Greetings!
We have enjoyed a couple of days of holding steady with Elsa and Jonas. There was one slight hiccup in this smooth sailing on Saturday night. Jonas was his normal active self at his evening care time. One minute everything was fine and then his stats plummeted downward. The nurses had been joking around in the room just seconds earlier talking about a recent nurse get-together. Then with Jonas's monitors beeping, the nurses circled him. They were calm, cool, and collected. Two seconds earlier, one might not realize the collective expertise that was in the room. They quickly determined that Jonas's breathing tube had moved out of his lungs. Out with the old tube and within fifteen minutes they had a new ventilator tube in three millimeters lower in his lungs. He was asleep five minutes later. Mari and I laughed, a laugh that I think only comes after experiencing the highs and lows of such an experience, at our mutual thought, "Crazy stuff goes down in the NICU."
After Jonas's little tube incident, he has been rock solid on his ventilator. He is at a setting of 20 breaths per minute on his vent and is usually in room air. He is now up to 4ml an hour of milk and handling it well. Keep up the good work Jonas!
Elsa is been fluctuating a bit on her ventilator settings. She is at 40 breaths per minute on her vent and has been doing well at that current setting. Previously, she has struggled a bit as the vent is weened in to the 30's or 20's. She continues to handle her 7ml of milk well. She surpassed Jonas in weight over the weekend. She looks so big!
We received a packet of letters from a first grade classroom that has been keeping up with Jonas and Elsa. Wow! Such a treat. The students wrote to us about three things that we should teach the babies. Every letter was amazing. Many students suggested that we teach the kids to read and write. Some suggested teaching them to hug, play, and drive a truck. One student wrote that we should teach them to sing. What a wonderful idea! Singing is such a great thing--it is fun to do and a gift to all those around you. The students included some artwork that appears in some of the photos. Thank you Mrs. Monson and your students!
We continue to pray for healing for Jonas and Elsa. We also pray for God to guide the hands and hearts of our doctors and nurses.
God Bless,
Dan & Mari & Elsa & Jonas
Do I see "red hair"? Kind of looks red. Is this the result of those red-haired Norsky genes comin' out? Lookin' real good, you guys. Them there Norskies are a tough lot. Jonas and Elsa are proving their salt, tough as they are. Lovin' every moment of your stories. Thanks for sharing. We love youy guys.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Don and Delores
Alright!! love the artwork!!...and the suggestions for teaching them singing is wonderful...right there behind learning to drive a truck....we might have to wait a little longer for that one though...we're praying for those lungs...glad you have great nurses and doctors there for our little Elsa and Jonas...Love, Jane and Ralph
ReplyDeleteThose nurses are angels. Amazing how they can accomodate the needs of the babies for a good outcome! Your stories are creating little personalities for the children and I am begining to feel like I know them which is really special! We continue to prayer for "steady" progress. Helen Wigstrom
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