Thank you all for your constant prayers and encouragement - you have no idea how much they mean to us and our families.  Someone recently asked if we really read what people write and we definitely read every comment - they strengthen and encourage us (as well as the amazing medical staff here) daily and nightly.

I just experienced a glorious mommy moment- my first diaper change!  I was back with Bennett singing and talking to him and nurse Mary Ann asked if I would like to change the diaper, so I gladly accepted.  Bennett and I had just spent 30 minutes together with calm and soothing songs and chats, but once we started Operation: Diaper Change, the boy became MAD.  Bennett had not had much morphine this morning, so due to the lack of sedation (which is a good thing!) I saw our baby boy's temper majorly surface and it was GREAT.  His face was all cringed and he was kicking and punching nonstop.....Mary Ann kept saying "As hard as it is to watch him be so agitated, this is really great for him to be acting like a newborn; plus, when he gets worked up like that it really helps to loosen up the secretions in his lungs so that they can be suctioned out."  I will add that in the midst of the somewhat chaotic diaper change I did put the diaper down backwards and he urinated in it right away, thus we had to get another one......I now have no room to ever give Travis a hard time if he mixes things up while changing Bennett's diapers.

Bennett's blood gases today have been good, so we are so thankful for that - they are now checking the gases every 6 hours vs. every hour, 2 hours, and 4 hours like they have recently been doing.  His oxygen level was down to 27 when I first got there to see Bennett, which was wonderful!  After his diaper change and temper tantrum he needed a bit more oxygen :), but hopefully the oxygen levels will continue to decrease.  Bennett's two chest tubes will most likely be taken out later today or tomorrow, so please pray that this procedure goes smoothly with no resulting infection or complications.  We have heard that once the chest tubes are out we "might" be able to hold him for the first time.   The possibility of this absolutely thrills us.

God continues to be so good to us and our son - we are simply in awe of the miraculous strides he has made in the past 4 days and we pray that they only continue until Bennett is completely healed.  We know God can do this, so we humbly beg for it.  We will probably post an update later tonight, so have a good day and thank you SO MUCH for your prayers for our angel boy.

Love,

Kelly, Travis & Bennett

We had a great night with our baby boy-  please see the photos for pics of him all snuggled up and peacefully snoozing.  He was resting soundly tonight and enjoyed some goodnight lyllabies sung by his daddy. 

Bennett's I.V. that was going into his belly button was taken out tonight, so that means one less tube attached to him!  He also has been taken off 2 of his 3 anti-biotics after 21 days on them (the doctors, nurses and his parents definitely don't want his body growing immune to the anti-biotics), and his morphine has begun to be slightly reduced, so these are all positives.  His lungs continue to be suctioned frequently to get out all the left-over fluid/mucus inside his lungs, and he helps out every now and then by coughing some of it out- way to go Bennett!  We can actually hear him breathing now, which is such a sweet sound.

We think that his two chest tubes will be removed tomorrow, possibly Wednesday, so please continue to pray that the procedure goes smoothly with no complications or infection as the wounds heal.  Please also pray for his lungs to continue to heal, strengthen and expand, and for the remaining pockets of infection/fluid outside of his lungs to be absorbed by his body to aid in his full recovery.  We will keep you posted as to when to pray for the 24-hour EEG that will be performed on his brain to monitor any possible seizure activity.....we continue to pray that there is NONE found.

We pray that Bennett will one day read all of these posts documenting his journey, as well as all your awesome prayers and comments.....until then, thank you for all your love and support.

Love,

Kelly, Travis, & Bennett

Good morning everyone, and happy Lord's Day! 

I'll have more info about Bennett's status in an hour or so, and I'll plan to post another update soon.  The latest as of very early this morning is that his lungs continue to look better on the chest x-rays, and his ventilator oxygen settings continue to drop (which means his lungs are doing more and more work).  Again, exactly what we want.  He continues to urinate well, his heart is working well, and his most recent brain ultrasound showed no bleeding.  All positives.

The main concerns at this point, other than the lungs, are his carbon dioxide levels and his potential seizure activity.  His carbon dioxide levels have been either too high or too low, so please pray that his levels regulate today.  While not as important as oxygen, the CO2 levels are still critically important, and Bennett is indicating that he's having a hard time getting the CO2 out of his system. 

