Meet Brennen!
He is our sweet model for the month of July in our Hummingbird Calendars!
Brennen Michael was born March
26, 2011; he was due June 27, 2011. On March 22, at midnight, I had sharp pains
in my side so I got up out of bed and walked around a little bit to see if the
pain would go away, it didn’t. So, I decided to go to the restroom and then try
to go back to sleep. When I went to the restroom my water broke. I was in such
shock I started crying, pretty much in total denial of what was really going
on. “My water could not have broken. I am only 26 weeks pregnant!” I thought.
Colin, my husband, woke up because
I was crying so hard. I told him a lot of water just came out and I don’t know
if it is urine or not, so we went to the ER. After we got there, the nurses
took measures to stop my labor. The doctor said that my water had broken due to
PROM (Premature Rupture of Membranes). The doctor informed us that their
hospital was not capable of caring for babies born before 28 weeks so Angel One
(Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s Helicopter) was coming to airlift me to UAMS in
Little Rock.
Completely overwhelmed by this
whole situation, I cried out: “This is a nightmare!” I have never known anyone
to have a premature baby. Until this point, my pregnancy was going perfect. I
was doing all of the right things. I had no illnesses and no problems
whatsoever! Why is this happening?
I arrive in Little Rock and get
situated. The doctor tells me that my labor has stopped, but I will still
continue to leak amniotic fluid until the baby is born. However, the good news
is that I will continue to make more fluid. If everything had gone as planned,
I would have stayed there and delivered at 34 weeks. The Neonatologists wanted
to keep the baby in as long as possible. So, I get situated in a room and
everything is going fine. I was told by one of the nurses that if you make it
past 48 hours, then you should make it to 34 weeks.
On day number 4, I woke up and went
to the restroom and noticed that I was bleeding a little bit. I called the
nurse to let them know I was bleeding and she called the doctor to come and
check me. When the doctor checked me, she discovered that I was 6 cm dilated
and I was having Umbilical cord prolapse. Umbilical cord prolapse is where the
umbilical cord enters the vaginal canal before the fetus. This is very rare,
but is a risk factor for people who have PROM, and can pose a serious danger
for the baby.
The doctor tells me that I am going
to have an emergency c-section right now. At UAMS, the doctors and nurses have
special radio devices called Voceras that they use to communicate with each
other. Several nurses were called by Vocera into the room and they wheeled me
off to surgery. The doctor had to ride on the hospital bed with me and hold
Brennen’s umbilical cord and foot in so that the cord would not be flatted in
the vaginal canal, potentially causing brain damage or death.
At 26
weeks, 6 days, via emergency c-section, our tiny miracle child was born. Brennen
Michael Furrow was born March 26, 2011, 7:41am, 2lbs. 2oz. 14 inches long.
Brennen was a fighter from the beginning. He cried when the doctor delivered
him. He was only on the ventilator for 45min- 1hour after he was born. Brennen
had what the doctors called a “boring NICU stay”. I attribute a lot of his
health and strength to the grace of God, prayer, and breast milk.
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Brennen at a few hours old |
The first time I got to hold him he
was three days old. I remember being nervous because he was so small and there
were so many wires. One of the hardest things for me was asking to touch or
hold my baby. He was allowed to have Kangaroo Care for an hour every day and I
definitely took advantage of that. Kangaroo Care is where the baby has skin to
skin snuggle time with mommy or daddy. Studies have shown that premature babies
tend to develop better when they have Kangaroo Care, if they are allowed to be held.
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Kangaroo Care with Mommy |
UAMS was a fantastic hospital with
excellent doctors and nurses. Colin and I were always very included on all of
the discussions on Brennen’s care and health. I always got to change his diaper
and help with his baths. There were always good and bad days with the bradycardia
events (bradys) and desaturations in oxygen (desats). We only had one “major”
hiccup in regards to desaturation in oxygen. Brennen was having excessive
desats and had to be on a CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure) for
a few days. I was told that it was a like a nasal cannula but it had longer
nasal prongs with pressurized air to help him breathe and get the oxygen he
needed.
At 7 weeks old (33 weeks gestation)
Brennen was able to move into an open air crib and they took away the nasal
cannula. He was doing wonderful, so we were moved to the Stork’s Nest which is
the step down unit at UAMS for babies who are learning to eat and getting ready
to go home. We had another set back after being there for only 2 days. Brennen
started having excessive desats and he had to go back on the nasal cannula. He
was moved back to the more critical care area of the NICU for 2 more weeks so
he could have more attention from the nurses.
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Kangaroo Care with Daddy |
In those 2 weeks Brennen regained
strength and we were able to move back to the Stork’s Nest and begin
breastfeeding. I was bound and determined to nurse him so I worked very hard
with the nurses and lactation consultants to help him learn to nurse. While in
the Stork’s Nest, Brennen prospered, grew, and got stronger every day! I was
able to hold him whenever I wanted, change his clothes, and do all of his care
like a mother should be able to do.
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Bath time with Brennen |
After 84 days in the NICU, on June
18, 2011 we were able to bring home our 6lb. 11oz, healthy baby boy! Brennen is
such a wonderful, beautiful, and smart child. Colin and I are so blessed to be
his parents and he brings joy and a smile to everyone he meets. I want to take
a special moment to also thank God for my sweet friend, Holly Walker. We were
next door neighbors in the critical care wing and in the step down wing of the
NICU. Holly and I met through a mutual friend just a couple of weeks before
both Brennen and Emry were born (5 days apart) at UAMS. I am positive God
allowed us to meet before our kids were born so we would have each other in one
of the most difficult times in our lives. I still thank God all of the time for
our friendship.
Thank you for allowing our family
to be part of such a wonderful organization. We hope and pray that the Hummingbird
Foundation is able reach out and are a blessing to many families for years to
come. All in the name of Jesus!
Brennen's Mommy, Rachel
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