Make it an even 95!

Let me jump ahead in the story a little bit. Logan developed inguinal hernias which are very common things in preemies and not a really big deal for most babies. The problem... Logan isn't like most babies. The hernias were the last things that were to be repaired before we got to take little Logan home. As the time came closer to going home it became very apparent that we would not be spending anytime in the new, very chic children's hospital. It recently just won a very prestigious design award. As we learned about the hospital and the new features that would be available Diana wanted very much to go there. I mean after nearly 3 months of going to the hospital everyday and getting to know all the nurses and doctors it kind of felt like home.
The day soon came for Logan to have his surgery and it so happened to be right before I was headed to Calgary to write my Canadian Board exams. If all went well Logan could go home a couple days after the surgery and it was likely before I returned to Portland and only a couple weeks before the grand opening of the new hospital.
Logan had other plans.
Before the surgery the surgeon assured us of the simplicity of the procedure and told us that although there was a very small chance of re-occurrence, he had never had a failed hernia repair. With any surgery there is always a chance of infections but all precautions were to be taken. While I was away dominating my exams, Logan was back in Portland brewing himself another week in the hospital with a intense infection. His wounds had to be opened and drained and he was blasted with intense antibiotics. It didn't take long for the infection to clear up and Logan was soon cleared to go home. Just in time for a visit from Katie and Nathan, who were a big help in getting Logan settled in at home. And only a few days before the new hospital was to open.
It wasn't much longer when we started to notice that Logan's hernia had returned on the left side. The surgeon and his team told us that as long as it remained soft, we didn't have to worry. They would simply wait for Logan to heal from the first surgery and then go back in and repair it again. They assured us that it was not painful, just uncomfortable and somewhat of an annoyance. I guess Logan figured the surgeons were taking too long for his liking and so once again he took matters into his own hands.
One night he was irritable and just wouldn't go to sleep. Being the Dad I figured eventually he would just have to fall asleep. Of course I tried everything I could to help the poor guy out but soon caved and had Mom take over. While she was changing his diaper she noticed some redness on the right and his inguinal area was rock hard. This was about 2 in the morning. She informed me and immediately I knew we had to head to the hospital emergency room. It was going to be a very long night.
I really really really just hate hospitals, always have. This is one of the reasons why I didn't want to go to med school. Hospitals to me always smelled like someone was dying, people always looked really bad or hurt. The walls are always painted a drab color, the floors look dirty and everyone is dressed in the same ugly color scrubs. But the new hospital is amazing. The walls were painted in bright colors with cool pictures and bird houses on the walls. The floors sparkled and while it stilled smelled like a hospital it almost felt like we were home again. The lead aprons in the x-ray suite were even brightly colored and almost looked cool enough to wear. All the nurses took great care of us and Logan, although it was clear they didn't have the same expertise as the NICU nurses when it came to starting an IV in such tiny little veins. After two failed attempts Logan's IV had to be inserted into a vein on the top of his head. After the surgical resident examined Logan he determined that the bowel was indeed stuck and was being strangulated. It would have to be manually reduced and Logan would be having surgery the next day (or later that day as it was about 4:00am). Logan was given a dose of morphine to help with the pain and the resident then began the process of reducing the bowel. I have never had a hernia but I assure you that having it manually reduced is the most incredible pain that a human can endure. It didn't take the resident long to give up on the process. He said "I am going to have to call my boss to come take a look at this." I don't know if the wait gave the morphine more time to take effect or wear off, but either way I am sure it wasn't enough to dull the pain of what was about to happen. A little trick the nurses use to help babies settle down is using sugar water. It comes in these little purple things that you remove the top from and squirt into the babies mouth. The nurse collected as many of these as she could find before the surgeon began the horrific process of reducing Logan's incarcerated bowels. The next five minutes, which to me seemed like 20 and to Logan must have felt like an eternity, consisted of me removing the top of the sugar water container, handing them to the nurse who squeezed it into Logan's mouth, Diana trying to provide as much comfort as a mother can and the surgeon squeezing and pushing on the most sensitive part of the body. Once all the inside parts were tucked back up where they belonged, we were told that Logan would have surgery to repair the hernias. The doctor joked that these things always seem to happen in the middle of the night.
We made our way up to the room where our family would be spending the next couple of days. Wow, what a difference from the old NICU. Granted we were on the regular peds floor but it was still a huge improvement. In each room there is a white board where the nurses leave messages and write important information. They even took the time to write a big welcome message for Logan. I will forever be indebted to all the great nurses, and medical staff at Randall's Children's Hospital.
The next day, which was really just the continuation of the night Logan went into surgery. This time the surgeon needed to open up the area to get the job done while the first surgery was done laparoscopically. After the surgery he told us about what could go wrong and what to watch for but assured us that the chance of anything bad happening was minuscule. They were concerned about the damage that had been done to the bowel so we needed to stay over night to make sure everything was healing the way that it should. The surgeon then remarked, "now I can say that I have had a failed hernia surgery". I guess Logan just wanted to make sure that no one ever forgot him.
It was another restless night as Logan struggled through the pain of surgery but was soon getting back to eating and feeling better. Sunday afternoon we were again discharged from the hospital, this time for good we all hoped. That would bring the grand total to 95 days spent in the hospital, enough for a life time I always tell Logan. I know too many that seems like an unbearable amount of time. Along our journey we met other families that have had to spend more days in the hospital. You may not believe me but the amount of time doesn't really change the situation all that much, you really just learn to adapt. There are so many other things going on that cause concern and worry that numbering the days just gives you something to look back on.
Today Logan is doing amazing. His scars are healing over and before long will be hardly noticeable. Our lives have been blessed more abundantly that I can express. Daily we received help and comfort from a multiplicity of sources. If you know a NICU nurse give them a hug. If you ever have the chance to help a family with a preemie, do it. Even a bag full of goodies will go a long, long way. Across the country, across the world there are organizations that give to help ease the burdens of NICU life. Find one and give of yourself.

