Remember how I said that days in the NICU are up and down?  Well, we are constantly learning this truth.  Bennett is fine and stable again right now, but late last night he somehow turned his head and pulled out his airway.  His sats sank pretty low and his ensuing blood gases were not very good.  They had to re-intubate him and give him a couple doses of morphine and a sedative to calm him down.  His blood gases earlier this morning were good, and they are planning to check the gases again in a couple of hours to make sure.  I think the plan for the day is to not feed him (or at least reduce his number of feedings) and allow him to calm down and rest as much as possible before they begin more regular feedings.

Bennett made great strides this weekend, and we are still so happy for how far he's come.  However, as you can tell, he still is not ready to come off the vent, which means his little lungs are still not ready to take over.  Please continue to pray for Bennett's lungs to heal and expand, for good blood gases, for the protection from seizures, and for the ability of the boy to just calm down and rest!  I think he's getting a little frustrated with all the tubes and wants to try to breath on his own, but he's just not ready for this step yet. 

Thank you all for your prayers.  We'll post another update when we've heard from the doctors.  Have a great Monday.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett

“One of the most remarkable ECMO turnarounds I’ve ever seen.  He is truly a miracle.” 

These were the words spoken by one of Bennett’s more senior physicians earlier today.  There is mostly only good news to report, and we are so very thankful and give God all the glory for being able to continue to give you this good news. 

The website has been down again, so we’re just now able to post another update.  He had another "episode" around 5pm, and they had to give him a couple doses of morphine and increase his oxygen settings on the ventilator, but as of an hour ago he was back to where he was earlier in the day.   Essentially, the “streak” continues.  Bennett’s gases were labeled as “stellar,” his pressure and oxygen levels on the ventilator have been reduced overall, no seizure activity has been reported, the surgery option is becoming less and less likely, and he continues to react well to his increased feedings.  His parents and the wonderful medical staff truly marvel at where he is today.  The senior physician told me that he was so happy with Bennett’s progress, and that “you really have no idea just how bad things really were last Thursday.”  I guess it’s probably best that we never know!

We praise God for Bennett’s improvement, and we humbly ask that you continue your prayers on his behalf.  He has made incredible strides in a few short days, but we’re ever mindful of how quickly things can change in the NICU.  He is still in critical condition and continues to be monitored very closely, so please continue your prayers for his lungs, for protection from seizures, for good blood gases, and for his lungs to be able to tolerate lower oxygen and pressure settings on the vent.

Thank you all for your love, encouragement, and commitment to prayer on Bennett’s behalf.  They mean more to us than you'll ever know. 

Love,

A short update here, but all good news!  Bennett continues to do well, and overall he has had a good day.  His blood gases have been good, there's been no seizure "activity" in a few days, he is reacting well to the feedings so far (he loves them actually), and his latest chest x-ray actually showed a "little" bit of improvement.  He rested well for most of the day on his stomach, and when we saw him this evening he was wide awake and ready to see mommy and daddy.  I (Trav) was even able to hold him for a little while tonight and Bennett tolerated all the moving pretty well, so we are pretty happy about that.  We'll post some pictures of our "wide awake" boy a little later tonight. 

Again, thank you all for your love and encouragement and prayers.  Our boy is still sick, but he is fighting hard to get off these vents and out of all of these tubes!  He has put several good days together, so we're praying for the streak to continue! 

Love,

Trav, Kell, and Bennett

I just spoke with Bennett's nurse and he is doing well overall - another good night!  He is resting well on his sides and stomach (they turn him every few hours to help lessen all the swelling) and he is feeding well too.  His oxygen and ventilator settings have also come down a little, so this is also a good thing (his lungs are trying to do more of the work).  He still can't go without the ventilator yet, but at least he's heading in the right direction.  The doctors will be making their rounds in the next couple of hours, so if there's new info to share we will be sure to let you know.  For now, please continue to pray for his lungs, for the protection from seizures, for good blood gases, and for the surgery option to remain just that - an option!

Fall has FINALLY arrived here in our nation's capital, so we're so excited about that.  We look forward to the day when we can take Bennett on some walks with us so he can enjoy this cool, crisp air with us.

Thank you all for continuing to lift up Bennett to the Father.  He has come so very far in the last 4 weeks.  A long way to go still, but he truly has come so far.  Just last night I was looking down at his ECMO "scars" (where the catheters were inserted) on his neck and marveled at where he is today compared to where he was just 9 short days ago.  God has been so faithful and has shown us His great power and mercy.  

Have a great Saturday.

Love,

Trav, Kell, and Bennett

I just called the NICU and the nurse told me that Bennett is "sound asleep" and his sats and blood gases are good so far.  It's such a great thing to hear this first thing in the morning!  Also, we don't think he had any more "moments" last night, so that was also good news.

