Christmas Eve Update

There is much to be thankful for this Christmas Eve. Ethan has continued to improve on all fronts.

Another sonogram was run on Ethan's head today and it looks as though everything is stable. No new bleeding was detected. Fluid content in the ventricles of the brain are not increasing. As far as any possible damage at the bleed sites, there's no way to tell at this point. Ethan will have to be evaluated at certain points of development in order to determine what impairments exist. We will continue to pray that there are no impairments of any kind. God has been faithful to move on Ethan's behalf in every situation that we've brought to him in prayer.

An example of God answering prayer is that Ethan's platelet count is up to 151 without any intervention.

If that's not enough, the umbilical tubes have been removed. These were for feeding and medication. This means that there is no longer any sign of the blood infection we prayed for earlier. The removal of the umbilical tubes means that they can start dressing him instead of leaving him in nothing but a diaper all the time. It also means that all nourishment is being provided through the NG tube and oral feedings. Ethan is allowed to take milk from a bottle until he wears out. At that point the remainder of the feeding is administered through the NG tube.

Tonight will be the first time he takes two ounces - some from the bottle and the rest through the tube. The really great thing about this is that as soon as Ethan is able to take two ounces on his own, he can go home to live with mom and dad!



Let's pray that God strengthens Ethan so that it is only a matter of a few days until he is able to feed fully on his own.



As we spend this Christmas with our families, let us remember Ethan who can't be home for his first Christmas. Ethan is not the only one in this situation. I remember spending Christmas in the hospital the year I was twelve and can tell you that there are many who will not be able to be home because of some physical ailment. Let's remember all of those who can't be with family this Christmas for whatever reason.



May the greatest gift ever given be yours this season and all through the year.

Latest on Ethan....

Sean and Ashli visited with the neurologist tonight. He says that they have found several locations in the brain where there has been bleeding. They are as follows:

1. Both the Left and Right ventricles (brain, not heart)
2. Both the Left and Right occipital lobes
3. Slight bleeding in the Right temporal lobe
   

I'll explain the concerns for each of these locations and the course of action the Dr. has laid out.

1. The bleeding in the ventricles is likely the source of the blood found in the spinal fluid earlier and not introduced by the needle as we had hoped. The concern with the ventricles now is that they may begin to fill with fluid and put outward pressure on the brain. This is something that would take place slowly and they will be able to monitor by taking periodic measurements of Ethan's head and by doing periodic sonograms of the brain. If this becomes a problem a shunt will likely be added to drain the excess fluid.
2. The bleeding in the occipital lobes could cause some impairment of vision. There was more bleeding in the Left lobe which means that any impairment would be more likely in the Right eye. The doctor says that the amount of bleeding would likely only cause a slight impairment of vision. The only course of action at this juncture is to monitor Ethan to see if he begins to favor his Left eye (indicating more vision there).
   
3. The bleeding in the temporal lobe was slight and the Dr. believes that there will be no impairment as a result. If there were to be problems the location of the bleed would indicate a problem with motor skills on the left side and a potential for Cerebral Palsy. At this point the only course of action is to monitor for motor dysfunction.
   

Ethan's platelet count has been dropping, rather than rising as most newborns' do. This may be the possible cause of the bleeding (his lowest measured count was 51 and counts below 50 are often associated with spontaneous bleeding) or it could simply be the result of his platelets being used up controlling the bleeding faster than his body can produce them. He has had two infusions of platelets since he was born last Wednesday.

One other concern is Ethan's temperature rising. It had risen to 100.4 earlier. Ethan likes to be swaddled for comfort but they don't want him covered in order to dissipate heat. Right now they've opted to swaddle his arms but leave his torso exposed. They've also given him a suppository to reduce the temperature.

On the bright side, pretty much everything we'd been praying about before has been, for the most part, resolved: Ethan's blood sugar is now around 74; He's out of danger with regard to pulmonary hypertension; He continues to respond to the antibiotics treating the infection in the bloodstream; and the edema has gone away completely.

Now, if God has already done so much for this little guy, why should our faith falter with a new set of difficulties (which are not difficult at all to God)? Sean told me tonight that he has a peace about his son's condition. I too feel that Ethan is safely in the hands of our mighty God.

I know that Sean and Ashli appreciate your continued prayers. Sean says he will email me some more pictures later. When I get them I'll post some here.

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I've changed the template for this page because the other one was turning my numbers and bullet points into floral bullets. Not bad in itself, but I thought it would be more easy to follow if you could match problem 1 with explanation 1..... I'm silly that way.

As long as we're praying.....

Ethan's grandma Mary is trying to get to Kansas to see him and to help out at the house. She had to get off of I-40 at Gallup, NM because it has been closed due to ice and snow. She's now making her way south on two-lane backroads toward US 60, trying to get over to I-25 and then on down to I-10 to take the southern route. As I look at the NM road conditions map, she is surrounded by the front edge of a winter storm that is closing roads along the route. Once she makes it past Truth or Consequences, NM she should be out of the weather for the remainder of the trip there.

