GRADUATION!!!

Trev had his ventilator tube removed on September 28th at 3:00PM! He is doing very well, we had a pretty good scare on Tuesday morning when we were informed that Trev was having a hard time breathing on his new CPAP. This is the 3rd time that he has been ext abated, he has failed every time and he has had to be placed back on his ventilator. He has now been on his CPAP for over 48 hours, this is a HUGE relief to mom and dad because of the Chronic Lung Disease that his ventilator was causing to his lungs. The CPAP is producing oxygen directly to his nose that is sealed air tight as you can see in the picture. All though it looks very uncomfortable this is a huge step for Trev in the right direction. His oxygen settings are high, but they are stable and we are hoping to see them decrease in the near future. He has a hard time keeping his mouth closed which allows oxygen to escape thru his mouth. They have now place a chin strap around his chin to keep his mouth closed. It is amazing to watch Jannell when she gives Trev a newborn binkie (Which is half the size of his head) He loves it! All of his oxygen settings decrease dramatically every time mom tends to his needs. It is the most beautiful, natural, amazing thing to see. He loves his mom so much. The nurse told me today that he is becoming extremely close to be able to sustain his own body temperature and to not require humidity in his issolette. In a few more days they should be able to take the top off of his issolette and dress him in some preemie clothes. It is amazing to see the progress that Trev has made from the day that he was born. The nurses and medical staff is so amazing. I cannot say enough how grateful that we are for the NICU and the staff here at IMC.

SWEET BOY

Trev is getting big, his feedings are up to 28ML every 3 hours and he weighs 3 pnds 5 oz.! He sure is a cute little boy and he is getting very strong. Doctor performed another Echocardiogram on his heart and his PDA is still open, but it is small. At this time they are not concerned enough to treat his open PDA, but they will keep an eye on his heart condition.

THEN AND NOW

The pictures speak for themselves! What a difference since the day he was born compared to now (23 days later) Picture on the right was the day he was born weighing 2 lbs. 12 oz. and a very sick boy. Picture on the left is Trev today, 3 lbs. 3oz. And for the most part getting healthier every day. It is uplifting to see his progress side by side.

GETTING BIGGER & STRONGER

Trev, continues to grow and he weighs a whopping 3 pnds. 3oz. (1470 grams) We can actually see his body filling out. On saturday morning, I brought my mom with me to see Trev. He just layed there and stared at me while I held his hand and talked to him. It was an amazing experience, I was trying not to cry the entire time. He looked so peaceful even though he has tubes and IV's all over his little body. He feeds are now up to 23ML every 3 hrs. His oxygen PIP setting is now down to 15 from 18 and he is handling it very well. They are finishing up his antibiotics in the next two days. They will be giving Trev a chest x-ray and a Echocardiogram on Monday. The Echocardiogram will be testing the open PDA that he has in his heart which continues to close on its own. The last Echo showed that his PDA was small and closing, which is great success for Trev knowing that it was wide open when he was born. Trev has Pneumonia in his lungs, this is the main reason why it has been so difficult to ex tabate little Trev from his ventialtor. He has so much mucus in his lungs that he struggles to breathe freely on his own, the other difficult part of his situation is that his ventilator tube that is down his throat is causing so many secretions that it is clogging his airway. The NICU is now debating whether to give Trev a steroid to open his airways to give him another shot to ex tabate him. There are possible risks with giving a steroid that causes low blood sugar and increased heart rate. It feels like time is in slow motion and the time that he has been on his ventilator feels like will never come to and end. We are praying that this week they can ex tabate him and we can get over this hurdle.
He is doing so well with his feeds, he grows on average 20-30 grams a day! On friday Jannell and I were in visiting him and he was getting up on his knees and elbows like he was crawling! He is getting stronger and stronger every day. Just need to get past this Pneumonia and ventilator hurdle so he can continue to make forward progress.

ISOLATION

The Health and Disease control informed the NICU that Trev must now be isolated from other babies due to having "fifth disease". Which is silly since he has already been in the NICU for 3 weeks and it is impossible for him to be contagious. In a way we almost enjoy it! The nurses are now required to wear masks,gloves,and gowns while treating him. Which in our mind is double protection against possible viruses that are transfered around in the NICU. We both had a really hard time with this at first, but we have now realized the benefits that it will bring to our son .He will be in Isolation until the Health and Disease control has the opportunity to test his blood samples that have already been sent off for testing. For the time being, in order for us to hold our son or enter his room we are required to suit up before entering his room and also to hold him. The other interesting fact is that Jannell obviously passed the virus to him while he was in her womb. That is why we are in here in the first place. Which makes you ask yourself the question, "Why would Jannell need to suit up to handle him, Trev contracted the virus in her body? It has been very interesting to realize how rare fifth disease truly is and that the Physicians actually come to us for education on the virus. I feel the Health & Disease control is jumping to the conclusion of "better safe than sorry" because they too are unfamiliar with how the virus works. We are just happy that our little boy continues to show signs improvement, and we are willing to do whatever it takes that is best for our baby and everyone involved in the NICU. We are so thankful and blessed to have one of the best physician staffs and facilities in the world treat our Trev.

