Bennett's status is unchanged for the most part.  He has "urinated" a bit more, so that's a great thing.  His lungs are still packed with an infection, but we know that it could be several days before that begins to come down.  Also, he showed some mild bloody discharge around one of the catheters in his neck, so they are watching that closely.  One of the main concerns (other than the infection) continues to remain the potential for bleeding, so please continue your prayers.

Kelly and I were blessed with a very good night's rest last night, and we feel refreshed and ready to start again.  Thank you all for your encouragement, your emails, your pages, your calls, your blog and guestbook entries, the sharing of your favorite Bible verses, and the sharing of your own NICU experiences.  They are all sustaining us.  May the Lord continue to bless you, our son, and may He continue to receive glory and honor. 

Also, please continue your prayers for Peter, Bennett's new neighbor who may have to go on ECMO.  I talked with his dad John (a DC police officer) yesterday in the waiting room, and shared with him that many of you were praying for his son as well.  I wish you could have seen the look on his face when I told him that.  He wanted me to tell you how grateful they are for those prayers for their family.

I will update more as soon as I have new information.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett

Well, overall, today has been a good day.  For the very first time we saw Bennett open his eyes a little!  It was awesome to see this, and it made our hearts leap with joy.  He was much more alert today, and it was such a good feeling to be next to our son and watch him try to make eye contact with us.  Such a small thing, but such a huge step.  It didn't last very long, but we loved every minute of it.  We were going to try and get a picture together with him with his eyes open, but he soon "pooped" in his pants (I just can't wait to see what kind of debate this sparks - let's see, should we use the word/phrase poop, or potty, #2?) and became extremely agitated when they changed his diaper.  As a result, his heartbeat jumped and the nurses suggested we give him a "visiting" break to reduce his stimulation and lower his heart rate.  So, we didn't spend a whole lot of time with him tonight, but the time that we did spend with him was precious.  His heartbeat overall remains strong, his blood pressure is good, and he is pooping and urinating much more now.  All of these are good signs. 

The 2 areas of most concern remain the same - the infection in the lungs, and the potential for bleeding.  Again, both of these issues are extremely serious and the staff continues to monitor him extremely close.  He has made some "progress," but we still have quite a ways to go.  Our little boy is hanging in there, and the nurses, doctors and staff at Georgetown continue to amaze us with their level of attention and care for our son.  I cannot thank them enough for all they do for him, day in and day out.  I'm an enormous Georgetown fan now, and I even bought (actually my dad bought it for me) my first "Hoya" t-shirt to prove it! 

During one of the times Bennett looked at me today, I think what he was trying to say was something like this:  "Dad, ok really, stop playing.  This is getting ridiculous and very old.  There is not one part of my body - not one part - that doesn't have something being inserted into it.  Would you like to try this?  I'd love to see you try.  I know you - you wouldn't make it 5 minutes in all this stuff!  Earlier in the week my body was 'frozen,' and 3 days later I was 'thawed' out.  That was real fun, too.  So, please, don't get on to me about being agitated when I poop and have to lift my legs to change my diaper.  Cut me some slack, please!"

Thank you all for your continued prayers, pages, emails, calls, letters, and love.  We are home now, and Kelly is resting as much as she can and is doing well overall.  Tomorrow is the Lord's day!  It will be Bennett's first, so do you have any suggestions as to what we should sing in the NICU tomorrow?  I've been looking around today, and I think the NICU has some great potential for some singers. 

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett  

I just got back from seeing Bennett, and he is doing about the same as last night.  This is a good thing.  Remember, we're just trying to keep him stable right now, and hoping that he doesn't digress any.  His heartbeat is good, his temperature is good, and his blood pressure is better.  AND, he urinated a bit more this morning (still not enough, but the Doctors are hopeful that he will urinate more as the hours go on).  I'm officially using the word "urinate" instead of pee now after a mild scolding from my mother!  It's amazing how long our conversation was about the use of the word urinate or pee.  I'm not really sure I see the difference.  Imagine this scene - my entire family is sitting in the NICU waiting room at Georgetown University Hospital talking about peeing and urination, and which one is better to use on the website.  We talked about this for like 30 minutes.  I'm not even kidding.  Anyway, I'm going to use the word urinate now, though I still like "the other" word better.  I think Bennett likes it better too. 

Another good sign is that he is starting to respond a bit more to talking and all the commotion around him.  He moves his eyelids and hands and feet more now, so that is such a blessing to see.  He has been pretty lifeless the last several days, so it's so good to see our son a little more active.

