#little surprising considering how zonked ive been this week

[birb--birb]

Soooo guess who decided to play veilguard "just for a little bit" and now it's 4am

[laurenehan]

Best Day of Our Lives

Little did we know, June 29th would be the best day of our lives. Even less did we know that our sweet boy's life would be on the line.

On Thursday, June 28th, we headed to the doctor's office around 11am after I had been awake all night with contractions. They completed a fetal non-stress test to determine the cause. Much to our surprise, they said it seemed I was in labor, but was only a centimeter dilated. They chalked it up to my body practicing for the real-deal, but decided it would be best to do a biophysical screening ultrasound just to be on the safe side.

The ultrasound revealed troubling news; the fluid surrounding our baby was much too plentiful and a section of his bowels were cause for concern. They sent us to a specialist that afternoon for further investigation, but not before asking if anyone in our family has Cystic Fibrosis.

We arrived at the specialist's office and had another ultrasound screening by the technician and then the doctor. He explained that there was a section of our baby's bowel that was not displayed in the screening, meaning there was likely a blockage in his small intestine which was causing the increased fluid levels. He, too, asked if anyone in our family has Cystic Fibrosis. Our hearts dropped when he said our baby is going to need surgery within the first 3 to 4 hours of his life.

How could something so exciting evolve into something so unbelievably terrifying? We have been planning for this for the past 8 months. We've done everything "by the book" and this is the news we get? We picked ourselves up, dried our tears, and asked what we do next.

I stayed hooked up to another monitor for another non-stress test for the next 2 hours as the specialist monitored my contractions. They barely hurt, but continues to come every other minute, lasting a minute each time.

The specialist returned to where we were completing the test. Contrary to his comment prior to hooking me up to the monitor ("You don't appear to be in active labor"), he now stated I was in labor and we need to send you to a place where they have the means to care for this baby after birth." He gave us the option of two hospitals then chose for us because he didn't want my water to break while sitting in traffic on the expressway. He came back about a half hour later and said we were to go to the Labor and Delivery unit and that they would be expecting us.

We drove to the hospital as we called our employer's to let them know we wouldn't be back and called our parents to share the exciting (and terrifying) news.

We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, still not feeling like I was in labor. We found our way to the unit where they quickly hooked me up to IVs and gave a steroid injection for his lung development. The attending physician came into the room about a half hour later. She said she did not plan on delivering this baby this evening; that it could still be a few weeks and that he would be safe ineutero until delivery.

We were not happy with this news. After rushing to the hospital and being told our child would need surgery almost immediately, to being told everything would be fine and we weren't having a baby yet, we were dumbfounded. What do we believe? Hating needles, I started to complain. I would be darned if I was going to sit here after being stuck a few times and not have this baby.

After about 20 minutes of complaining and a change of shift for the nurses around 7pm, I turned to Cameron and said "Either I just peed myself and I am completely embarrassed, or my water broke." We quickly pressed the nurse call button.

In she came, then out she went to get the doctor. They tested the fluid and retracted everything they had said about not being in labor. It was 7:50pm.

Next thing you know, we are talking to the anesthesiologist about epidurals. I got the epidural around 10pm, after 5 different attempts from the anesthesiology team. (Remember I hate needles).

At 10:30, they decided to start Pitocin since I still wasn't dilating past 3cm. Our moms came in the room to visit for a while as we explained the events that had transpired that day. At 11:45, I decided I was going to try to take a nap before gearing up for delivery. At 12, I called the nurse and told her that "I think he's coming now." She decided to check for herself and agreed. She left the room to get the doctor. Around 12:20am, they said I could try to push. The NICU team arrived in the room around 12:30-it was Go-Time.

After 20 minutes of pushing and 6 people's hands pulling him and pushing on me (he was in distress), our baby was born at 12:59am.

Grant Lyons Renehan. 19.5 inches. 5 lbs 2oz.

Full of joy and some relief, we held our breath as we waited for him to cry. He wasn't breathing well. We heard a short, soft cry before they placed him on a CPAP. After about 20 minutes, the nurse placed our baby, wrapped in a blanket, on my chest for a brisk 20 seconds before whisking him away. At 1:27 AM, he was admitted to the NICU. Daddy followed he and the team of doctors upstairs while the doctors cared for me.

He returned and our moms came back in the room to sit with us as we awaited to hear about surgery for our little baby. A doctor returned after a few hours (seemingly a lifetime) and explained the problem just as the specialist had done. They believed the bowel had twisted and inverted upon itself, causing a blockage. He said they were going to complete some tests and he would let us know what they find and the plan of action.