The hallway on the main floor of the hospital.

Logan and our room in the hospital. Of course the duck came with us.

Floor six of the hospital, on our way out.

Official Numbers

I am not sure how long new parents regularly wait to find out the official stats of their new baby but I am pretty sure they don't have to wait as long as we did. After Logan was taken from Mt. Hood medical center, I ran home to get a couple things for Diana (we didn't have a travel bag ready by the door yet) and stopped to fill up the car with gas because it was about empty(one should always keep half a tank of gas at all times). Then I made my way to Legacy Emanuel. Traffic in Portland is rarely ever really bad but most drivers don't understand the whole slow traffic keep to the right thing. However around 2 am the freeway is empty. I can't say exactly how fast I was driving or how long it took me to make the drive but I will say that things went by in a blur.
Once I arrived at the hospital I had to find my way to the NICU. I am pretty sure I can now navigate the hospital with a blind fold on. It was a good thing that I was told by the nurses at Mt. Hood that the NICU was on the 2nd floor because the guy at the emergency entrance really had no clue. Getting into the NICU is quite the ordeal. It is pretty much a hospital within a hospital, with the entrance being locked at all times. Once inside the main door, you are required to sign-in, then wash your hands (I swear I was told to wash for 2 minutes) with soap that could take the muck off the inside of a pig barn. Me and the soap did not get along, I am pretty sure it removed at least 5 layers of my epidermis. Then I went through the actual door to where my baby would be staying for the next 3 months. The nurses and nurse practitioners were still working on getting a PIC line inserted (peripheral inserted central line). As you may expect this is a sterile procedure which required me to keep back. By this point Logan was connected to a heart rate monitor, breathing monitor, pulse oximeter, temperature probe and the tinniest of blood pressure cuffs. He had the aid of a ventilator for breathing and I believe a regular IV for medications that could not be given through the PIC line. His isolette was the coolest part. It really was the Cadillac of cribs. The top could be raised and lowered and it kept his body temperature at the appropriate level. During the first few weeks it humidified the air to help protect his fragile skin, and was able to determine his weight. I once tried to look-up the price online but price was not listed, simply the contact information, like buying a Bentley. The first of four doctors that we would meet and work with was there to give me the run down of his condition and go over some of the procedures that they expected would need to be performed. A couple things stuck out to me during this conversation. Logan was fighting hard and babies born this early generally do better if they don't need to be transported. Logan had received two doses of surfactant, which is a substance that helps keep the lungs open, but because of the speed of delivery steroids were not administered to Diana. I think every time the doctor said something positive she also mentioned a negative. The biggest thing left out of the conversation was how long it would take to get Logan healthy. It would be a long time before any of the doctors would even come close to suggesting Logan would be going home from the hospital.

After the doctor had finished going over everything that she needed to and got the appropriate signatures from me, I was able to get closer to my little baby. And I was finally given the official birth statistics: weight 890g (1lb 15oz) length 33cm (13in). To help put that into perspective, think about holding a 1L bottle of water. That weighs more than Logan did at birth and he could have slept inside of my shoe. For those keeping track Logan last weighed in at 4804g (10lb 9oz) and measured 57cm (22in), that would be over 5x his birth weight and almost double his length.

As I write this blog and think about what happened, and look at some of the pictures, I am simply amazed at what a miracle has occurred. We really did get to watch Logan finish the last 3 months of fetal development and are blessed daily by his presence in our lives. If you have a couple extra dollars donate to the Walk of Dimes, or a children's hospital near you.