It was quite an eventful day for us today. It was very eventful for the boys as well. Our day started with news from Nurse Imelda J., who is the NICU's head nurse. Imelda informed us that our insurance company HealthNet called and informed the NICU that Anthony needed to be discharged from the NICU by tomorrow. If he was not to be discharged, the insurance company would no longer pay for any further time spent in the hospital. The NICU costs somewhere around $20,000 to $30,000 per day, per kid. This is a problem because as hard as I've tried, I just can't seem to make money grow on the tree we have on our patio.
The insurance company reasoned that there was no point for him to be in there anymore since he was not having spells, was eating, and maintaining his temperature. This puzzled us because Dr. Kamran just told us a couple of days ago that we can expect another two weeks before discharge. He said he wouldn't send them home until they are ready, regardless of pressure from us (not that we were at all), his staff or the insurance company.
It turns out that wasn't true because the NICU was preparing to discharge Anthony tomorrow based on insurance company extortion. But, Anthony needed a follow up exam on his eyes for ROP that was scheduled for Tuesday. Because of the rush to discharge him the eye exam was quickly scheduled for this afternoon.
Dr. Adrean showed up this afternoon and gave us the unfortunate news that Anthony too needs laser-eye surgery. His ROP has progressed, but not as quickly or as seriously as Jared's. Still, Dr. Adrean believes that Anthony needs the surgery done now to protect the eyes. He will now undergo surgery Tuesday, and will not be discharged. This then apparently delays his homecoming until sometime next week.
We pray that he will tolerate the surgery as well as his brother did. We ask for your prayers as well.
This afternoon we learned that Jared is tenatively slated to come home on Tuesday. His indicators for discharge are where they need to be and apparently the insurance company is knocking on his door as well. Due to his surgery they are willing to give him until Tuesday. Provided he stays brady/apnea-free until Tuesday, he should be coming home. This too was unexpected; especially for Daddy who set a felony jury trial ready for next week unwittingly. Ah, that rollercoaster ride!
Who would have thought that Jared, the one who had to endure far more than Anthony, and was much sicker than Anthony would come home first? I can tell you who: Daddy. For whatever reason I told Nurse Mary when the boys were about two weeks old that Jared would come home first. She looked at me like I was crazy at the time given his status as it compared to Anthony's. I don't know why, but I guess I just knew. Strange.
The events of today didn't stop with the news I've just shared. Guys, you might not want to read this: both boys had circumcisions today. Daddy was exceptionally scared. I told Momma that if the doctor botched them I'd be spending time in prison for a long time. Luckily for everyone both went smoothly. All looks good down there at last report.
On the weight front Anthony is now a whopping 4lbs. 14.7oz. and Jared is 4lbs. 12oz. Five pounds will likely be eclipsed by tomorrow for Anthony with Jared to follow shortly I'm sure.
There is no word yet on head ultrasounds, echocardiagrams, hearing tests, or other discharge tests that we were told the boys would get. We expected the discharge process to go over a couple of days, but it looks as if HealthNet is driving the bus on this one, so we will pass along more details as they come.
If you are wondering what visiting possibilities will be, or whether we will be able to take the boys out immediately, we haven't had a full on discussion with the doctors about this yet, but the nurses have many times referenced the fact that the boys cannot be around many people for a while after discharge. We are asking you now to please be patient with us on this issue. We want everyone to see the boys, and as soon as that is possible you all will.
Anyway, it has been a crazy, crazy, day for us and for our little boys. This rollercoaster ride is not done. The NICU didn't tell us that there were a bunch of loops in the track before the train can pull into the station. Yet, we will not falter.
We have weathered everything they've thrown at us so far. We will continue to weather whatever God has in store for us. Anthony will conquer his surgery. Jared will stay strong and be home with us next week.
Again, we thank all of you for your love and support. We can't do this without all of you, and we are so grateful to everyone who prays for us and who supports us.
Fight On, Little Fighters!- Love Daddy
P.S.: Happy Birthday and Rest In Peace Baby Kyle! You are our Angel, and we love you always!
Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...
Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
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