Up and Down

Over the past six weeks Drew has gained one pound! He now weighs two pounds four ounces! He had a wonderful christmas and last week started out looking really good. Drew was stable for most of the week and it looked as though Jenn was going to be able to hold him again, but on Friday Drew started showing some signs of a possible infection. He was becoming a little irritable and some of the blood tests weren't looking very good. He was also having a very difficult time digesting any milk, it would just sit in his stomach and not move through the digestive tract. Yesterday he had some more blood drawn and sent to be tested after which he was placed on antibiotics and his feedings were stopped. The tests usually take about two days for results but so far they have not come back positive with any infections. One possibility for Drew's change in behavior could be that he didn't respond well to the smaller doses of hydrocortisone, so they have increased his doses back to where they were previously. His feedings of milk will continue after they can figure out what the problem is with his digestive system - hopefully soon so that he can grow. Drew's lungs have stayed the same for the past week and we are praying that they will show some significant signs of improvement this week. He is so precious and it breaks our hearts to see him struggle through these challenges. We feel very blessed to have so much support and such wonderful nurses and doctors who all care for our son. We love our precious little guy and hopefully we can hold him this week!

Merry Christmas Drew

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Drew is doing well and he is enjoying his first Christmas. Jenn's mom wrote a beautiful poem about our beautiful boy. "An early gift from God above was sent to us for all to love, our precious gift, our baby boy, has brought us love, faith, hope and joy." Merry Christmas to everyone, thank you all for your love we are very blessed and we love our little angel Drew!

Indescribable

Yesterday was a day that we will never forget. Jenn got to hold Drew for the first time! Mommy and Daddy got to sing and talk to Drew for almost 45 minutes while he cuddled on Mommy's chest. The feelings of love that we have for him are so strong and this experience forever changed us. Drew has an extremely powerful presence and we feel very blessed to have him. He is doing well and his lungs might take a while to fully mature but he is stable and oxygenating better every day. We can't wait until we can hold him again, we just love him so much.

Growing Stronger

Drew had a nice peaceful day today. Other than the enema that helped him fill his diaper he didn't have to endure anything traumatic. His lungs are working so hard and trying to get stronger. He is oxygenating and ventilating pretty well, and because of that they were able to slightly lower some of the settings on his ventilator. We cherrish days like these, it is so much fun to play with his legs and hold his hands when he feels good like he did today. We pray that this will continue and hope that his lungs can mature quickly so that we can hold him soon!

First Try To Breathe

Drew had an eventful day today. He started out doing extremely well and his lungs had even showed some pretty good signs of improvement, which gave the doctors some hope that maybe he could breathe without support from the ventilator (breathing machine). Drew has been on the ventilator since the day he was born and the doctors would like for Drew to get off of his ventilator as soon as possible. Drew had also outgrown his breathing tube and the nurse practioner as well as the physician decided that today would be a good opportunity to see if Drew can breathe without the ventilator. They took the breathing tube out of his trachea and placed him on the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which forces air through small tubes that fit into Drews nostrils. Immediately Drew decided that he didn't really like the change and began having difficulty oxygenating well. They intubated him again with a larger endotracheal tube and placed Drew back on the ventilator. Through all of this Drew was kicking and swinging his arms, he is a little fighter but wasn't quite ready for the big change. It took a little while but Drew returned to his happy self and we spent the rest of the night taking pictures of him in his hat and booties that our nurse brought for him. Drew loves the camera and we love taking lots of pictures of him. We love Drew!!!

Wonderful Day

We Received really good results today from the head ultra sound that they did yesterday! We were really excited to hear that the bleeding in Drew's left ventricle has subsided and that he is slowly breaking down the dead cells without complicating the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The nurse practitioner explained that the bleeding Drew experienced early on shouldn't have any long term affects on his development. This was great news to us and we know that Drew has been extremely blessed. We are aware that he has many more hurdles and that he is at risk for complications due to his prematurity but we feel that Drew is doing well and we are grateful for his progress. His lungs are still very immature and it is going to require some time and patience for his lungs to improve. Drew has started on Mommy's milk again, they had stopped feeding him due to some motility difficulties but he seems to be digesting better now. We love Drew so so so much, he is our little miracle.

