Kyle's NICU Story in Pictures

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Jan 19th - Kelly

Kyle has reached 4 pounds!  He is so cute in his outfits all swaddled up and in a big boy crib!  He is doing great. consistently on 21 to 25% oxygen for the past 3 days.  He is now on CPAP of 4 and has been on 21 to 25% oxygen on that too.  He is tolerating all his feedings and is up to 35cc every time he eats.  He had a "normal" EEG this time and is now being weaned off Phenobarbital.  for the last two nights his dose has been 50% of what it was.  our next big steps will be nasal cannula again, then bottle feeding, the MRI, then surgery for a hernia.  

All the babies in our pod seem to be holding it together.  it sounds so morbid to say but it seems like the cycle is changing.  It's true, the nurses say the deaths and discharges come in waves. you will have a while where so many of the babies die and then you will have season where so many babies go home.  I can't describe how it makes you feel when everyday it seems someone doesn't make it.  We have some really sick babies in our pod but for now - they are hanging in there.  Even our little friend with no name & no visitors... he has a name now and saw his mom this weekend!  He even has balloons on his bed!  and best of all - a nurse signed up to be his primary!  so he is getting loved on now!

so today, even though the nannies have had to go back to "real life", Carol was taking the boys to incredible pizza.  she was carrying jack in the front door and tripped on a rug that was outside the front door and in an effort to save jack she fell on her arm and broke it!!!!  I can't imagine how bad that hurt!  so someone called an ambulance and Carol called john to say come get the boys.  so john thought and told me that they boys were at incredible pizza with Mario (they guy who works there) and Carol had been taken off in an ambulance.  so he is driving 90 miles an hour to get there!  So I began to talk with God - WHAT!  one kid is in the NICU and the other two are with alone with a stranger in a strange place and john can't get there fast enough.  John talked to Jadon on a cell phone and jack was screaming in the back ground.  Jadon (in his words) was trying to be brave but cried a little.

I really didn't know at this point what God wanted from me - I felt like I was in yet another helpless moment with my kids!  and even thought I am in a funky place right now spiritually - the first thing I did was go to my knees and begin to beg God.  i am hoping that is b/c of the truth that is inside me.  evidence of it as it reaches the surface.  there is a watermark song that says "even when I'm sturdy - I pray you'll keep my knees dirty."  ha!  maybe that is the problem.  I have been coasting along in my own life so sturdy for so long that I just thought my knees were dirty.  I just thought my life was dependent on God.  I just thought I was desperate for God to restore me, my family, my friends, my community.  and now that I am living it - guess I wasn't so desperate, I'm willing to say now that I wasn't even needy.  so if I am approaching God not needing and not desperate - hmmmmm.  but I still have a hard time with the idea that this is happening to kyle to teach me?  that just doesn't seem right - but I dont know maybe it is about everyone at the same time?  the whole part of that song is this....

"I have been chosen to be driven to humility.  to be holy refined in your holy blaze of fire. and even when I'm sturdy I pray you'll keep my knees dirty and may the heart of your will be my only hearts desire!  that last part is what i want to understand.  how can i be restored to where the heart of God's will is my only desire.  and as i sift through the vast emotions and thoughts of the past 3 months how do I even know what the heart of His will is? no.  no i don't.

So I was scared and begging God to keep my kids safe.  I knew Carol will do as much and whatever she could to keep them safe.  But not knowing how bad she was hurt I had no idea what was going on.  Sure enough john arrived to Carol not letting the ambulance leave with her until john got there - now that is love!  and Mario (the incredible pizza guy) had given jadon and jack game cards and they were living it up!  all was well.  Jadon wanted to make sure ms. carol was not going to die and once he was sure of that and got some mcdonalds to eat the world was okay again.  He did ask several times about her and wants to "get her a gift or something" he says.  He also said she will have to have a cast and that will make her look funny but he is not going to tell her that b/c "ladies like to hear they look beautiful".  what a kid!

I believe carol has a spiral fracture - that hurts me to type.  The ER set the fracture, put her in a temp cast and sling - gave some pain meds and sent her home.  The will give the swelling a few days to go down and then she will see an orthopedic.  i feel so bad for her.  I can't imagine how not only painful but frustrating it all is.

(and from those of you that were wondering - the hokey pokey was not involved.)

10 comments:

thatcaroljones said...

kelly, jack was actually laying across my chest wailing (I was on my back on the ground)while john was talking to jadon on the phone. it was remotely funny bc i dont think anyone knew WHO to comfort! They kept wanting to sedate me but all i could think about was poor jack with so many strangers around so i wouldnt let them until john got there. a nurse was there and i asked her to check jack out. she checked him out all over (which he hated)and then she asked him if he wanted to play some games and suddenly all was right with the world again! the paramedics said my pulse was funky in my broken arm so they insisted they HAD to treat me. so i gulped, asked God to protect them and let them go play games with the nice nurse. Then i jokingly prayed, sort of, and please dont let john and kelly kill me for letting their kids go with a stranger! They did think i was a freak for not letting them take me to the hospital though! I hope the boys are okay and jadon doesnt have bad dreams.

Anonymous said...

wow, what a day you all have had! I was reading something earlier this morning and I thought of you Kelly. I don't have it with me right nowm, but when I do, I will share it with you. It talks about us women wanting to always be in control of everything and even help God out a little bit from time to time. *sigh* Every Christian mother who reads this can relate to the control thing! LOL

I will be praying for ALL of you today... thanks again for sharing the good news about Kyle. I can hardly wait to share with my church family!

Still praying, still believing and still expecting continued healing and growth. Thank you Lord for what you have done with Kyle and what you are going to do with him.

Candy Humber

Anonymous said...