As mentioned yesterday, the infection remains in his lungs, particularly on his right side.  The strategy is still to wait and see how the lungs react, and to see if they can heal, expand, absorb and/or push out the infection on their own.  If they can't, then surgery will probably be the way to go.  But we're praying and hoping for the former!

Thank you all for your love and concern for our boy.  He is still very sick, but he has taken such great strides in the last week.  We marvel at the strides he has taken, and we are convinced it is because of the Almighty showing his power and mercy by answering all of our calls and prayers.  Thank you for continuing to lift our son up to the Father, and we humbly ask that you please continue to pray for his lungs to heal, for the protection from seizures, for no more "moments," and for good blood gases.

We'll update again when we have more info to share.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett

Bennett has had a good day today, so we praise God for this!  His ventilator support has remained steady today and besides a few fiesty moments during diaper changes, etc., he did not have any bronchial episodes/"moments" like he has had in previous days.  His breast milk feedings have increased, which is a great thing!  They are also producing major diaper blow-outs (per the nurses), so I guess his digestive system is definitely working - thank you Lord.

Bennett is currently being weaned off the morphine he has been on since birth, so this can cause some days of withdrawal that are going to be hard on his little body.  Please pray that his withdrawal is minimal and please pray for us as we watch his body go through the withdrawal - it is really hard to watch, but we know this is a good thing for him to be taken off the strong pain medication.  It is one more step towards a "normal" life, so we are thankful that he is taking this step.

Bennett and his mommy are very happy that his daddy will be home all weekend, so the 3 of us plan to have lots of time together at the hospital this weekend and we plan to take more pictures of our precious angel boy (his swelling continues to go down, so he looks much more like his "old" self!).  He is now wearing clothes and is all swaddled up, so we just love to stare at him all cozy in his crib.  He is happiest sleeping on his belly when his tent is covering up his crib to block out all the light and noise of the NICU; so usually the nursing staff gets lovely views of Bennett's parents ducking under the tent to be close to Bennett with our rears sticking out.....what can we say - we are taken with our boy and just love to be close to him to see those big eyes looking up at us, to smell his baby scent, and to kiss his soft baby skin.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and we continue to thank you for your prayers and concern for Bennett.  Great is Thy faithfulness!  Bennett loves to hear this song sung to him, and we cannot help but keep thanking God for His faithfulness and can't stop proclaiming the miracles He has and will continue to do in Bennett.

Love,

Kelly, Travis & Bennett

Good morning, all.  I just spoke with Bennett's nurse and he had a good night last night after his "moment."  The x-ray showed the new tube to be in the correct place, and his latest blood gases were right where they wanted them to be.  So, right now he's doing well and we're very thankful for that. 

I spoke with the doctor last night and she told me the plan as of right now is to continue to monitor his blood gases, continue suctioning him as needed, and essentially just wait for his lungs to heal and expand.  There are pockets of infection that remain on both sides of his lungs, and the surgery option has not been taken off the table yet.  They'd obviously prefer not to go the surgery route if they don't have to, so we're praying that his lungs will continue to rest and heal and start working.

When we have more updates we'll let you know.  Bennett is definitely enjoying his new "bassinet" in a new corner of the room, and anytime we see him it's so hard not to just lean down and pick him up and kiss him all over.  As I mentioned in the previous post, when we think back to one week ago today - his darkest hour so far - we are simply amazed and in awe of what God has done to heal our son.  Bennett remains critically ill, but we are so thankful that he is doing better and continues to show that fighting spirit. 

Thank you all for your love and prayers. 

Love,

Trav, Kell, and Bennett 

I just spoke with Kelly and she's back with Bennett now and has been there for most of the afternoon.  He's doing about the same as this morning (with no "going ballistic" moments as of yet), so he continues to have good blood gases, to urinate well, to be suctioned as needed, and to just plain rest.  His x-ray from this morning is unchanged from the day before.  It is much more black (more oxygen) than a few days ago, but there remain pockets of infection that refuse to go away - especially on the right side.  SO, they have now turned him on his LEFT side in hopes of getting some of this stubborn infection on his right side loosened up some. 

The strategy at this point remains allowing him to rest as much as possible (as long as his blood gases continue to be good) so that his lungs can strengthen and expand as much as possible.  Surgery is still an option, so if the infection ever appears to be gaining strength then they will probably have to go this route.  But our hope is that through rest and reduced "moments" that surgery will not be needed.

We'll plan to post more later tonight.  Please continue your prayers for Bennett's lungs, for no more "ballistic" moments, for protection from seizures, and for good blood gases.  Also, please continue your prayers for the precious baby girl who is now on ECMO, as well as for her parents. 

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett