Leave No Man Behind!

The following is only a piece of our lives from the last week or so.


When Caden was born, he was given a little formula to boost his blood sugar. A common practice for larger babies. We seem to breed them big, even though Sarah and I are pushing 5 foot 5. After an hour we were sent to our room. Everyone got to hang with Caden and were all having a great day. Nate and I went home to take a nap and everyone else went home to regroup.



Around 5 o'clock pm, our world was rocked. Sarah being on anesthesia was unable to move when she noticed Caden in his little crib spitting up from his mouth, and nose and ultimately changing blue. Since she was unable to move, all she could do was scream for the nurse on duty and continuously press the nurse call button. When the nurse arrived, what she saw was something she was trained for but hoped to never see. A baby just 5 hours old, not breathing. Caden was given oxygen and was brought back to his pink color instantly. He was then rushed to the Special Care Nursery, where he was admitted.



When the dust settled, IVs and antibiotics were inserted into the fragile, tiny hands of our little boy, and blood cultures taken and shipped off to the labs, we began to speak with nurses, Neonatologists, and who ever else to give us some in site as to what happened. We were told he will remain under their care for the remainder of the stay. The question the doctors wanted to know was, "Did Caden stop breathing and then choked or choked and then stopped breathing. What came first???" All of the excitement of our new baby, taken from us as fast as he came into this world.



As Saturday was fast approaching, we were questioning will Caden be coming home with us? On Thursday night, we got the word, Caden will be there to stay for at least the weekend. Ok, after our hearts were ripped from our bodies, we collected them on the way back to Sarah's room and we began to think. We were also told about a 12 hour test that needs to be run and will be starting on Friday to check to see what maybe caused him to turn blue. We were also told we will need to have a monitor on Caden at home to alarm us if he stops breathing in the middle of the night, napping or eating for precaution.



Saturday was Valentine's Day, Aunt Judy's 30th birthday, and a day our family was to be whole. Since Nate and I were in need of some female companionship, we finally picked up his mommy, our best friend, our boo boo kisser, the glue that holds the house together. We were on our way to getting life back together, or as much as possible.



As we were leaving the hospital on Saturday, we knew Caden wasn't able to come home with us. We all said goodnight to Caden and to all the nurses who are amazing at taking care of him. Then, like right out of a movie, the doctor said, "Wait, we are getting a fax . . . ." we were looking at her and wondering is it for us?? Then comes the look and the words, "Ok" she says "I need to speak with you, where do you want to sit.?" Sit! Why? What the hell, out with it doc!!! So she starts to go over the information. Bottom line, everything that Caden was tested for on the 12 hour test came back perfect. He doesn't have sleep apnea, he doesn't have acid reflux. There will be no need for any kind of medication or antibiotics. All of his organs and all of his internals are just as they should be. AHHHHHHHHHH yeah baby!!!!!!!! There we were, looking at him just 5 days old and the largest weight lifted, and nothing in the world could stop the tears. Although we were reinforced with good news and whatever it is can be fixed, all you hear is "your baby can't go home with you and we don't know when he can" is torture!



It turns out that Caden is sooo hungry that he eats and eats but forgets to breathe. It is all about coordination. He needs to learn how to suck and swallow correctly without choking. He does it when he is fed with the bottle or breastfeeding. When this occurs, his oxygen level drops causing the change in color. Therefore going back to the day he was born was due to the fact that no one was in the room and Sarah couldn't get to him to stimulate him to breath correctly. He wasn't eating at the time, but the formula/breast milk inside of him was too much and caused him to choke later on. The episode that happened on Tuesday was considered in the medical field as " an acute life threatening event". The only way for Caden to come home now is to be 24-48 hours free of an "episode" while eating.



So we are home Sarah, Nate, Monica and me patiently awaiting the call that Caden is given his discharged paperwork. We go to the hospital each day so Sarah can drop off the milk that she pumped and so she can nurse Caden during some of his feeding times. When we are there, we don't want to leave.



To add some extra info and on top of everything, Sarah developed an upper respiratory infection, I have a sore throat and am congested, and Nate is on an antibiotic for an ear infection. This all probably happened because of the intense week due to stress.



Now today is my first day back to work after having the week off and when anyone has a newborn, the first day back to work is usually the hardest. Sleep for only a few hours at best, no idea what is what. But here I am, sleeping my 7 hours, getting to work normal time, with no signs of sleep deprivation. It is an awful feeling that here we are going on with our lives with one Sandler left at the hospital, it sucks!



Come Home Caden!!!!!!!!!!!!