Moving Right Along...

Today marks day 3 for our little angels and it is absolutely amazing what a difference those few days can make. It has been a couple of days since we last "blogged" but many things have changed... for the better.

We spoke to the neonatologist yesterday, April 5th, and he opened up a little more to us. Teri was first to talk with him and he said "This is the quickest I've ever seen a newborn come off the nitric oxide." Uh-hem, answered prayer. He also said the reason he wanted to give Whitley a chance was because she didn't exhibit the normal signs of typical preemie in distress, like the bell-shaped chest, "Philipano nose", etc. She looked normal. One theory why Whitley came out looking good was the fact that her brother, who still had his fluid, made enough room for her to thrive. Our theory is that it's just a God thing. When I got a chance to visit with Dr. Patel he mentioned he didn't like the "D" word, and believe me, we are thankful. Whitley has now been weened off the nitric from 30 ppm Friday down to 4 ppm this evening. Uh-hem, another answered prayer. And praise the Lord her little chest tubes came out today also. All in all, she has completely amazed her nurses and docs with her progress. She really is quiet the story.

Little Wyatt Jared is trooping right along as well. In all of Whitley's accomplishments it's easy to forget what battles Wyatt is facing. The nurses had to up his oxygen content just a little but were able to go back down. He also had to get a blood transfusion yesterday that required a heplock. For those who don't relate to medical jargon too well, myself included, a heplock is similar to an IV but is placed in the scalp at the top of the head. It looks horrible but is actually much less painful than having an IV in the arm because it usually lasts much longer at that site and is easier to administer meds if necessary. I say usually because today Wyatt pulled it out. It didn't hurt him, he just didn't want that in his head. Not only did he try to pull out the heplock, he also got a double hand grab on the ventilator hose. The story we got was that he has been squirming the last couple of nights so now he as to be sedated just a little bit, like .01 mL of whatever medicine the nurse gave him.

Teri looks stunning. A person can't tell she just gave birth 3 days ago. She is adjusting to becoming a new mommy, like waking me up at 5 am to call the NICU to check on the babies. But that is one call I don't mind making. I am returing to Balmorhea Thursday to go back to work so Teri will be here by herself. Maybe not totally by herself because the babies will be just across the street on the second floor. That brings me to my next thought. Ricky May and his girlfriend Jamie Tammen brought Jamie's parent's travel trailer for us to stay in. That is such a blessing for Teri and I. I don't even know what else to call it. Having that travel trailer here is going to help us out incredibly. Not only did Ricky and Jamie show up, but so did Brooks and Megan Yeates. And lest I forget Emily and Derek Rogers from Marfa also graced us with their presence.

Thanks to everyone for all their prayers. Obviously God does answer prayers and if anyone has any doubts, just turn them onto this blog. We have many examples here and hopefully many more to come.

Jared, Teri, Whitley, and Wyatt