The Parker Story

I know many are waiting for the official story of Parker so here it is:

Monday night my water broke at 11:18pm which surprised Henry, our midwife and myself. Our midwife Margaret came over and we were quickly on our way to welcoming Parker into the world. It was a little hectic because we were not expecting to go into labor for a least another two weeks so we didn't have all our birthing supplies. Henry got the pleasure of running to Wal-Mart not once but twice that night. At about 5:30am we realized Parker was coming butt first. This is called a breached position and is not something you want to happen during a home birth. Margaret told me we were going to the hospital and I told her I felt like I needed to push. She told Henry to call 911 and she began to call the hospitals to see who oncall was and if any of them had ever delivered a breach baby before. We were lucky thar there was a doctor on call at deaconess who had delivered several breach babies. The paramedics arrived and carried me to the ambulance telling me "don't push!" Margaret came with me in the ambulance just in case Parker decided he wanted to be born on the road meanwhile Henry quickly grabs some cloths for us and our cell phones. Henry told me later that the drive from our house to Deaconess was the longest drive in the world. A drive that normally takes 15 minutes felt like it took an hour.

We got to the hospital and they rolled me into the operating room. The Doctor came over and introduced herself and said we can either try and push or we can do a c-section. I told her no c-section and finally got to push. About two hours later Parker was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck . He took his first breathe and then went limp. They intubated him to help him breath and he was off to the NICU. The Neonatologist told us that at some point during the pregnancy or birth Parker didn't get enough oxygen to this brain. They said he was a great candidate for cold therapy to prevent any long term complications from the lack of oxygen. Basically cold therapy prevents swelling of the brain and swelling equals brain injury. The cold therapy is done by keeping Parker in a hypothermic state. He is kept at about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. He also had a small pneumothorax (slightly collapsed lung.) He might have an infection, and his kidneys have not been working right. They said they expected his kidneys to not work so well because of the brain problems. He is still intubated but is taking some breaths on his own and they have been able to decrease the amount of ventilation he needs. When we saw Parker Tuesday he really had no reflexes. His pupils would not react light and unlike most newborns if you touch his feet or put something in his hand there was no reaction.

Yesterday when we went to see him his pupils were reactive to light but still not normal. He does have more reflexes he will now grasp something placed in his hand and move away from a cold hand on his foot. Today he will start to be warmed up very slowly. It takes about 12-24 hours to increase his temperature about 8 degrees. We are hoping that as he warms up he will start to take more breaths on his own, that his kidneys will improved, and that his neurological exams continue to improve. Tomorrow he has a MRI to look for brain damage and then the neurologist will come visit him to make an official decision on if they think there is permanent damage or not. It has been a hard time for both Henry and I. It is so strange to be a parent but not have a child that you can hold or snuggle. We are not able to hold Parker until he comes off of the ventilator and both are greatly looking forward to that day. Yesterday we got to change his diaper for the first time and take care of his tiny lips. I am sure in a few weeks we will be laughing about the fact that we could not wait to change Parkers diaper or hear him cry. The doctors, Henry, and I are all optimistic about Parker's recovery but it is still a long road. We still have no idea what caused all of this or what this will mean in the long run for our little guy.

 We would appreciate prayer for Parker today as he warms up. Here are some specific prayer requests.
 1. As Parker warms that God would protect his brain. That he would not have any increase swelling.
2. That he would start to breathe on his own so that he can be taken of the ventilator.
3. That Henry and I would be drawn to God’s word and not distracted by all that is going on.
4. That we would be able to show grace and kindness to all those around us and hopefully show Christ to the doctors and nurses we are in contact with.