Monday, April 7, 2008

First of all, I just want to thank everyone for all of the prayers and support we have received through such a difficult time. We have wonderful friends and each one of you have made such a huge impact on our life through all of this.

I figured that I would send out an update to let you know how Hunter is doing since his birth. Hunter Myles McKeen was born by emergency c-section on April 1st at 4:29 pm. He was 1 pound 12 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. I was 24 weeks 5 days pregnant. Hunter had to be born. I had an incompetent cervix and went into labor. If a c-section was not done, Hunter would not have had a chance of making it. If they would’ve waited, Hunter would have been born naturally. They had to move with the c-section for Hunter’s sake of survival. I received a very rare c-section due to the delicate nature of the baby and his gestational age. I am cut internally from my diaphragm done past by belly button. This is a vertical incision. I am also cut externally horizontally across my abdomen.

The first night of Hunter’s life, he had a difficult time controlling his blood pressure. It kept dipping to low. At 3 AM, they called our hospital room and needed consent to give him a blood transfusion to raise his blood pressure. After the consent, Hunter received two transfusions. The next day, he was still having difficulty with his blood pressure and they put him on a medication called Dopamine. His lung also collapsed and he had an air build up between his lung and chest wall. They had to put a tube in his chest to control this.
He also was taken off a respirator because he needed something a little stronger. They put him on an Oscillator and were pumping 600 breaths per minute. They needed to do this because his body was building two much carbon dioxide.

Hunter also had jaundice and needed to be under special lights. He also had a condition called PDA. It is a condition with the heart but treatable through medication or surgery (if necessary)

When you think that prayers don’t work, please let me tell you where and how far he has came in three days….
Hunter has been taken off the oscillator and put back on a very small respirator. He is taking his own breaths periodically and they are winging him off the small respirator with the hopes that he will be breathing on his own very soon.

Hunter no longer needs to be on medication to control his blood pressure. His blood pressure is being controlled by his own body with no medical assistance. It is perfect.
Hunter’s collapsed lung has fixed itself and he has had the tube removed.
The doctor can’t hear any signs of the PDA and thinks the medication worked. We have a chest x-ray tomorrow to find out for sure.
So, please – continue to pray. Hunter still has a very long ways to go. He will probably be in the NICU until July with several more milestones that he has to go through. All of your prayers are working. God has his arms around Baby Hunter. We found out today that Hunter’s chances of survival have increased dramatically over the last couple days.