Please continue your prayers, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the prayers and encouragement we've received already.  He's doing about as well as he can right now, considering all he's had to go through.  He's a little swollen because of all the fluids and just the shock of the procedure, but the Doctors say that this should come down in the next few days. 

I will post more once his chest x-rays and brain ultrasounds come back later this afternoon.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett  

It seems that my last post about "urine" and "pee" kind of stirred the pot a little, and my family has been laughing at all the different opinions (and of course continuing to offer their own unsolicitated opinions) as to which one I should use.  I think I have more support for my word choice - I knew I was right!  And I think all this talk about urine has rubbed off on Bennett a little, because he has finally started to "urinate" a little more!!  Not a lot, but definitely more than before.  I never thought I would be so excited about someone "urinating!"   

Bennett, overall, has had a good day - praise God!  The attending Physicians said that the most recent EKG of his heart showed it to be in "great" condition.  This is the first time we've heard the word "great" in reference to our son's condition all week long, so I can't tell you how grateful we are to hear this.  His heartbeat is good, his blood pressure is good, and his most recent brain ultrasound showed no bleeding.  These are all very good updates in the right direction, so we are taking our first deep breath in quite some time.  Our boy is holding strong.

The 2 main concerns at this point are the potential for bleeding (because of the heparin in his system), and the infection in his lungs.  These are 2 very serious issues that I ask you to remain in prayer for.  The latest chest x-ray showed his lungs still full of an infection, so they continue to pump anitibiotics into his system in hopes of reducing the infection in his lungs over time.  There are other invasive ways to reduce the infection, but the Doctors don't want to attempt them unless there is no other alternative.  Please continue to pray that this infection would be reduced over time and for no bleeding to occur. 

Thank you again for all your prayers and comments.  I simply cannot express how grateful we are for your love and concern.  Although I want to respond to each guestbook entry, blog entry, call, and letter, at this point we simply cannot.  The NICU atmosphere (and I'm sure it's this way at any NICU), though amazingly impressive, is also extremely emotional and draining.  As time goes on and we understand more fully what to expect and what (if anything) we need, I can assure you I will let you know.  Until then, the things we need and love the most are your encouragement, your prayers, your pages, your calls, your letters, your gifts of season tickets to UT games through 2025, and your support.  Ok, ok, just kidding on the season ticket thing ;)

Also, Kelly is home now and doing well.  She needs a lot of rest, and we hope to be able to get a good night's rest tonight and begin fresh tomorrow.  Our ride home together this afternoon was a little more lonely than we expected it to be on our way to the hospital Monday morning, and it was even more difficult to come home and see everything waiting for Bennett.  But we look forward to the day when our boy can come home and enjoy our "little blue home" with us.       

May God continue to bless our precious son, and may He continue to receive the glory and honor due His name.  

Love,

Trav, Kell, and Bennett         

There are really no words to begin thanking all of you for your words of love, encouragement, strength, and comfort; so I will start off by saying THANK YOU and let you know that the support we are receiving is what is literally carrying us right now.....I don't exactly know how we would physically be walking without it, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

This week has been a whirlwind and there have definitely been times of tears, fear, and over-whelmedness, but it is also unreal how a spirit of peace and comfort has filled us and sustained us; for that reason I praise God and thank Him for pouring on us his mercy, strength and comfort as a result of the many prayers lifted up on Bennett and our family's behalf.

Bennett is beautiful- when I look at him I just can't stop thank God for this precious baby boy.  His sweet, calm spirit was evident every day of our pregnancy, and that has only continued since he entered the world on Monday morning.  When he was inside of me, people would ask me "are your ribs sore from his kicks and jabs?" and I would honestly answer "actually no- I feel the normal little punches and kicks from him, but I guess he's taking it easy on me."  As he now lies in his NICU bed, I see him lying there with his same sweet, calm spirit, and I thank God for giving him the strength, temperment, and ability to fight this infection, which willl no doubt be a long journey.  I love to quietly speak and pray right into his ear, watch his eyelids move, watch him blow a bubble from his mouth, and/or then watch him give us a little foot kick or hand movement to let us know he's fighting for us, but saving the majority of his energy for the journey ahead.  He is no doubt very special and has already won our hearts..... we will never be the same after meeting our angel boy.