RISE AND SHINE BUDDY!

Trev is starting to develop his little personality, when Jannell comes in the room and talks to him he always opens his eyes. He is already a mamas boy and we can't wait to spoil him. Trev PIP settings were reduced from 20 to 18 today, this is great progress. It means that his ventilator will now be giving him 18 breaths per minute instead of 20. The rest he will have to due on his own which will continue to strengthen his lungs. They will continue to ween him off his ventilator, its a slow process, but we are praying that it will be effective this time. Trevs feedings have increased to 23 ML of milk 3 times per day which is up from 22ML. KEEP GROWING BUDDY! The practitioner stated today that he handles his feedings better than they could ever hope for, to the point that he is actually surprising the NICU staff.
Our "pod" in the NICU which is Trevs room has a sliding glass foggy window in the wall. In the other room on the other side of the window is the C section surgery procedure room. Today my wife listened to twins born, you cannot see thru the window, but you can hear everything! It is bitter-sweet to hear people have their babies and hear their healthy babies cry! We did not have the opportunity to enjoy the birth of our son at times it is hard to listen to the joy of parents experience on the other side of the wall. It seems like we hear 3-4 babies born per week. Jannell and I have been attending a parents class every Wednesday evening with volunteer parents that share their experiences having their babies in the NICU. It is comforting communicating with people who can relate to our experience and our emotions. What a blessing it is to have Trev at a time when medical technology is so advanced, it is the sole reason that our son has a shot at life. IMC hospital is amazing, it has the best NICU in the western United States. All though we cry every day about our sons situation, we feel extremely blessed to have our son being treated by one of the top NICU's in the world!

KANGAROO TIME FOR DAD

This was actually on Friday the 18th. This was my first experience holding my son! I love him so much, it felt like I was holding a baby kitten, he is so small. The nurse practitioner sat me down today and stated to me that now that things have calmed down a little bit she wants to talk to me. She stated to me that she was the first doctor to work on Trev when he was born, she told me that he was extremely sick and the color of snow when she received him. She stated to me that she felt that he was too sick and did not have a chance to survive! I was a little taken back when she told me that she has been a nurse practitioner for a long time and she said that Trevs survival is TRULY a miracle! He is doing good and we are so proud of him. What a blessing it is for us to have him in our life, I know someone was looking out for him to be living today.

BLOOD TRANSFUSION SUCCESS!

Trev received a blood transfusion on Tuesday, thru an IV with o- negative blood they transfused 26 ML into his body. His Hematocrit levels were at 27%, (Hematocrit is a measurement and count of red blood cells in the blood) His new count is at 43% which is fantastic! Never thought that I would be so thankful for people who donate blood. Trev also has an infection in his lungs that is more than likely caused by the ventilator tube in his throat. The practitioner stated to me :"The tube in his throat is a foreign object, even though it is his life support so he can breathe now, his body is fighting and using its defense to get it out. You can compare it to a sliver that has been in your hand for over a week, it will become irritated, fester and become infected until it is removed". Trevs infection in his lungs is at a level 1 on a scale from 1-5. (1 being the least severe) He is receiving antibiotics called Cefotaxime every 12 hours for 7 days. He is also receiving Gentamicin every 36 hours.
Trev has Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) which is almost a given for babies born at 26 weeks. CLD is scarring in his lungs caused by his ventilator that does not allow his delicate little lungs to heal. This means that the very life-saving assistance that he is receiving from his ventilator has damaged his lungs and impaired their natural healing process. More than likely Trev will not have any "Long Term Effects" from this disease, but it is a long drawn out process that extends the time frame that Trev must be on his ventilator. They will start decreasing his PIP settings on his ventilator by 2 a day until he is down to around 12, he must be stable at 12. PIP is the number of breaths per minute that Trev receives for assistance, right now he is at 20. He must also decrease his PEEP setting of 6 down to 4, PEEP is constant oxygen that keeps his lungs inflated. Trev is still very small, they will start to force him to rely on his lungs more heavily in the days to come which will build up his strength. Once he reaches these goals and with some assistance of a mild steroid they will try to ext abate Trev from his ventilator.HE IS ALMOST 3 POUNDS! Which is great, he weighs 1320 grams which is about 2 lbs 15 oz. He is definitely filling out.

OUR SWEET FUZZY BOY!!

There is nothing cuter than the little blonde fuzzy hair all over Trevs body! Most preemies have hair all over their body.

Little Trev is SICK

Today has not been the best of days for Trev or mom and dad. They found out that he has a bacteria growing in his lungs. They will be treating his infection with two antibiotics. He received his first dose of Gentamicin today, he will receive the second dose in 36 hours. They will also be treating his infection with an antibiotic called Cefotaxime which he will receive for 5-7 days every 12 hours. The Nurse practitioner stated to me today that his infection is mild and they caught it early on which is good. She also stated that on a scale of 1-5 the infection is at a 1 as of now. Trev also received another blood transfusion today, his Hematocrit levels were at 27% they like this percentage to be over 36%. they are measuring the amount of "packed" red blood cells in his little body. They transfused 13ml of blood early this afternoon, they will transfuse the remaining 13ml at 11:30PM tonight. From that point, they will test his Hematocrit levels at 5:00PM tomorrow to see how he faired out. Poor little guy has a ton going on today. We are praying for him and we love him!