Soon after, I developed a severe headache, high blood pressure, and some other symptoms. The doctor ordered a pain medication intravenously as they drew lab work to test for preeclampsia. She returned a couple hours later and said that I needed to start on a magnesium drip immediately to prevent seizures and that I wouldn't be allowed to leave my bed for 24 hours. I cried. My baby was going to have surgery and I was helpless. But, we did what we had to do.

Still no test results and it was getting to be near noon. Daddy had been up to check on him a few times, as he was permitted to be in the room due to all the testing.

I came off the drip at 1am on 6/30. Eager to see our baby, whom I hadn't seen in 24 hours, Cameron helped get me out of bed and into a wheelchair. It took two hours to be able to sit up and eventually stand. I had to eat before I was allowed to leave the room, so I downed two pretzels and some peanut butter crackers.

Cameron wheeled me upstairs where we sat with Grant at his bedside. We were there only a short time before I had to return to my room due to the pre-eclampsia. We returned to his bedside a few hours later and we finally got to hold him for about a half hour each.

The pediatric surgeon came over to us and explained the possible causes and that surgery was necessary. She said it could be a vulvulus (type of twisted bowel obstruction), but that she wasn't expecting it. Only surgery would be able to tell us for certain.

By 12:50pm, we had signed consent forms to put our 36-hour old baby to sleep while they completed an exploratory surgery. We followed Grant and the anesthesiologists to the OR doors. Again, how could this be happening?

We returned to our room where family took turns visiting to keep us occupied.

At 1:50pm, we received a call stating they were starting.

At 2:50pm, they called again to say they were actually starting to cut and that he was tolerating the anesthesia and was on a ventilator.

At 3:50pm, they called to say he was still undergoing surgery.

At 4:50pm, they called to say everything was going great and they were wrapping up within the hour.

At 5:50pm, the surgeon came to our room and said she had just finished. We tried to absorb everything she said as she drew a diagram of what she had found. They tried laparoscopically, but quickly learned that wouldn't work. The problem was too severe.

She explained that she had found a vulvulus obstruction and that she had to remove 25cm (later learning it was 15cm) of dead small intestine after the blockage. She asked if anyone in our family had Cystic Fibrosis. Again, we said no.

She explained that she had to insert two stomas, as she was not able to resection his bowel at this time. Our baby now has an illeostomy bag.

She said this could be caused by one of three things: Cystic Fibrosis, Hirschprung's disease, or a freak vascular accident ineutero. (I did have a hemorrhage at week 13 and the placenta eventually reattached itself by week 17.) She took some biopsies and we are still awaiting those results. They also sent out blood for his newborn screen and asked that it be expedited. We asked what this meant as far as having our baby home and safe. She told us it would be 3 to 4 weeks minimum until he could come home and at least 6 weeks before they would consider reversing the stomas and putting his bowel back together.

We went up to see him later that evening. Still asleep and still on the ventilator, he looked peaceful. We cried a lot that night and anxiously awaited him to start breathing on his own again.

At 4am on 7/1, he came off the vent. He remained on IVs, and they gained our consent to insert a PICC line since his IVs kept going bad. He also received a blood transfusion after losing 20ml during surgery. We held his hand as much as we could that day after they made several failed attempts to insert the PICC line.

They tried again for the PICC line the next day (7/2) after we got to hold him for 2 hours. Unsuccessful again, they had to call in the surgeon.

Our baby underwent his second surgery which lasted an hour and a half, but the PICC line was in. Pediatric Surgeons are saints who make a fortune.

We sat with him for a little as he recovered-completely zonked out from the pain medication once again-before coming back home.

July 3rd was a great day for all of us. We snuggled him for hours as he stared up at us, wide awake. He sucked on his pacifier, finally beginning to realize hunger. He continued on his TPN and was a champ through a Hep B vaccine (but how could he not be tough at this point?!)

We got to change his diaper several times, take his temperature, and give him a bed bath. Our hearts have never been more full. That day, our baby acted like a healthy baby. There isn't a moment where he hasn't seemed genuinely content.

The surgeon checked on his stomas, which were now producing output. He also continued on his Replogle to suction everything out of his stomach. Once the bile clears in color, we will FINALLY be able to attempt to feed him a small amount (The poor thing has to be starving!)

The nurse practitioner informed us that the results from his genetic screening came back and revealed that he was negative for the top 43 mutations of Cystic Fibrosis, but that his IRT level was still elevated, which could mean he has C.F., but a much rarer form. The only way to know for sure would be done by completing a sweat test, which can't be done until he is 2 to 3 months old and starts producing sweat. So, we will continue to be patient, to pray, and to wait.

Our little boy is a fighter and we will continue to hope for the best life possible for him. He is our greatest Blessing, our most rewarding milestone, and the best thing God could ever give us.

We hope you will continue this journey with us as God continues to Grant Us Strength.

XOXO.