One Month!

Drew is one month old today! We cannot believe how fast this past month has gone by. He now weighs 1 pound 13 ounces and is 13.75 inches long! In his first month of life Drew has had to miraculously overcome many challenges. In these beginning stages Drew has faced more trials than many of us will ever have to confront. Today at church we discussed the humble circumstances under which our Savior was born as well as the incomprehensible agony that he endured during his life. We can be assured that Jesus knows of Drew's difficulties and that somehow his atoning sacrifice has had a large affect on Drew's life. It is such a joy and a privilege to spend time with our little guy. Today was a good day. He is doing well and his lungs are even showing small signs of improvement! We were excited to be able to play with his legs and hold his hands again today. After we changed his diaper and took his temperature Drew decided to wake up and play. He was awake for about an hour and he loved pressing his little feet up against our hands. Drew has brought us so much joy and we are so grateful to have him in our family.

Getting Better

Drew has been doing pretty well for the past two days. Yesterday his only problem aside from his lungs was that he wasn't urinating at all, but the nurse said that today he has been "wizzing like crazy!" We believe that he is overcoming the infections and that could be why he is doing a lot better. Drew looked really peaceful and happy today. We took some good pictures with him yesterday and today. We think he loves getting his picture taken, and we know that he loves it when Mommy and Daddy sing and read stories to him. His lungs seem to be doing a little better and we hope that they will continue to grow and strengthen. He has overcome so many challenges and we know that all of the prayers in his behalf have uplifted him and our family. Thank you so much to everyone for your support and mostly for your constant prayers. Drew is so blessed to have so many wonderful people who care so much about his well being, and we are so blessed to have Drew in our lives. He has taught us so many priceless lessons and has brought our family closer to one another and closer to God.

Hard Day

On Wednesday Drew was doing pretty good. He was oxygenating pretty good and it seemed like he was getting over his infection. Yesterday started out pretty good but Drew had a difficult night. His lungs are not getting better and he was having a hard time oxygenating as well as ventilating out the co2 from his blood. Today was a tough day for Drew. He has a new infection and his lungs are really struggling. We are amazed at his toughness and strength, but he is in need of a lot right now. Drew is on a lot of antibiotics and they had to switch his ventilator (breathing machine) tonight because he was really struggling with the jet and drager ventilators. He is doing ok on his new ventilator the oscillator. We pray that his body and the antibiotics will quickly defeat these infections and that his lungs will do better on this ventilator. Despite these challenges Drew is fighting hard. He needs lots of prayers for his lungs. Thank you everyone for your prayers and love.

Getting Better

Drew had a good day today! He did very well all day and it is apparent that the prayers and medicine are working. One of our nurses explained to us that he had done some tests on Drew that weren't scheduled until six hours later but he felt inspired to do them immediately. It turned out that the prompt treatment Drew received as a result of those tests saved Drew from some serious complications! It was a real testimony of the power of prayer as well as a confirmation that Heavenly Father is in complete control. Drew is starting to feel a lot better, he oxygenated very well today and his sense of humor is back! Drew loves to kick and play, Jenn and I spent 45 minutes tonight playing and talking to him while he was awake. It was so funny to hold our hands up against his little feet while he would push against them like doing leg presses. Each time we would pull our hands out he would start kicking and squirming so we quickly put our hands back in and he would start pushing against them again. He was also sucking pretty hard on his breathing and feeding tubes so we gave him his binky to suck on for a while. It really is the cutest thing to watch his little mouth suck on the binky while he has his hand holding it in place. Time goes by so fast when we are with Drew, we love every second we get to spend with him. We pray that he can have another well deserved good day tomorrow.

