Audrey's stay at St. Charles and Doernbecher

All geared up for her procedures!

Cuddles from Mommy before CT scan / bronchoscopy

I may have a needle in my head...
but I'm still going to play!

Audrey's Daddy never left her side
the entire time she was in the hospital

Mommy and Dr. Evered with Audrey at her CT scan

Audrey was her usual active self
and kept rolling over in her crib!

Big brother

Baby sister

Audrey really wanted to touch Oliver
(so I put him in her crib the day after surgery!)

She was so happy to see him!

Cuddling with "rammy"
(The nurses kept giving her new toys to keep her
entertained so we came home with about 3 bags full...)

After 3 nights at St. Charles and 3 more nights at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, we were able to bring our sweet little Audrey home yesterday afternoon. We had been preparing ourselves for a long stay but feel as if we witnessed a miracle firsthand! The CT scan and first bronchoscopy performed at St. Charles revealed a narrowing of Audrey's airway so severe that she was flown via AirLink to Portland early Tuesday morning for a second bronchoscopy and probable major surgery. However, while the pediatric ENT was performing her second bronchoscopy late Wednesday afternoon to get a better look at her airway, rather than finding a structural problem that would have to be completely reconstructed, he found two cysts that had grown so large they were nearly blocking her airway completely. He called us from the operating room to tell us what he had found and asked for our permission to remove the cysts while Audrey was still under anesthesia for the bronchoscopy. About 30 minutes later Audrey was waking up, the cysts were out, and we were able to go see our little bunkin'. Audrey was pretty out of it and a little on the grumpy side, but it was nothing a bottle, or EIGHT, couldn't fix! After not getting to eat for over 10 hours, a bottle in the mouth brought immediate relief. She started with two little bottles of glucose water (to make sure her tummy could handle fluids post-op) and then proceeded to suck down SIX more little bottles of formula - all while half asleep! She was taken back to the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for observation until Thursday. She continued a cycle of ravenous hunger and sleep for about 12 hours and by Thursday morning was back to her happy little self, peeking over the railing of her crib and trying to crawl right out! Daddy spent every single night in her room with her while I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house with my cousin Kellie (who, along with Grandma and Grandpa Bennington, helped us out immensely with the babies so we could talk to doctors and spend time with Audrey), her baby Taleah, Oliver, and Grace. The last two nights Robert took Grace too (so I could have a little break) and had her sleep in the DRAWER under his bed! (Yes, she is still that tiny). The nurses got a kick out of that and Grace actually seemed to really enjoy her little makeshift cradle! Late Thursday afternoon Audrey was finally moved out of the PICU and into her own room which meant we could finally all be together (her room in the PICU was tiny and could only hold 1 or 2 visitors at a time). She stayed there for one more night and Friday morning was released to go home!

The improvement in Audrey's breathing is incredible! Her little tummy, which used to expand dramatically with every strained breath, is now calm and still, and the deep "holes" she used to get in her throat and chest when she would suck in deeply for air are completely gone! She is still a little noisy when she breathes, most likely due to the irritation from two bronchoscopies and inflammation from the surgical removal of both cysts. There is a chance that the cysts will grow back (and rather rapidly), so the ENT has scheduled for her to be seen by him again March 18th. He will do another bronchoscopy to see if there is any regrowth and if so, we will discuss our options at that time. So, although we are rejoicing in Audrey's currently open airway, we will continue to pray that it will stay open and cyst free!

Robert and I feel so blessed and thankful for how everything fell into place during this stressful, emotional time. It truly feels like a miracle that our cousins were here to help out with the other babies, that we were able to respond quickly when Audrey stopped breathing, that help arrived promptly, that Dr. John Evered (who took care of the babies during their first 3 months of life) was able to accompany us through her procedures at St. Charles and arrange for her recovery in the NICU and transfer to Doernbecher (even though none of those things are his responsibility at all!), that Molly at Baby Phases was willing to meet us at her store at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning so we could grab a carseat and stroller for our trip over the mountain, that Audrey was able to see an expert pediatric ENT in Portland, and that her diagnosis was something that could be remedied so easily and without major surgery. So many people gave of their time and talents to help us through this scary situation and to take care of our little Audrey, and we are so very grateful to all of them. And we know that hundreds of people (many of whom we have never met!) were lifting Audrey up in prayer this past week and praying faithfully for her comfort, protection, and recovery. We can truly see how the Lord worked through the entire situation to preserve and heal our little girl. Thank you all!!!

Audrey rushed to the ER

A picture of our happy girl taken last week

Last night at about 8:30pm Audrey stopped breathing, turned blue, and went completely limp. I had just fed her and was administering her evening breathing treatment when her eyes started to close and she started getting really dusky. In a matter of seconds she was nearly incoherent and very blue so I yanked her out of her highchair and handed her to Robert. He promptly began CPR (which we had thankfully learned at the NICU) and got her breathing again while I called 911. Audrey was blue and limp for about 4 minutes until the paramedics arrived and began giving her oxygen. The oxygen helped significantly but she remained very pale and when the oxygen was removed her O2 saturation levels dropped again. So after getting her stabilized I carried her out to the ambulance and rode with her to the ER while Robert followed behind in our car. Thankfully, our cousins were in town from Arizona and my Dad and Terri were over for dinner so we were able to leave the other two babies with them while we accompanied Audrey to St. Charles. Once we got in the ambulance Audrey seemed to improve considerably and was being her usual happy, smiley self (I caught her flirting with several of the paramedics:)) and by the time we got to the ER she was as chipper as ever - and extremely curious about her bright, new surroundings. Robert met us in the ER where we stayed with her under observation for about an hour. Chest and neck x-rays were taken but everything looked normal. The on-call pediatrician (who happened to be present at the babies' birth) evaluated her and decided to keep her over night for continued observation. Audrey has been having difficulty breathing ever since October (when she was first hospitalized for her wheezing and strider) but even though every breath seems to take so much effort and energy, she has never lost her pink rosy coloring or stopped breathing (and happens to be the most active and energetic of the three babies). The doctors wanted to put her under anesthesia and scope her airway back in October but decided it was okay to delay the procedure as long as she was eating well and wasn't having any other complications. Last night's events, however, have changed the situation and now the doctors feel it necessary to have her scoped. The procedure is very risky and may only confirm what they already think it is (a narrowing in her airway that will hopefully grow as she grows), but may reveal some other problem that may have caused her to stop breathing. Her wonderful NICU doctor came by and talked with Robert and may be present during the procedures tomorrow (which is extremely comforting to us). The plan is to do a CT scan first (which will probably require anesthesia to keep her still) and if they can see what they need to see, a scope may not be necessary; if they are unable to see anything they will take her to the OR and do the surgery while she is already under anesthesia. Unfortunately, intubation and anesthesia in premature babies with breathing problems is extremely risky and may require an extended recovery time to wean her back off of oxygen. Please pray for protection over our little girl and that these risky procedures will at least give us some answers as to why she has been struggling so hard to breathe.