Reincarnated As A Mother: Day 22 in NICU

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Day 22 in NICU

Pam picked me up this morning and went with me to the hospital. Kean decided to show off and latched on for a whopping 12 minutes. Of course, when Elly came in during her lunch break and Kean's second feeding-- he was to whipped to do anything. Ah, the ups and downs of NICU. The doctor told me to plan on another few weeks to a month in the hospital. I am so done with that place. Luckily, I have such good friends who come visit me and my nurse buddies from my days in Ante-Partum to keep me on track. By the way, I had washed and taken in a bunch of new little outfits for Kean to wear (before he outgrows everything). When I got in this morning, there was the dirty clothes bag-- filled with four of the five outfits I had brought in. The nurse gave him an enema last night and boy did it work! All those outfits have the proof on them.
Remember, the baby girl who was sharing the room with Kean (who never had any visitors)? I finally met her mom yesterday. The baby's dad is in another hospital getting treatment for cancer. When I got there this morning, the baby was gone-- moved to the same hospital as her dad. Sad story. Guess we all should count our blessings.

1 comments:

Kerri said...: I don't know how you're doing all that hospital stay stuff. Izzy and I would be in there for 5 day stints here and there and I thought we would both be admitted to the asylum afterward. Ugh! Hang in there.; September 1, 2009 at 7:12 PM

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Nathan Kean

AKA: Mister Miracle, Keanut and Boy Wonder! And in case you have been living under a rock and don't know his "back story"-- he's made quite a splash getting here! In May of 2009, at 24 weeks his mom went into the hospital with some pretty major pregnancy complications. I (mom) lost all of my amniotic fluid and my placenta ripped. After 11 weeks of grueling and extremely monotonous hospital bed rest-- and COUNTLESS MIRACLES-- Kean came into this world kicking and screaming (sweet sounds for a boy who was expected to have lung issues). We were surprised with the news he has Down syndrome but quickly realized we hit the jackpot with this one and his sweet spirit. After 6 1/2 weeks in intensive care (and lots of scary moments) we thought we were through with the lengthy hospital stays. But no... in July 2012 (a month before he turned 3), Kean was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L). Back to the hospital for another four weeks of sheer terror. Once again, were surrounded with love, support and strength and we've seen our little guy emerge as a giant-- brave, strong and inspiring. He (and we) somehow survived 1,157 days of Chemotherapy (nope, that wasn't a typo). It has been the most brutal, agonizing experience but it has also been tender and beautiful in so many ways. If you have met Kean, you will agree-- he is the sweetest little guy who has a pretty important mission to fulfill on this earth. We can't wait to see what he accomplishes in his life!