Breathing Tube and PICU

Hello everyone,

  Well Amarie is supposed to wake up tomorrow (Friday, April 24).  They are going to take her into surgery in order to remover her breathing tube.  We are so excited to see her little eyes again!  She will have to spend at least another day in the PICU, but after that she should be able to move to another less serious room.  She will have to be monitored for another week, but at least she will be awake and breathing on her own.  The jaw continues to grow as the doctors adjust it twice a day.  This will contiue for another 7-8 weeks.  Corin will have to adjust it when we take her home.  Everyone has been awesome through all of this.  Corin's mother (Mary) has been over our house and the hospital almost every day.  My mother has been calling every day to check on her.  Corin's sister Marissa has been an incredible emotional support.  Mary's small group has been amazing, they have cleaned our house, made us meals, and have been consistantly praying for us.  Our friends Laura, Hannah, and Jesse have made us meals and dog sat while we needed to be at the hospital over night.  Jim (Corin's father) has been at the hospital on a regular basis too.  My aunt's are pitching in to pay some of our utilities this month.  The Tucker's were very generous with some gift cards.  Thank you everyone who has been so amazing, and if I forgot to mention your name I apologize, there are just so many people who have helped us through this.  Thank you everyone!

-Jason Orean

Update-Sunday

Amarie is doing ok but is still having a hard time getting stable after her surgery. Her blood pressure continues to be low. The nurses are slowly trying to wean her off of the dopamine but her blood pressure keeps dropping. Her pulse has gone back down which is good because it was high earlier. She had fluid in her lungs this morning but it was ok this afternoon when they repeated the chest x-ray. She was really swollen all over today which is so sad to see her like that. We just keep praying for her recovery and are counting down the days until she is no longer sedated. We miss seeing her eyes open and can't wait for her to be awake again...not too many parents are hoping for their newborn to wake up!! :)
~Corin

Update- Friday

Amarie is still in ICU recovering. They have been having trouble getting her blood pressure and heart rate stable. She will stay sedated and on a ventilator until Wednesday. We miss seeing her awake and being able to hold her! I went home last night since she was sedated and there really wasn't anywhere to stay...it was nice to be home after being gone for a week (and especially nice to get some sleep after not sleeping for two weeks!) but it was so hard to leave her. We are so glad to have the surgery behind us and to be heading in the right direction. She will go back to the ICU for a day or two after they take the breathing tube out on Wednesday and then will go to the pediatric floor for a while until she is stable enough to go home. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support!
~Corin

Surgery Update

Well Amarie's surgery went well. She only lost a teaspoon of blood, which is really good. She has a couple of rods sticking out of her head, which is hard to see, but I know it is for the best. She is recovering in the ICU right now and probably will be there for another 5 days. The doctor said she could possibly go home in 7-10 days. We will see. Thank you again for your prayers and support.

-Jason and Corin

Surgery

Well Amarie is going in for surgery today. She did not do well in her sleep study so she is going to have her jaw extended so she can sleep, breathe, and eat better. I am not too familiar with the procedure, but from what I can understand they are going to break her jaw and place some sort of vice and crank in there. This will help stretch and extend her jaw so she can breathe easier. She will be in the ICU for about 5 days after the surgery. The doctors here have been great and I've been told this procedure was created at this hospital. This has put her mother and my nerves somewhat at ease. There are some risks of infection and potential blood loss, but this is a risk with any surgery. The bright side is that after the surgery Amarie should be able to eat on her own and breathe with a lot more ease. We are very hopeful and we have faith that she is in God's hands. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging words. God bless!

-Jason and Corin