me, that thing is a bus! I had to remove furniture to arrange for its parking space in my front entrance. That being said the car seats fit perfectly and they match as well, who knew? Baby clothes have started to be organized and hung. I think we have onesies for the nations...!

Thanksgiving truly had a profound meaning this year. Although that being said spending holidays without your significant other with you, sucks!! There is no eloquent way to put it. I felt as my step mom put it "alone in a crowded room." Thanks to the rest of the family for putting up with me. Christmas will be different, I promise.

We have been a bit confused lately with the doctors recommendations to get up and move more. As I wrote recently why fix an unbroken issue. Well as it turns out with the babies reaching 32 weeks on Thursday, the focus starts to shift slightly into concern for Jo. Babes have reached a maturity that will almost guarantee they will be the biggest ones in the NICU. The issue is now Jo and her circulation, muscles that need to work again and a host of other medical terms that I am sure the Docs aren't sharing. So that being said, Jo has been up and walking, doing a lap around the nurses station, undoubtedly putting in her order for whatever takeout is being phoned in that night. Much like the cost benefit ratio for 34 weeks to take the babies out it is similar for 32 weeks for mama to be more active. So if you visit, and the room is empty, check the lounge where you may find her rallying the troops to have the hospital food providers overthrown. ;-)

I will update sooner next time. "Put me in coach, I won't let you down!"

Ryan

Printer Ink, Car Horns, Renos and an Ultrasound. Update #12

I have found out first hand two facts that made me less than pleased. First, the scam that printer manufacturing companies have going, what a joke. I discovered a site that sent me 16 cartridges of ink (4 black and 4 of each of the other colours) for $22! Of course they are not the name brand variety, but when you print off the amount of programs and newsletters I do who cares what the names says on the side of the cartridge.

Joanna's uterus continues to be cantankerous. Getting irritated at what seems to be the smallest things. As a result most of her movement privileges have been pared down. Pee brakes and nothing else. Eating is now lying down, reading and watching TV are sideways. The signs are starting to show that maybe it is a little closer to baby time than we would like, but who are we to choose. Joanna spirits are good, the most recent ultrasound (this morning) revealed an almost 4 pound baby 'A' and 3 pound 10 ounce baby 'B'. The ultrasound showed the girls practicing using their mouths and putting fingers in their mouth as well.

Second ever so small displeasure is the scorn you get for using your horn in the lower mainland. I used to to keep the urge to honk tightly secured in my back pocket, I mean its just rude isn't it? Well maybe out in the country, but let me tell you I have unwrapped that gift and delivered it to a few deserving drivers. I mean seriously how can you merge on to a freeway doing 53 km/hour? This isn't my rant line but its just a note to let other know, that the horn is installed in your car for a reason, and its not just for dim witted guys thinking that the girl on the sidewalk appreciates it..... Many a country have gone too far with horn usage and it now has little value, I don't think we are anywhere near that here and as a result it should be used more.

Work has begun downstairs, well not just downstairs actually, pretty much everywhere. As mentioned in my last entry I could use a hand with a few things, here is an incomplete list in no particular order:

- Pull tiles off the floor and wall in main bathroom
- Help lay laminate floor
- Slap a coat of paint on the walls
- Wash windows
- Staining doors and a bench
- Assemble a few items, shelves/storage thingy's
- Wash and detail my car.....Ok I'm kidding on this one!
- Install a toilet
- Change light switches and sockets from cream to white

I am sure there are others some bigger and some smaller. We will be working all weekend and early next week(Oct. 3/4/5). Obviously some of these will have to happen first, but if you have some time 30min-all day? let me know and I'll find something for ya.

ryan@coastalfitness.ca - 604-728-4155

Thanks to the many people that continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we truck on knowing there is a huge army behind us.

Ryan