Feeling Good!

The kids are home and doing great. It's crazy that they had surgery on their noggins just 10 days ago and the only signs of it are their zig zag scars and new round heads!

Going home!

Yay! Jack is doing great. So great that we get to go home! Can't wait to see big sis!

I feel so much better! 

 Let's blow this joint!

Over the hump

Jack is just about back to his old self! He is eating/drinking, kicking, waving and almost smiling. I think we'll get one from him yet today. He is out of PICU and up in Sadie's old room. She is with us in here too, but was officially discharged yesterday, so no more pokes and prods for her. Right now they are both sleeping and it feels so peaceful and nice. These two are so beautiful and well on the road to recovery!

First time I've held Jack in 3 days!

 Jack with 2 eyes open, Day 4

Sadie, day 3

Silly Sadie, day 3

Sleepyhead Jack, day 4

 Sleepyhead Sadie, day 4

surgery day

Making a long, hopeful and scary story short: they are both going to be great.

Making a long, hopeful and scary story long:
We brought the twins to Children's Hospital in Denver at 6am on July 1st. Jack was to have surgery first and Sadie second. Neither had anything to eat/drink since 9:00 the night before. We were surprised by how well they handled this. No crying or fussing. They must have been distracted by the busyness of the hospital.

Daddy & babies pre-op

The surgeons, Dr. Wilkenson and Dr. Ketch came in to talk about the surgery and what we could expect. With all our questions answered and concerns covered, it was time for Jack to go in.

Handing your baby off to a nurse who would take him to the operating room to have his head operated on really is not an easy feat. Grammy and I shed lots of tears while Mike was stoic and confident that all would go well.

And all did go well! Jack came out looking like a whole new baby! His head was round! His forehead no longer protruded! We couldn't believe the change.

Jack before

Jack immediately following surgery

Once he was done, relief set in. We knew he had a worse case of the condition than Sadie and expected that her surgery would go very smoothly. And it did!

Sadie before


Sadie immediately following surgery

All went as expected. Both babies were doing great and would soon be able to leave the PACU and head to their rooms. It was about 3:00.

Grammy & Mommy in PACU with Jack

With rooms next to each other we were able to pop back and forth to visit with each baby. We had planned to keep them in a room together, but decided that we would like the two beds for Grammy and I to sleep in. Mikey headed home to take care of Archie.

They both were eating/drinking their formula and managing fine. Jack was the fussier one of the two. As usual. :) He didn't want to lay on his newly shaped head, so Grammy and I took turns holding him upright while he slept. At around 9:30 we were able to lay him down in his bed. And he slept.

At about 10, I went to bed in Sadie's room and Grammy stayed with Jack. At about 10:30 Grammy woke me up. Jack was having a seizure. I can tell you that from 10:30pm until about 6:30am I have never felt so scared in my entire life. (And just 2 1/2 months ago, I was pretty darn scared...see that post below.) At least 15 doctors and nurses were working on my sweet baby boy to try to get him to stop seizing. They had immediately started using a bag to breathe for him. They pumped him with drugs to get him to stop shaking and finally after 30 minutes, he stopped. He was intubated to ensure he kept breathing. They ran bloodwork and he got a CT scan to help determine what the cause of the seizure was. They quickly learned his sodium count was low and suspected he had hyponatremia. At this point they took him to the PICU. He needed a central line to administer a sodium concentrated fluid. It couldn't be administered too fast or too slow or it would have drastic consequences. While they put in the line, Grammy and I had to leave the PICU and wait. And wait. And wait. It is now 2:30am. Finally, they got the line in. Jack is going to get better.

My poor sweet boy earlier today

Getting better

Jack was so well taken care of. We are truly fortunate to live by such a great hospital. He had round the clock care and continues to as I write this. He has made great progress. His sodium levels are back up. They took the breathing tube out and he is breathing on his own. He's obviously uncomfortable - probably a killer sore throat - and so they have sedated him so that he breathes easier. His hematocrit level is low. Should it get lower he will need another blood transfusion. (Both he and Sadie had one during surgery.) His brain activity is normal!

As you can imagine, I was quite a basket case. God has really heard from me this year. And more than ever last night. And I thank God that I can turn to Him.

Sadie a day after surgery

Sadie is doing just fine. All her tubes are now out. She's smiling and jabbering away. She told me she really misses her brother and can't wait until she can sleep next to him again!