For those of you who know Travis, you know what a special man he is, but I want to let you know what an incredible rock he has been for Bennett and myself this week.  When I was lying in the recovery room right after the c-section, it was Travis who jumped in our car all alone and followed the ambulance with its lights flashing, carrying our son to Georgetown hospital.  He did not leave Bennett's side and amidst my fear that day and night (as I was 10 minutes up the road at Sibley), I had such comfort knowing that Bennett had his daddy by his side to talk to the doctors, monitor his status, and contact family members as the situation unfolded.  Travis has been perched by Bennett's side every minute that he can be there, and has been pouring upon Bennett words straight from the Bible, songs of praise, and prayers of strength....perhaps they have even had a few conversations about posting up under the basket in a few years and the upcoming UT football season- this would not surprise me at all .  He has already blown me away by the father he is and I am so thankful for the strength he has shown in moments that I was literally almost immobile.  As my strength increases I really look forward to joining him more and more for their precious bed-side chats.

Thank you again for your prayers and please let them only continue for our Bennett- I have been clinging to this Psalm for years, but it has a whole new meaning for me now:

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.  Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level ground."  Psalm 143:8

Today at 2:45pm, Bennett will be taken off of the special cooling procedure he has been on for nearly 72 hours (and which was developed here at Georgetown), and consequently his body temperature will begin to slowly increase.  How his body reacts to this warming process, the Doctors simply do not know.  But please pray that he responds favorably over the next several hours.

He continues to be almost entirely supported by the bypass machine, and his status is unchanged.  The Doctors do not expect him to improve any time soon, but are simply trying to ensure that he does not digress.  Originally, the plan was to keep him supported fully for about 2 days, but that will probably be increased to about 4 or 5 days.  Whenever the Doctors feel Bennett is ready, they will gradually decrease the assistance from the bypass machine and see how his body responds. 

I will try and share more updates as they become available, and I have posted a couple of new pics showing Bennett on the bypass machine.  He was kind of irritated at me before the ECMO procedure because of all the tubing, but now he is really hacked off!

There are two things that Kelly and I want from this process.  We want our precious boy to be healed, and we want God to receive the glory and honor due his name.  It seems like these two things work in the same direction at times, and at other times they do not.  We are hoping that this is one of those times that they do.  We are confident in our Lord, in His power, and in His unfailing love.  We thank you for continuing to remind us of this as we walk forward.

Love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett   

The Doctors have begun the warming process for Bennett, and this is supposed to last for 6-7 hours.  The process will be complete by around 10pm tonight.  So far, Bennett has shown no change, which in this case is a good thing.  Again, what matters most right now is that he doesn't digress any, and so far our boy is holding strong.  I was also told that because he is so sick, that I should expect him to be on the bypass machine anywhere from 7-14 days at minimum.  We've been told to try and view this as a marathon, with hills.  It has ups and downs, but the finish line is always there.

Kelly is doing better as each hour passes, and her blood pressure seems to have corrected.  Her spirits are good, and she loves being able to walk down the hallway to see Bennett.  If she continues to get better, then we're hopeful that she can be discharged tomorrow (Friday) from the hospital. 

I will try and post another update as the night unfolds.  Thank you all for the love you have shown and the prayers you have lifted up on behalf of our precious son.

The cooling process is nearly complete, and so far Bennett has responded favorably!  This is a good sign.  His heartbeat and temperature have increased towards their normal levels, and overall his body has reacted well to being taken off the cooling procedure.  One of the main things we need Bennett to start doing is to pee.  He needs to pee like crazy.  The Doctors are hopeful that as his body temp increases, along with his heart rate, that his kidneys should begin to excrete more urine over the next couple of days.  This is vital right now, so please pray for this.  I told one of the Doctors that when we finally bring Bennett home, I'm going to let him pee wherever he wants to - no restrictions!  Just like a boy, right?

The other issues that I ask you to continue praying for are his infection (the Doctors still don't know what the infection is), his pulmonary hypertension, for the fluid in his lungs, and the possibility of bleeding.  These remain extremely critical problems for our boy.

I will try to post more pictures of our son later tonight.  So far, so good.  A long way to go, but we're so grateful to be where we are.  Thank you all for your prayers, for your blog entries, page prayers, and guestbook comments.  Our friend Erica Taylor once again printed out copies of all the comments for us to read, and both of our families have been reading them non-stop.  People will ask what I'm reading, and they are simply blown away when I tell them what it is.  They have been an enormous encouragement to us since this process began, to say the least. 

I will post more as soon as I know more.  Later this afternoon, Bennett received a new neighbor named John Peter.  He is also in pretty bad shape, and I was told is also a candidate for ECMO.  Please pray for John and his parents as their son begins this journey.

With love,

Travis, Kelly, and Bennett