Week of 2-24-08

Greetings for the Balmy Tropics of Utah (it might get 50 today)

This past week Daniel has been doing well and pretty calm. We have learned that in this realm of premature babies that 99% of the time if you do not hear anything that is a good thing. He continues to grow and is over 2 pounds and the doctors are pleased with his progress.

He is still on the “jet” ventilator and still is fighting pulmonary pneumonia, which is common in preemies. The ventilator gently pressurizes or inflates Daniel lungs as it puffs in and out breaths. When he is older and his lungs can stay inflated on their own they will change him to a ventilator that will only help him breathe.

Another concern has been his PDA valve being closed and after further examinations they discovered the valve is still not closed completely. If it does not close over the next few days the doctors may have to operate and place a suture around the valve. That is something that we do not want to happen, so your prayers that his PDA valve will close will be appreciated.
Daniel has been opening his eyes and making more faces and I will upload those images as they are available. Until then here are the latest images.

This image is if his home away from home. The machines on the right hand side are for feeding and medication. The machines on the left side are his ventilator and in the middle you can see his "Stasis Unit" ( some say we watch to many sci-fi movies but I don't think so)

His one month "Birthday Card" and his "Feet Prints"

Resting in his "Stasis Unit" and Mom and Dad taking his temperature and getting him ready for bed.

First Posting for Daniel T

Hello

Welcome to the Life and Times of Daniel T McMillan.

We have created this blog because of the numerous inquirers about how Daniel is doing. We are grateful to all of family, extended family and friends who have been and still are praying for Daniel. thank you so much for concern and support.

Below I have included a brief story about how and when Daniel came early into our lives.

Daniel was not supposed to arrive until May 8th so he was a real surprise.
Tracy went into labor early Monday morning and entered the American Fork hospital around 5am. They could not prevent her from having contractions so the transported her to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo at 7 am. She was rushed into the delivery room and gave birth shortly there after. Daniel (that’s his name) was born at 8:45 on the 21st of January, weighed in at a hefty one pound eight ounces and is twelve inches long.

Since Daniels arrival Tim and Tracy have been receiving a crash course in parenting and caring for a preemie baby. We have attached some images that show Daniel in his special tent with all of his feeding and ventilator tubes, IV’s and a host of monitors. All of his organs and brain are developed with the exception of his lungs. He is a fighter and already lets his care givers know what he likes and dislikes. As of the writing of this email he is holding his own but he is starting to experience the ups and downs of a premature birth. They have had trouble keeping his lungs inflated and believe that he has an infection. The blessing of having him in Utah Valley is that he is in one of the best preemie intensive care units in the west and he is getting the best care and attention he can.

Here are some images of Daniel his first week with us.

Here are a couple of images when his was 2 week old with what we call is his Lone Ranger Mask

Here is another report from 2-19-08

Daniel is now 28 weeks old and will officially be born in only 8 more weeks. His progress to his birth day has been steady but not without some challenges. As the Doctors main concern is his lungs they monitor him closely and adjust his ventilator as needed. As oxygenated and humidified air is pumped right into his lungs he is constantly fighting pneumonia like infections and he has even had some bleeding in his lungs. In order to keep him calm and comfortable they give him sedatives on a regular basis and are adding nitrix to his ventilator to stimulate lung cell growth.

We visited him today (2-19-08) and he was having a quiet day in his little tent. I called it a tent because they have taken off his lone ranger mask so you can see his eyes and covered his incubator with a blanket to shield the lights. He is growing and is receiving his mothers milk but since his body is so small he only needs a small amount.

Here are our latest images

As you can see they have taken off his Lone ranger mask and you can see more of his cute face. they day we were there his tent/ incubator was covered with a blanket and we had to uncover him. He though it was very bright and would only peek out of one eye.

Thanks again for your concern, see at the next posting.