I don't think Ethan would mind since this is about his grandma who's coming to see him.

Specific Prayer Request.....

Sean said that the folks who ran the MRI on Ethan today said they thought they "saw something" in the brain. I need to correct something I said earlier about Ethan's blood sugar at birth. It was actually 3, not 5 as I previously reported. Extremely low blood sugar can have an impact on the brain.

We are praying that the folks looking at the MRI were mistaken or that if there is something there that God would deal with it in such a way as to make it of no consequence, regardless of how serious it might be medically.

As always, thank you for your prayers and your well wishes.

This just in.....

Just talked to Sean and he reports that they took Ethan off the ventilator last night. He is now breathing on his own and doing a good job of it. When they went to see him he was just being carted off for the MRI and Sean said it was good to hear him cry.

Just a few more prayers and Ethan may get to come home earlier than the Doctors expected......

No pictures for this one since Sean called from the hospital.

Update on Ethan

Ethan is doing better. We all appreciate the prayers on his behalf.

The infection in the bloodstream continues to improve and he is now down to 21% oxygen (from 28% on Saturday). The edema is completely gone now (praise God) so there is one area of concern that has been eliminated.

Ethan's bilirubin is elevated now. That's fairly common among newborns, but it means that Ethan will be spending time under an ultraviolet light and wearing some cool shades....



Blue Christmas? Not while Dad's around.......

The Neurologist has ordered an MRI of Ethan's head for Monday. He just wants to make sure that everything is fine and that there are no spot infections in the brain.

Another odd thing that the Doctors can't explain is that Ethan's blood sugar was 5 immediately after birth, and yet Ethan was active and moving around like most newborns would. The doctors would have expected him to be lethargic or worse with a reading that low. His sugar levels have returned to normal though with no apparent adverse effects from the earlier low levels.

All in all, good reports. Continue to pray for little Ethan. Our God is able.



More blue light specials......



Doing his part. Resting and leaving the work to God.

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Some folks let us know that they could not post a comment without creating a Google account. While I think Google accounts are great (Google Mail, Google Calendar, Google Notebook, etc.) we don't want to exclude anyone, so the parameters for commenting have been opened up for all.

Ethan's Condition

Ethan made his entrance into the world a month premature but weighing 8 lbs. His size was a product of his mother's diabetes, but he is still a month premature and deals with issues of not being fully developed in some areas. As a result, Ethan is hooked up to a few tubes including a ventilator.

Here are a list of the things Ethan is dealing with:

• Enlarged right ventricle in the heart resulting in Pulmonary Hypertension.
• Septic condition in the bloodstream
• Blood in the spinal fluid
• Edema

Since a few days have passed the problem with the enlarged right ventricle has corrected itself. The ventricle is still enlarged but the heart now seems to be working well enough that Pulmonary Hypertension is no longer considered a threat.

The blood in the spinal fluid may be the result of a poor "stick" in which case the blood was introduced into the spinal fluid by the needle used in the spinal tap. The doctors are following up on this, but are not as concerned about this as they are the other situations.

The sepsis in the blood stream seems to be getting better with treatment although they are not sure where the condition originated as of yet. Still, it is a major concern and remains high on the doctors' list of concerns for Ethan.

The edema is also high on their list. Edema can stem from a number of different conditions, some of which could be life threatening. It is important that they determine the cause(s) of the edema so that they can rule out those things that are not a problem and successfully treat those conditions that the edema stems from.

Having given the dry, clinical explanation of Ethan's physical condition, it is now time to remark on the positives:

• Ethan has people from around the world praying for his recovery.
• Ethan has already made progress and continues to do so.
• Ethan was born into a family with a godly heritage to pass on to him.
• Nothing can happen to Ethan unless God allows it and anything that happens is for a purpose.

Let's focus on the progress Ethan has made for a moment:

Although the sepsis continues to be a concern, the most recent blood tests show that the treatment is working against the infection.

When they first put Ethan on the ventilator, he was at 100% oxygen. He has progressively improved to the point that he is now on only 28% oxygen.

While the right ventricle is still enlarged, Ethan appears to be out of the danger zone with regard to Pulmonary Hypertension.

It might be easy to dwell on the downside here because most babies get to come home when mom gets discharged from the hospital and Ethan will have to stay behind. The fact is, some of the problems Ethan's dealing with are simply because he wasn't allowed to bake thoroughly in the womb and is a bit "doughy" in the middle. Simply put, he needs some time to develop more fully in the artificial womb at the hospital. The other situations that he's dealing with are all treatable at this point. There are many children who are born with debilitating complications that will never be corrected. In this regard, Ethan is most fortunate. He is a gift from God, and a welcome one at that.

Ethan's dad will be sending some pictures along later and those will be posted as soon as they're available. Updates will also be posted here, so keep in touch.

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And now, for some photos:























Ethan shortly after birth























Ethan and mommy


















Ethan with tubes