The other concern is the seizure activity.  His latest EEG (1 hour) showed no seizure activity, but the staff still thinks he has had one or two because of different signs he has given.  There is the potential for a 24-hour EEG soon, so we'll let you know if that occurs.

So, please continue your prayers for his lungs, his carbon dioxide levels to stabalize, and for no seizure activity.  The medical staff continues to do an amazing job of monitoring our boy, so please continue your prayers for guidance and wisdom as they care for him. 

Bennett also received another roomate (his 3rd) a couple of days ago.  It seems Peter is doing better and his parents even got to hold him yesterday (a great sign and step forward in the NICU), so we were so happy to see them get to do that.  Thank you for your prayers for him! 

I'll plan to post more as soon as I know more.  Thank you all for you love and prayers. 

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett 

"A miracle has occurred."  These are not just my words/thoughts, but also the words of the staff here at Georgetown.

Within the last hour, something happened in Bennett's lungs that made his latest blood gas test the best one to date.  In fact, they were so surprised with the results (oxygen levels high, and carbon dioxide levels low or much closer to where they're supposed to be) that they immediately did another test, and the results were exactly the same.  Evidently something "jarred loose" in his lungs about an hour or two ago, resulting in much higher oxygen levels and lower CO2 levels, and they were able to turn his jet ventilator settings all the way down to 22 (from 35).  The staff even made the decision to take Bennett off the jet ventilator and place him on the conventional one instead (a huge step!).  His oxygen setting levels on the vent are now in the 40s (down from the 60s last night).  Kelly was even given the distinct honor of pressing the "off" button on the jet ventilator - what a great scene that just was.

His latest chest x-rays show improvement still (much more black or oxygen in them), and they will continue to monitor his blood gases and make adjustments.  Given the fact that he's still critically ill there's always the obvious chance that his blood gases could be bad again and he might have to go back on the jet ventilator, but the very fact that he was even able to go off the jet at this point is a very good sign.  We are one step closer to being able to hold our son for the first time and eventually hearing that "first cry." 

The seizure activity remains a big concern of the staff, so within the next day or two they will probably perform a 24-hour EEG to monitor his brain and body activity for a full day.  This EEG will tell the staff even more than the 1-hour EEG performed just a day ago.  Please pray with us that this seizure activity stop and that God protects him from all future seizures.

A miracle has indeed occurred this day.  And we know the Source of this miracle.  Your constant love and commitment to prayer have sustained us throughout this process, and they have taught us both so very much.  Again, thank you for walking with us across this tightrope and for helping us stand (and standing with us) in faith.  This tightrope walk continues, but today our boy is standing as tall as he has ever stood.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett  

I just spoke with the doctor and Bennett had a more difficult night last night.  The ventilator settings had to be increased, but right now they're still at 34.  Evidently at different points of the night his blood pressure would skyrocket and his saturation levels would drop.  One of their concerns was that it could be seizure activity (although they aren't sure about this just yet), so they gave him some medicine for that as a precaution and evidently it helped stabalize him again. 

As you can see, our boy is still very, very sick.  He can be up one moment, and then an hour later he can be down again.  It changes that quickly.  Another chest x-ray will be performed this morning, as well as another brain ultrasound and heart EKG, and after we talk with the doctors we'll know more about the plan for the day. 

Thank you all for your prayers for our precious baby boy.  Please continue to lift him up to the Father, praying for those lungs to heal and strengthen, and for Bennett to begin taking some baby steps in the right direction.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett 

Kelly and I just met with the attending physician, and in general we have good news to report.  The latest chest x-rays look better than yesterday and have more black (oxygen) in them!  He was very pleased to see this.  They appear to be expanding and strengthening, and he asked that our prayers continue to be directed straight towards the lungs.  His oxygen levels have continued to rise very slowly, and they have been able to turn his ventilator oxygen levels down to 75% (down from 100% less than 2 days ago).  What this appears to be indicating is that his lungs are beginning to produce more of the oxygen themselves, with less assistance from the ventilator.  This is exactly what we need to happen.  When the ventilator oxygen settings can be turned down to 21%, then he can come off the ventilator.  There's a long way to go still, but he appears to be moving in the right direction as of right now.  His heart has performed very well so far, and his lungs are trying to do their job as best as they can. 

They will be performing another chest x-ray this evening, a brain ultrasound, and a brain EEG.  The doctors are still not 100% sure he had a seizure overnight, but several things indicate that he probably did.  This remains very puzzling to the staff for several reasons, but they have placed him on a preventative medicine that will hopefully prevent another occurence.   