OMG - man, you guys - I know they say you get what you can handle. You guys are Super man and Wonder Woman. the girls don't have school this week so if you need to send the boys down for a play date for a while, just let me know. We should be home most days except Tuesday and Wed AM. But we'll be here in the afternoons those days.
Just let me know.
Stef

dreamingBIGdreams said...

Kelly,
I was wondering if you could email me your address. I have a gift for Kyle and would love to get it to you.

I think our husband's know each other. My husband is Aaron Ivey and we used to live in Sugar Land. I've been following your journey and pray for your family often.

Thanks!
jamie

jamie@spur58.com

Anonymous said...

Oh man - this last entry was more thrilling, spine chilling, nail biting, nerve wracking than the latest #1 murder/mystery ever!! Poor Ms Carol ~ poor Mario the Incredible Pizza guy ~ poor EMTs!! What a zoo but God is so very good at keeping order in the biggest zoo on earth = The Earth!!
Really, I'm so sorry for Ms Carol's booboo & pray she heals quickly (plus I'll be sure to mention how beautiful she looks!! even with a cast).
Once again, Kelly & John, thanks for sharing your lives with me...this is better than any reality show ever on TV!! I'd like to see cameras follow you guys around!!
Anyway, I'm overjoyed that Kyle is thriving & that tests are looking promising. I am so encouraged to pray with the same intensity as when I first heard of Kyle back October 22.
Much love & prayers to all of the Sherrills & extended family.
Big hugs ~ ~ GranMammy B
Barbie Weller - Mansfield

Anonymous said...

Carol -- your rewards are many!!!!.
I guess we should be thankful the Hokey Pokey was not involved.
Paula Seale

Anonymous said...

Carol, what a tropper. You deserve a medal. I'm sure the boys will be fine especially when you let them draw all over your cast. I hope you heal well and get back into the swing of things soon.
As for Kyle, so glad to hear that he has a normal eeg. That is great news. Getting of the phenobarbital is a good thing. They just seem to be so sleepy on it. Four pounds what a big boy. I bet he looks really cute in his open crib. I have not heard a report on his eyes lately. Are things still going well there? I dont want to be a downer but I do want you to be prepared for the surgery on his hernia and i want you to give us plenty of time to pray. He might have to be back on the vent for awhile after the surgery. I'm not saying that it will be that way. But I do want you to prepare yourselves for that possibility. After kirby had surgery on her eyes ( the first one) she was on the vent for several days. I was devistated. I felt like we had taken 50 steps back. She was doing so well on the canula and being back on the vent really scared me. The docs kept assuring us that it was temperary and she would go back to the cannula and that she would recover but I was so depressed and devistated. I cried for days and days. However, she did recover and she went back to the cannula without any issues. Now, I dont tell you any of that to instil fear or cause you grief, but no one prepared me for that outcome and it really hit me hard. I dont want you guys to have to suffer the way I did. I tend to be realist sometimes to a fault but I would rather be that way and be pleasantly suprised. I am always amazed at how God turnes my mouring into dancing and my sadness to joy. He takes this realist and turnes me into a faithful believer. That is amazing in itself. Anyway, I just want to help and I hope this does. Kirby wants to post soon. She has been waiting until Kyle gets the go ahead to go home. She wants to share from her perspective as a NICU survivor. THis should be fun and interesting. She is wise beyond her years and seems to be very intune to the movement of the Holy Spirit not only in her life but the world around her. I have no idea what she plans to say but it will be a trip to say the least.
Praying like crazy for you guys and kyle.
Brandie

Anonymous said...

Good evening to you both. Kelly, I told you earlier that I had read something this morning that I wanted to share with you. It may be a little long... I am praying you can take something from it....

"Sometimes forward movement in life needs to come by supernatural intervention. However, as women, we feel a need to maintain control—kind of help God out—when what He wants us to do is release our prayer requests, hopes, and dreams to his care.

We women often carry heavy burdens for our husbands, our children, our extended family, our future, and the future of all those we love. How can we learn to let go? Jesus told his disciples in the garden to "keep alert and pray" (Matthew 26:41). He gave them an assignment while they waited and prayed.

One summer a group of women and I gathered with our photo scrap-books as part of a women's prayer project. We created prayer pages for each person we cared about. We listed requests we were praying for each person and then found verses to pray for each request. We left plenty of space for a photo and a place to write the answers to our prayer requests.

By creating a tangible prayer reminder, each day we could commit the people we loved to God's care. We saw some amazing results: we became less controlling and less pushy with our families. We felt more peace and calm. And we became more aware of small answers to prayers—movement in the lives of those we love. And creating a photo album gave us an assignment to do while we waited and prayed for the work God would do in the lives of our loved ones."

Still praying, still believing and still expecting continued growth and healing.

Thank you Lord for what you have done so far and what you are going to do in and through Kyle and his family!

Candy Humber

Anonymous said...

Good morning to you both.

Still praying, still believing and still expecting continued healing and growth. Thank you Lord for what you have done with Kyle and what you are going to do with him.

Candy Humber

Holliday Family said...

Just to let you know we are still praying for you over in the UK. Praying for God's blessing, protection and healing.

Debs

Click below to go to my Personal March of Dimes Page

Our Story

This story begins with 5 people. John, Kelly, Jadon, Jack, and Kyle (he is only 23 weeks old... and he is still safely tucked away in his mommy's belly) In an hour's time Kyle made his way into the world. 1 pound, 3 ounces- 11 and a half inches long. This family will never be the same. This child is a warrior. He has the spirit of a Lion, and more courage than a whole pride. He is fierce, and fearless- and he is teaching us to fear the Lord- and to believe that God is in our midst and healing even now. Join us as pray, as we praise, and as we journey through this life as lovers of God and all His glory.

Kyle is in the March of Dimes Promo!