Roller Coaster Continues

This was a rough weekend for Drew and for us. Drew confronted a variety of challenges but he is doing a lot better tonight. On Saturday morning Drew wasn't tolerating any of the routine cares and check ups. His lungs were not oxygenating very well, his lungs were not ventilating CO2 very well, he was dehydrated, his kidneys had some difficulties resulting in an increase of total body acid as well as lower urine output, his adrenals were not supplying a sufficient amount of hydrocortisone which plays a complex role in regulating normal body functions, his feedings of milk were stopped and all liquid in his gut was sucked out, and his TPN (nutrition fed intravenously) had to be replaced with sugar water. Drew has to be the toughest little guy in the world to fight through all of these challenges. All of these complications led the doctors to believe that Drew had contracted an infection. They took a few blood samples to be cultured and started him on two types of antibiotics last night. His blood cultures showed this morning that he has a bacterial infection and will need to stay on the antibiotics for around ten days. He is also on hydrocortisone and he is well hydrated again. Drew was put on a different ventilator (breathing machine) last night. The new machine is called the Bunnell life pulse high frequency "jet" ventilator, it works in tandem with the Drager ventilator and Drew is responding really well to his new ventilator. His lungs looked a lot better in the chest x-ray today and he is oxygenating as well as ventilating CO2 extremely well! We were so impressed with his recovery and we are so grateful for his desire to keep fighting. We know that he can feel the support from all of the prayers from his friends and family. We will find out this week if Drew will have any long term complications from the challenges he faced this weekend. We keep praying that Heavenly Father will bless him and help us to trust in his will. Our family continues to grow closer every day and for that we are very thankful for these experiences.

First Binky!

On Wednesday Drew got to suck on his first binky! He absolutely loves it which is a good indicator that he should be able to eat without too much difficulty when the time comes to remove his feeding tube. The binky looks huge in the picture but it is the smallest little binky we have ever seen, it is so cute! Today we had a care conference which is a meeting with the neonatologist, physical therapist, speech therapist, case manager and a few other specialists. The conference was setup to clarify Drews status and progression. We learned a lot about the long road that lies ahead of Drew. His lungs remain the main area of concern as they have not progressed very much in the past week. The main complication in his lungs is a condition called atelectasis and the treatments they've given have not helped much. While his lungs remain the main area of difficulty he is still able to oxygenate well which is very good and we pray that his little lungs will mature quickly. Next week Drew will have another head ultra sound and we should know the full extent of the intra ventricular hemorrhaging (brain bleed) that drew had two weeks ago. The doctor seemed fairly confident that the hemorrhaging that Drew experienced was minor and will not have a long term affect on his development. Overall aside from his lungs Drew seems to be doing well, he is growing and now weighs one pound eleven ounces! He is so sweet and has received so much support from so many wonderful people. We love our little guy.

New Room

Drew moved into a new room today. He now has a window view so that he can look out and see the world! His old room was placed next to the operating/delivery room where they admit new babies into the intensive care unit. Apparantly they are expecting a high number of preemies to be admitted into the intensive care unit and they need the beds that are closest to the operating/delivery room. Yesterday was a bitter sweet day for us and Drew. We found out the results on the most recent head ultra sound which showed that the bleeding in the left ventricle is gone and the bleeding in the right ventricle is breaking down and subsiding! It was a huge blessing to hear that wonderful news. The bitter part of the day was when Drews lungs took a step back and he required more oxygen from the ventilator in order to oxygenate his body. His chest x-rays showed his lungs getting progressively worse throughout the day. During the night they tweaked the settings on the machine and tried various techniques to better suction out his lungs. Thankfully he is doing better today and we think he is loving his new room with the window. He has a long way to go before he will be able to breathe on his own but we hope that he will progress from this moment forward. Tomorrow we will know about the results from the heart echo which will tell us if the medication (indocin) helped to close the artery near his heart. When that artery closes completely it should help with his circulation and overall oxygenation. We miss him every night when we have to leave the hospital but it is so wonderful to spend time with him and we are so blessed with amazing nurses and doctors who care so much about our sweet son. We love Drew!

Eyes Wide Open!

Well maybe not wide open but Drew is trying so hard to get his precious little eyes open wide enough to see his Mommy and Daddy. We were so excited to be there today when he was awake so that we could look into our little guys eyes. He is still doing well and we are so grateful for these good days. The artery by his heart that should have closed at birth has re-opened which is causing some circulation problems. They started him on the same medication that they gave him earlier called indocin which should help to close that artery quickly. Drew's little lungs still have a lot of fluid in them and they are still very immature but we believe that they are getting better. We have been very blessed to spend a lot of time with him and he is looking better every day. We love our little Drew so so much!

