Re: preemie-l Adam born 5/2/96 at 24 weeks

JACKIE STURGILL (jsturgill@stic.net)
Mon, 17 Jun 1996 10:42:58 -0500 

Gary Hardy wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 16 Jun 1996, Jackie Sturgill wrote:
> 
> >
> > 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.
> 
> Hello Jacki,
> What a difficult time for you.  We hope that Adam continues to cope
> through all his difficulties.  There are some other 24 weekers on
> preemie-l, one of them has just come home.  It's a long haul for these
> little ones and their families.  We'll do all we can to support you
> through the group.
> 
> Our son Vincent was born at 26 weeks with sepsis.  He also suffered a
> grade IV I.V.H. which appeared externally as a huge bruise at the back of
> his head around his third day.  Like you all we wanted was to know how it
> would affect him.  We were so grateful that he survived but very sad that
> this had happened to him.
> 
> His NICU stay was pretty awful for all concerned.  There are things I've
> learned since that I believe would have comforted him and I wish I had
> known at the time.  Even very tiny babies need loving touch, to have
> their heads and feet cradled, to hear their parents voices.  NICUs are
> very bright noisy places but some will make individual adjustments to
> light depending on the baby.  You can put a small tape player in the crib
> with the baby to play your recorded voices and gentle music.  There is
> good discussion on these things in the preemie-l archives, accessible
> through the home page.  (Check discussion on "micropreemies".)
> 
> We were terrified about the IVH.  It's still a worry but Vincent is 20
> months old now (17 months corrected) and he's doing extremely well, much
> better than we anticipated.  He's a bright normal little boy with a
> slightly stiff right knee and arm.  He's left handed and doesn't usually
> play with both hands but he can if he wants to.  He's affectionate and
> has an expressive vocabulary.  He's almost walking - he's been almost
> walking for about 6 weeks but he'll get there for sure.
> 
> Every baby is different.  Maybe Adam's temper and spirit will help him
> along.  Does your NICU do kangaroo care?  It's something that will be
> lovely for all of you.
> 
> Good luck.  Keep us posted.
> Anne Casey  (partner Gary, parents of Jessie 4 and Vincent 17 months)

Dear Anne,

Thank you for your e-mail & words of encouragment.God only knows how we 
need them...Pat & I both pray that Vincent & the rest of the family is 
doing well..

What is kangaroo care?  It sounds interesting!

Take Care...
Jackie