preemie-l Adam born 5/2/96 at 24 weeks
Jackie Sturgill (jsturgill@stic.net)
Sun, 16 Jun 1996 01:36:43 -0500
My name is Jackie Sturgill & I had my son, Adam prematurily at 24 weeks.
I had an ovarian tumor (about 25 centimeters) that had to be removed.
Two days later, I went into labor. I tried to tell the nurses that I was
having contractions, but they assured me I was just having gas.
These "gas pains" were coming every two minutes & they had me go to the
bathroom. The pains did go away when I was sitting erect in the
bathroom, therefore the nurses thought I was some dip that was just a
hysterical patient. (I've had 2 other children, & yes I was scared, but
I do know what labor pains feel like....& yes, I'm also a dip at times.)
When I went to clean myself, I felt the membrane coming out of my
vagina. Calmly, I exited the bathroom & shared the news w/ my husband &
nurse. Guess what? They didn't think I was making this up anymore.
I delivered Adam about 15 minutes later in a regular hospital bed. Thank
God for the NICU staff being right there, without them, my son wouuld be
dead.
Adam weighed 1lb 13 oz.
At day 3, he had a grade IV brain hemmorage, on the left front side of
his brain.
He has had numerous infections in his lungs, & has been on the vent for
6 wks.
He is missing a hormone that controls urinating.I'm know I'm going
to manhandle the spelling of the term, but it is "diabetes
incipatis"(Our doctor hasn't seen this in 17 years of practicing)
He is overly stimulated.
He has a "Broviac" in his chest(permanent IV)
& best of all, he has a temper.(Poor baby, me, his mom, is an
Irish/Italin redhead...Poor little guy was bound to have something of a
temper!) The problem w/ his temper, however, is when he is ticked off,
he clamps down on his vent tube, producing Brochial spasms, & drops his
SATS to low numbers. (I figured this is just the preemie way of saying
"I'll Hold my breath!"...Sorry, I've been dealing w/ this entire
situation w/ humor..albeit poor humor, family, practicing real estate,
prayer & a positive attitude.)
My husband Patrick Sturgill, a homicide detective w/ the San Antonio
Police Dept. & I, Jackie Sturgill, a Realtor w/ RE/MAX ASSOCIATES in San
Antonio(web site... http://www.stic.net/users/jsturgill/)
are looking for answers, or at least what to expect w/ this little guy.
I have a Masters in Special Education from the Univ. of Georgia. I
actually taught Sp. Ed. for 6 years. I was an Educational Therapist.
(My major area was Emotionally Disturbed Children) The students I had
that were preemies were dually diagnosed were mentally
handicapped/emotionally disturbed.
I stopped teaching because of the stress & low pay. Please
realize, my only experience w/ preemies was that of an
Educator/Therapist.
I thank God for your homepage. I also am building a
"Preemie Power" homepage in honor of Adam. There is so little info out
there for parents, as well as support for parents. As a
former therapist, I thrive on similar experiences from parents. Whether
the experiences have been good or bad, I need to know. I know I can't
predict the future for Adam, but I do want a bit of a clue.
Presently Adam is at Methodist Hosp. in San Antonio, Texas, in NICU. He
is the most critical baby in there, & the only baby on a vent currently.
Please help us w/ info if you can.
My e-mail is jsturgill@stic.net
Office address is: Jackie Sturgill
RE/MAX Associates
1919 N.W. Loop 410
San Antonio, Texas 78213
Office ph # _ (210) 340-3000
office fax (210) 340-3028
home (210) 520-4781
Home Address 9222 Ridgeland
San Antonio, Texas 78250
Thank you for letting me fuss..