16 Days

A little over two weeks ago Drew joined our family and time has gone by so fast. He has gained five ounces since his birth and now weighs one pound nine ounces! Drew has been very stable for the past five days, and we keep praying that each day he will get better and better. His immature lungs remain one of his main complications. He has a hard time consistently maintaining his oxygen saturation levels where they should be and his little body can't circulate the fluid out of his lungs. We know he is fighting so hard and we pray that his lungs will mature quickly. We had a special moment today when Drew opened his right eye almost all the way! It was incredible to look into his eye as he gazed back at us. It was amazing to watch as he would try harder and harder to open his eyes while Jenn would keep encouraging him. The highlight of every day is when we are at the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) spending time with our little guy. It is so hard to leave him at night but we are very comfortable with the nurses who take care of him. We have been blessed with wonderful nurses who care for Drew like he was their own and we are very grateful for them. We are very blessed and grateful for his progress, thank you everyone for your prayers.

On A Roll

Drew had another fairly good day. He is kind of in cruise control and not regressing but not improving a whole lot either, but we are thrilled that he is doing well! He still has some difficulties with his lungs which we believe could take a while to mature. His tummy remains his favorite position and he was pretty calm all day. They have planned to do another possible head ultra sound on Monday to make sure everything is still going well. He loves when we hold his hands we think he has a big sense of humor because he likes to pee on the nurses! Tthank you all for everything, we keep praying that little Drew will continue to progress.

Drew Is Doing Well

Another good day for our son! Today was a fairly uneventful day for Drew, he is stable and doing well. They did another heart echo to see whether or not the PDA (open artery that should close at birth) had closed off. The results show that it remains slightly open along with another area in his heart that is also supposed to be closed. They believe that these holes will close on their own and because they are not causing too much trouble they will wait to see what happens. His lungs are still full of fluid and there are still areas that show collapse on the x-rays, so they have been tweaking the settings on the ventilator to see how Drew reacts. The lab work that they did on his blood today also showed that he was having a little difficulty with ventilating the co2 out of his body and that he is having a hard time maintaining consistent levels of sodium. They believe that with a little fine tuning of his nutrition and ventilation (breathing machine settings) that he will find stability in these areas as well. So that is all that really happened today, the nurses said that boring days are good days! So we just hung out with our little guy and once again sang to him and held his hands before we said good night. Mommy made Daddy change two diapers today and each time it took Daddy forever! Thank you all again for everything, and most of all thank you Drew for coming into our lives! We love our special little guy.

Two In A Row!

Two great days in a row! Drew is continuing to amaze us with his strength and desire to live. We know that he has felt uplifted by the countless prayers offered for him, and we would like to thank everyone again for all of the prayers and love. Sometimes in life we feel like we are being carried by angels, and these past twelve days have been amazingly peaceful for us. We realize that there is a long road ahead of us and we look forward to continuing to witness the power of the priesthood and prayer. Drew is still at risk for infections which cause setbacks and his lungs still need to mature quickly. One area of concern is the small risk of hydrocephalus (blocked circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid). This can occur due to blood clots from the intraventricular hemorrhages (brain bleeds) that Drew experienced. Hydrocephalus can cause the ventricles and other areas to swell and apply pressure to the brain, which we are praying that Drew doesn't have to encounter. The nurse practioner felt optimistic that Drew would break down the cells from the intraventricular hemorrhaging normally and that this wouldn't be an issue. Yesterday little drew started to get his first taste of real food...milk from Mommy! They start with only one CC of milk every twelve hours which is not very much but it helps to get his stomach working. Although he doesn't get to actually taste it due to him requiring a feeding tube, we think that he is excited to have something other than water in his stomach. He is still very funny and loves his new position on his tummy. He is developing some funny facial expressions which make us and the nurses laugh pretty hard. We love visiting him and singing to him while we touch his little hands. Drew brings us so much joy and we love our little boy.

Answer To Our Prayers

Today we thank our Heavenly Father for a wonderful day with Drew. The nurses said that he has taken a step in the right direction and that Drew is the most stable that he has been for a while! We were told to celebrate because Drew is doing great in comparison to a couple of days ago. His Head ultra sound came back as stable which means that he hasn't had any further bleeding in the ventricles and that the previous bleeding is subsiding which we pray will break down without blocking the normal flow of spinal fluid. He is oxygenating really well today but his lungs are still full of fluid and they need to heal and mature quickly. While Drew still has many challenges yet to face we are remaining optimistic and confident that God is ultimately in control of the outcome of our son whatever that may be. We are extremely grateful to everyone for the prayers and fasting for little Drew and our family. We have felt uplifted through this experience and we know that your faith and prayers are carrying us, thank you all for your support and love. Drew loves to sleep on his stomach now just like his mommy and he loves to squeeze our fingers with his little hands. Today the radiologist was trying to do a kidney ultra sound and Drew kept kicking her hand! He is starting to develop a funny personality and he is trying so hard to open his little eyes. We love spending time with him, he radiates a powerful spirit that has inspired us to focus on the truly important things. Life is so precious and we are grateful that Heavenly Father has answered our prayers and allowed us to be with Drew for another wonderful day.

Sweet Boy

Drew has such a sweet spirit. Upon entering his room we can feel his love and power. We love our sweet little guy so much and we thank him every day for the powerful influence that he has had on our lives. Yesterday was extremely difficult for Jenn and me. We received the results from fridays head ultra sound and it looks like drew has another intraventricular hemorrhage (brain bleed) now in his right ventricle. Also his little lungs are struggling to consistently oxygenate his body. They are full of fluid and are beginning to tear due to the pressure that they have to apply from his ventilator (breathing machine). Basically his lungs need to heal and mature quickly or the longterm result will not be favorable. We met with the Neonatologist last night and as she explained these complications Jenn and I just tried to hold back the tears. The doctor explained that we are at a point where he will either get better or complications will quickly get worse. She also told us to prepare ourselves to let little Drew go if he starts to rapidly regress. After the conversation with the doctor, our sweet nurse decided to lift the top off of Drews isolette so that Jenn and I could kiss and talk to our wonderful boy. We spent a long time with him last night talking and singing to him. His tiny hands reached for ours and he would squeeze our fingers! Then today when we went to see him he looked really good! He still has a lot of fluid in his lungs but his oxygen levels have improved and his heart rate and blood pressure look really good as well. They say that his status will remain day to day, but we are enjoying every second that we get to spend with Drew. We love him so much and he has already changed our lives forever, we know that God is ultimately in control of Drews outcome and we trust that our Heavenly Father will do what is best for Drew and our family. We are so grateful for Drews sweet spirit and the precious lessons he has taught us. He will always be our sweet Boy.

One Week Old

Drew is one week old today! It is hard to believe that our little guy has already been with us for a whole week. Today was a really good day for us and him. He is oxygenating a lot better and his PDA (the area in the heart that didnt close at birth) is almost completely shut! He responded well to the medication that they gave him and the doctors believe that it will shut completely over time on its own. They did renal and head ultra sounds today. We should get the results from the head ultra sound tomorrow which will better show the full extent of the intraventricular hemorrhage (brain bleed). We are still praying very hard that the bleeding hasn't increased. Overall we were very happy today with his progress and we thank everyone who has prayed and fasted for his and our well being, we are very appreciative of your love and support. Mommy and Daddy got to hold little Drew for the first time while the nurse changed his bedding. It was an experience that we will never forget and a feeling came over us that is indescribable. We love our sweet son so so so much.

Thankful For Drew!

Today was our first Thanksgiving with our son Drew. We took a picture with a steralized baseball next to his head today so that everyone could see his size in comparison. He had a rollercoaster day. At times he was doing a great job with his oxygen saturation levels but as soon as we thought he was improving his lungs would start to struggle again. They took a couple of chest x-rays to help see why he is experiencing such dramatic peaks and valleys. Each x-ray basically showed that a large portion of his lungs are either full of fluid or they are collapsed and are not able to oxygenate the blood. They are trying different ventilators (breathing machines) and are trying different positions to see if they can stabilize his lungs better. The one certain diagnosis is that his lungs are extremely under developed which is due to his prematurity. Tomorrow they have scheduled to take a heart echo (scan) as well as a head ultra sound. This will let us know if the PDA in his heart has closed off and the head ultra sound will give us a better understaning of the intraventriculr hemorrhage (brain bleed) that they noticed earlier this week. On this Thanksgiving we realize how blessed we are and we have so much to be thankful for. We are so grateful for our wonderful son Drew! We love him so so much and continue to pray for his well being.

What's new with Drew

* Wednesday November 21, 2007. Drew had a good day today! We have learned to cherish days like these. He has been given the medicine to help close the opening in his heart. The medicine is given once every 12 hours and requires three doses. So far he is responding well to the first dose. His lungs are looking a little better but they still have a lot of fluid in them. They will do another head ultra sound on Friday to follow up on the intraventricular hemorrhage (brain bleed). We are praying for a favorable outcome and that the bleeding has not increased or started in any areas of the actual brain. We are constantly reminded that the Lord knows so much more than we do and we are learning that his ways are not always our ways. This has been a tremendous opportunity for our faith to grow.

We Love Our Son

Drew is fighting through some difficult challenges. On Tuesday November 20, 2007 we were told that he has some new complications. His heart has a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), which basically means that an area of his heart that should have closed off after birth is still open. This is fairly common in premies and is treated by a medicine that they will start shortly. He also might have a Persistent Foramen Ovale (PFO), which is another area that didn't close off in the heart but should correct itself over time. The area of most concern is the brain. He had another head ultra sound today that indicated a minor grade 2 intra ventricular hemorrhage (brain bleed). The complications of this are not very serious, however there is concern that if this hemorrhage grows or appears outside of the ventricle that he might risk more serious complications. We are praying that God will bless our son and we thank everyone who is doing the same. We will know the full extent of the hemorrhage on Friday after another head ultra sound. We love Drew so much and we are extremely blessed to have this beautiful boy in our lives.

Still Fighting

Monday November 19, 2007 was a little difficult for us and Drew. We were told that this will be a rollercoaster of emotions. He had a rough night and one of his lungs collapsed but it was corrected simply by turning him onto his side. The new worry is that his lungs are filling with fluid and they have given him some medication to help dry him out. He is still fighting hard.

Another Good Day

November 18, 2007. Drew spent his first Sunday celebrating the news from the results of his first head ultra sound. The doctors say that to their surprise there isn't any bleeding in the brain! That is absolutely miraculous given his intense delivery and his extreme prematurity. Aside from a few imbalances in sodium and glucose, he is doing really well. Drew started his light therapy to remedy biliruben. Daddy helped change his diaper today! We love our little boy.

Doing Well

On Saturday November 17, 2007 Drew was doing extremely well. He was fighting so hard and his heart and lungs looked great. They were still concerned that this might just be what they call a honeymoon period when newborn premies do exceptionally well for the first few days and then begin to experience complications. We are amazed at the ability that these doctors and nurses have to give these special little children a chance at life. We love our son and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. We were able to touch him today and he tried to grip Jenns finger with his tiny hand!

Little Miracle

On Friday November 16th 2007, our little boy Drew James Towner came into the world. He is such a miracle. He came into our lives very unexpectedly. He was born 4 months (16 weeks) early and weighed one pound four ounces. He is so amazing and we have truely witnessed a miracle. He has an amazing spirit and is truely so close to the veil. We are getting a good education about the body and the way that it works. We learn new things about Drews brain, heart, and lungs daily. He is doing good and has a very strong spirit that is fighting very hard to stay with us. We've had a lot of good days and a few difficult days. Drew is so special to us so it is hard to hear any negtive news but we are all staying strong. We pray that Gods mercy will be poured out to our little boy. We know that he knows all and we are willing to accept his will.