Handing the little stud over to mom for "Kangaroo Care"..

Kangaroo Care... I love Trevs little back!

Trev kept opening his eyes today when Jannell would talk to him.

Setting up X-Ray machine to view the progress of his lungs..

Trev is doing well today, he is eating 22 ML of a mixture of breast milk and high calorie fortified liquid every 3 hours. His heart rate is up to 185-195 BPM today due to the medication they gave him to clear his lungs. They changed the settings on Trevs ventilator, he know has to work harder to breathe which is a good for the development and strength of his lungs. He was awake almost the entire time we where there this evening with his eyes wide open. His ventilator gives him 20 breathes of air per minute and no more. Yesterday, his ventilator was set to aid him with each breath that he would take, we are happy to see his progess on his way to be able to breathe without the ventilator.

He is like his dad already! He loves to sleep on his stomach. Trev weighs 1260 grams today which is 2 lbs. 13 oz. Which is up to his original birth weight! His feedings are up to 22 mg every 3 hours which is 8 times per day, he started at 2mg. He is handling eating very well, they feed him Jannells breast milk thru his feeding tube. They removed his PICC line yesterday and it went very well. Trev is having a hard time weening off of his ventilator, but we are hoping by next Wednesday they will give it a shot and they can keep him on the CPAP. His little lungs are just too pre mature to handle working on their own, babies lungs are fully developed usually at 36 weeks gestation. Trev was born at 26 weeks, since he is no longer breathing amniotic fluid he is required to use his pre mature lungs to breathe. It is hard on him, but he is getting stronger every day! Trev has fluid in his lungs which is making it difficult for the Respiratory Therapists to ween him off the ventilator. They are giving him 3 doses of medication and a steroid to try and clear up his lungs so they can attempt to ext-abate him from the ventilator.

There is nothing more amazing than to see my beautiful wife hold our little boy. It take 20 minutes for them to prepare Trev for us to hold him, they have to detach all of his IV's, monitors, Ventilator tubes etc. to remove him from his Issolette. Pre Mature babies are not capable of regulating their own body temperature, so Jannell holds him "skin to skin" her body temperature regulates Trevs. This is called "Kangaroo Care" Trev already knows his moms voice, every time Jannell talks to him he always calms down. She is such an incredible mom. Can you tell that this little boy is going to be spoiled or what?
WE LOVE YOU TREV...

Here is a picture of his cute little leg and foot. He is already showing signs of a Webb baby, he hates to be confined and he loves to stretch his little legs.

Here is a comparison of dads thumb to Trevs foot.

He is wearing a shield over his eyes to protect them from the Bililights. Trev had Jaundice which is now resolved and he is doing well. He weighed 1260 grams when he was born and the nurses told us that he will lose weight which is caused by all the fluids that they will be pumping into his little body. I gave Trev a blessing and 2 of my fingers fit over his entire head which is about the size of an orange.

Trev is on a ventilator to help him breathe. He has a tube down his throat that provides him with oxygen. He has IV's thru his belly button that go directly to his to his stomach to provide him with his nutrition and his medicine. He also has an IV in his are which they are giving him addition blood transfusions thru to boost his red blood cell levels to correct his anemia. Trev also has a IV into a vein in his head.

Trev Spencer Webb was born on September 4Th, 2009. He was 26 Weeks and 6 days gestation. He weighed 2 lbs. 13 oz. and was 13 3/4" inches long. Trev was a sick little baby due to being exposed to a virus called "Fifth Disease".

At the end of August we were fishing in the High Uintah Mountains in Utah. Our other little boy Drake, who is 2 had a rash on his cheeks. Both Jannell and I thought it was a sunburn from our time outside in the mountains. We noticed a slight rash on his shoulders as well and decided it would be best to take him to a Pediatrician just to be safe. Jannell walked in to Pediatricians office with Drake, the Pediatrician told Jannell that he has "Fifth Disease". We had never heard of the virus and we were surprised, it is a virus that is passed like a cold which creates a rash in children, and cold like symptoms which last about 1-2 weeks and then go away.
Drakes Pediatrician said that it is a virus that just needs to run its course, but since Jannell was pregnant she needed to have her blood tested right away. If she passes the virus to the baby it could be harmful to his health. Sure enough the virus was passed to our baby Trev. (Which had a less than 1% chance to be passed to Trev) and he became very sick and required a blood transfusion while still in Jannells tummy. They place a needle inside of the umbilical chord to transfuse new blood, unfortunately this went wrong and caused a blood clot in Jannells umbilical chord. Trevs heart stopped beating and they rushed Jannell to labor and delivery for an emergency C section. They delivered Trev in 4 minutes (new hospital delivery record) and he has been in the NICU ever since fighting for his little life!