Stable

Today has ended on a good note.  Skye is stable!

I went to see baby today at about 1pm.  I got to see her for about 15 minutes or so and then the ECMO team was ready to start the process.  So, then I went over to UW Hospital to see Coral.  She was still pretty tired and a little groggy, but doing fine.

ECMO is basically a heart/lung bypass machine that lets the heart and lungs rest.  The procedure to put it in took about 2.5 hours the nurse said, and went just fine.

This evening Bill wanted to see Ethan and the baby, so we dropped the kids off at my parents (thank you!!!!) and picked up Ethan and went to see Skye.  While there, the nurse explained a lot of things and even showed us what each of the lines attached to her are for.  There are soooo many tubes/lines/whatever you want to call them in her tiny little body!!  From the big ECMO line in her neck, to oxygen monitors on her kidneys and brain, to blood pressure, feeding, breathing, catheter, and many more!   We then got some dinner with Ethan and went to see Coral.  She seemed to be doing even better this evening.  She said they are going to have her try and walk this evening. She's doing about as best you can expect after having a c-section and not being able to see her baby! :(  She eagerly looked at the pictures I took from my camera.

So, meanwhile there are 2 nurses in her room at all times, the regular nurse and the ECMO nurse.  They basically are monitoring all the things and making recordings.  There is not much touching of baby because they don't really like it at this point, but they do when needed to move her, etc.  This will hopefully stay uneventful for a week or so.  Then they will start "testing" her by diminishing some of the "help" she is getting to see if her body can handle less help.  This will hopefully lead up to a surgery to repair the diaphragm and rearrange her organs at maybe around 2 weeks.

Tomorrow, I'll post the pictures I took today here on the blog.  It's late and I am tired!

Otherwise, I'll post a blog when there is something to say, you can assume that if you don't here from me on here, that everything is stable and no changes to report.

Thanks for all the prayers.  We sure can all feel them.

Aurora Skye Hunter-Phillipson is here

She was born at 2:30am via c-section weighing 4 pounds 4 ounces. At about 1:45 they decided to do a c-section because baby couldn't handle the labor.

At about 5:30am Ethan texted me that she is very sick and going on ECMO, a heart/lung bypass machine and it's not looking good.

It's a go!!!

I am writing this at about 9pm and Coral is in labor!!!!!!

They got to go to the hospital about noon today.  At about 5pm she was getting the petosin medication to start labor.  At about 8pm I asked if she was feeling it yet.  Ethan said that Coral said no, but he could see it in her face.  So, that means contractions are there, just not that bad yet!

This probably will be a long night for them. For me personally when induced with Shaun, it was about 14 hours from first petosin to birth.

I will post an update around 6-7am tomorrow unless I haven't heard anything.  Check my facebook post during the day for brief updates, and then I'll post a detailed blog post here in the evening!

Thanks for all the prayers!!  This is all in God's hands and He knows the big picture.

.....and waiting.....

It's a no go again today.  The hospital is too full.  She will go in for a stress test tomorrow if  they can't get her in then.  It's a waiting game at this point....I'll update again tomorrow!

Still waiting....

They were instructed to call in to the hospital at noon today instead of going in first thing.  Then they had to wait for a call back after they called in.  They were too full, so they have to call back tomorrow.  That is all the news from today.  I'll post another update tomorrow!

It is about 8pm and I just got home.  After work, I pulled in the driveway, switched cars and took Shaun (with Logan) to swim class.  Then we went to playgroup right after.  It has been a long day!

Seattle!

No really update on baby except that the induction is still scheduled for Monday morning.

However we have done the tourist thing in Seattle!  Last Sunday, Bill took Ethan and Coral to see some sights.  I stayed home with the boys because they had slight runny noses and Logan would need a nap, and so we scheduled the activities that were less kid friendly.  Bill went to church and then met Ethan & Coral at Northgate Transit Center. They then took the bus to Westlake and had lunch at the food court.  Then they took the Monorail to Seattle Center and went to the top of the Space Needle and then to the EMP, Experience Music Project.  We have never been to the EMP; Bill said it was pretty neat, from displays of the origin of the guitar to an Avatar interactive exhibit and much more.

After the EMP, they took the Monorail back to Westlake and then went back down to the tunnel to catch the bus a couple of stations to Pioneer Square where the underground Seattle tour is located.  Again, we have never gone on this tour before and Bill said it was interesting.  It showed and explained the history of Seattle and how after it burned down, it was rebuilt and then the street/ground was moved up a floor to accommodate being built on a marsh right by the Sound.  I would like to go on it someday too; when the boys are old enough!

They then took the bus back to Northgate and then Bill drove them back to the Ronald McDonald House.  They all were pretty pooped after this.  They originally met at Northgate at 11:30, and Bill didn't get home until 8pm!

Needless to say, Coral needed to rest up on Monday, so they did not come with us when the 4 of us went to Seattle for our Labor Day adventure.  We took the bus again, and then walked to the water front and went on the new Seattle Great Wheel.  It just opened at the end of June, so is a brand new attraction in Seattle.  It was a fun time for a Ferris wheel ride!  Then, we had lunch, and then did the "Ride the Ducks" tour.  This is a vehicle that can go both on the street and water and took us on a tour starting at Westlake, into Lake Union and then all over Seattle, lasting 90 minutes.  We had never done it before and was fun!

The boys were so good!  We were gone most of the day, so Logan did not get a nap, but was soooo well behaved the entire day; I was really amazed.  A kind gentleman that we talked to for a few minutes while waiting in line at the Great Wheel asked if Logan was always this good, I said no! But, that was at the beginning of the day, so wasn't too amazing besides the fact that we had to wait a bit in line.  He calmly sat in his stroller, which is not like him!  :)

Bill is working this weekend, but I am going with Ethan and Coral back to Seattle so they can see the Pike Place Market and the Great Wheel. This is their last chance to have a little fun!

Pictures are on Facebook or via the link at the right under 'September 2012'!

Be praying for and on Monday.  I'll post an update when I get home on Monday, which may be later if I am able to visit baby and Coral.

8/29 Niece update

Today has been a hard day. They were at the hospitals for most of the day so are just generally drained and also emotions are starting to struggle.  The news from the appointments is not all that promising.  They are concerned about the heart.  They can't tell exactly where the problem is, but it is with the valves.  If the problem is on the left side, then there will be no surgery, I'm guessing because it is too severe..... Also, the docs would not give a percentage chance because they are never accurate enough, so that was discouraging to them.  There may also be a problem with one of the arms.  The result of today:  Induction for September 10th as of now.  More appointments tomorrow and then they are done until September 5th.

On a lighter note, they are at the Ronald McDonald House now!  We plan to go out to dinner with them Friday and do some fun Seattle sights, like the new Great Wheel on either Sunday or Monday.

As for us, the boys had dentist appointments today; Logan's first and he did awesome!  He didn't even cry until the very end when he tasted the fluoride.  Shaun did great also including x-rays, and both have no cavities!