Also, since his lungs appear to be expanding the surgical option has become less likely.  This is also good.  His chest tubes remain in his left and right sides, but they think that they will remove them in a few days.  He's pretty swollen in the face and chest, and remains VERY sensitive to being moved in any way, but overall he's doing better.  The staff continues to be amazed at his strength and resilience. 

In sum, while Bennett remains critically ill (with things changing for good or bad by the hour, literally), his lungs look better, and his heart is working well (his latest EKG came back with very good results).  The lungs are still the most important area of concern, so please continue your prayers for those lungs to expand, for his oxygen levels to increase, and for no more seizures.  Also, please continue your prayers for the medical staff here at Georgetown, for their strength, and for guidance as they care for our precious boy and so many others just like him. 

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett          

"Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."  Psalms 90:14.

Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow!  Bennett's latest chest x-rays show his lungs MUCH improved with MUCH more oxygen in them.  The switchover from ECMO to the ventilator went as smooth as possible, and his lungs continue to show signs that they are trying to work.  His latest heart EKG showed it to be funtioning properly as well, so the doctors are very happy with both of these developments.  He is now officially off ECMO, and it will take several hours for the heparin to come out of his system.  So he is still bleeding some, but not nearly as much as late this afternoon.  The jet ventilator settings are not high, but they are not low either.  If his oxygen levels continue to be high, then the hope is to slowly wean him off the ventilator. 

Your prayers for his lungs and his heart are being heard and answered.  The doctors have asked that you continue the prayers specifically for both his heart and his lungs.  One of the doctors just told me that the prayers "obviously" did something for his lungs, because the x-rays at 4:30pm and 6:30pm looked completely different.  The first was all white (fluid/infection).  The second was much more black (more oxygen), and a third one done just an hour or so ago was even more black.  How Bennett has responded over the last several hours is much better than the doctors anticipated him responding.  His lungs and heart are holding.  They aren't holding strong yet, but they are holding.  Bennett refuses to give up and let go, and there are smiles on many faces.  I can't even begin to tell you what those smiles mean to us right now.

As good as all of this is to us right now, we are told that Bennett is still far from being out of the woods and is still very critically ill.  These signs are all very encouraging, but his lungs and heart are still far from working "normally."  He still is receiving a lot of assistance from the ventilator, so what we need is for his oxygen levels to continue to be high so the ventilator can be turned down.  His blood pressure is low and his heart rate is high, but the hope is that these 2 will stabilize over the next day or so.  But again, what we need most is for his lungs to strengthen and improve and function like lungs, and for his heart to function like a heart.  Our prayers remain the same - lungs and heart.

We are simply overwhelmed by your love and support.  It is talked about frequently, especially with the medical staff surrounding our boy.  Your love and prayers continue to sustain us, our precious boy, and the amazing medical staff here at Georgetown.   

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett

Good morning, all.  I just spoke with Bennett's nurse and right now he is still stable and had a stable night overall.  His ventilator pressure is still 30 (which is where it was early this morning), so it's still not too high, but it's not low either.  What we want is for that setting to be able to be turned down into the teens.  If the setting is at 30 then that means his lungs are functioning somewhat and are trying to do their job, but they're still not functioning at full capacity.  We need those lungs to continue to strengthen and expand and work harder today, so I ask that you please continue to join us in prayer for his lungs to begin the process of taking over. 

The doctors still haven't made their rounds, so once we know more then we will post again.  The prayers remain the same - the heart and the lungs.  We need both of these to begin the process of sustaining him on their own.  He is now permanently off ECMO, and it is so nice to no longer see those catheters coming out of his neck and so much easier to get up close to him.

Bennett is WIDE awake right now and his eyes are really looking all over the place.  This is in spite of him having different drugs and morphine doses to keep him sedated (I think they'll give him even higher doses if his "alertness" causes his saturation levels and other levels to be way off).  I guess when you've been asleep for nearly 3 weeks you're ready to wake up!!

Thank you all for your love and prayers for our precious boy.  As you know, today is also a very important day for Bennett, so when you have a minute please lift him up to the Father once again and pray for those lungs and heart.  Yesterday was his darkest hour, but he fought through it because of your love and prayers on his behalf.  We pray and hope that his finest hour is soon to come. 

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett