Update Feb 28

Chase continues to do well. They continue working with him on taking more from a bottle. He is up to 30cc's and drinking anywhere from 6-10cc's twice a day. We are thankful for the progress and continue praying for our sweet baby. God is working it out!

Update: Feb 26

Chase is still doing well. They reviewed the results from yesterday's ultrasound and determined they do not have any excess fluid to remove from his head. They will continue to do weekly ultrasounds to monitor it. We are very blessed!

Update: Feb 25

Chase is still doing well. He is 38in long now! They did a head ultrasound today to see if his VAD needs to be tapped to remove any excess fluid, they will know tomorrow. All we can do is pray and Continue being just as strong as our little fighter. He continues to surprise the Doctors and nurses and that's nothing but God!

Update: Feb 24

Chase had another good day! He got to snuggle with Ryan again, while Ryan read to him. Thankful for progress

Update: Feb 23

Chase continues to do well. He is up to 3lbs 10oz. Thanks again for your support and prayers!

Update: Feb 22

Chase is officially off of oxygen and breathing on his own! His feeds are at 24cc's and will increase to 27cc's. He is doing very well. We continue thanking God for his Blessings.

Update: Feb 21

Chase continues doing well with his feeds. Yesterday he took 12cc, today he took 18cc, he really likes his milk! He was so full, he let out a really loud burp! Afterwards, we snuggled for 2 hours and he slept comfortably on my chest. They changed his bed, since he is improving and no longer on the vent. The next step will be a regular bed/crib. One day at a time, but we thank God for progress.

Update: Feb 20

I gave Chase his first bottle today! He did so well, he is a great eater. He actually pitched a fit when we ran out, he wanted more! It was a big deal because no one knew how well he would do. Ryan also held him for the first time, it was a beautiful father/son moment. The power of Prayer, that's all I can say...

Graduation!

Chase graduated from the preemie paci(purple), to the big boy paci(green). He is also picking his head up and turning it from side to side. It doesn't matter which side the nurse faces him, he has started to turn his head if he doesn't want to face that way. Very proud of our little Angel!

Update: Feb 19

Chase is doing very well. They continue to increase his feedings and he is no longer on the vent, so we are making steps in the right direction. We are Blessed!

Update: Feb 17

Chase had a great day! He had his eyes open quite a bit today and didn't seem as exhausted from the surgery. We started back reading to him and he seems to enjoy it. We continue to take it one day at a time. We believe in God's healing power.

Update: Feb 16

Chase had a good night after his surgery and is still doing well today. He is still in recovery mode, so he is resting very well. God continues to watch over our sweet baby and we thank Him for each day.

Update: Feb 15

Chase had surgery today to remove the VAD, since it was infected. They decided to put another one back in since there was a little bit of fluid. The surgery went well and Chase is doing fine. Praying that this VAD does not get infected and a speedy recovery. We thank God for bringing him through another surgery.

Update: Feb 14

Chase is still doing well. The infection is not going away as fast as they hoped, so they have decided to remove the VAD tomorrow. They will not be putting another one back in, for now, they will just take it day by day. They will continue doing the head ultrasounds to monitor any fluids. We pray that God will continue guiding the doctors.

Update: Feb 13

Chase has had a good day. They are still treating his infection with antibiotics and it is improving. The neurosurgeon feels like they can treat it vs taking him back through surgery to remove the VAD. He is returning to his old feisty self. Please keep our little fighter in your prayers.

Update: Feb 12

Chase is doing better today. His white blood cell count has decreased, which means the infection is improving. They did not remove the VAD today, so not sure what they will do at this point. We are thankful for better news. Chase is resting very comfortably and seems to be regaining his strength. Continuing to pray.

Update: Monday Feb 11

Chase still has an infection. The neurosurgeon said they will try treating it with antibiotics one more day and if there is no change, they will take the VAD out. Not sure if they will put another one back in or not. Other than the infection causing him not to feel well, everything else is fine. Keep our little man in your prayers.

1 Month Old

Wednesday Feb 6th. Chase was 1 month old! He did well all day. Around 6PM, he began having episodes where he would stop breathing and his heart rate would drop. They soon realized he had an infection from the VAD that they put in his head. They told us that it was not uncommon for an infection to develop because it was a foreign object and his body was rejecting it. They placed him on antibiotics and said they would watch him for a few days to see if the infection improved. They told us that if it did not improve, they would have to go back in and remove the VAD. Today is Sun Feb 10th and Chase is still not feeling well. They will decide within the next day or so if they will be removing the VAD. Praying that our baby feels better soon...

Things suddenly changed

It was Sunday Jan 6th and I was stable all during the day. Around 9:30PM, I began experiencing extremely painful contractions. I was 26 weeks and 2 days. They were going to make another attempt to hold them off, but my contractions were coming very fast and very strong, so they called for an emergency c-section. They rolled me back in the OR and as they prepared to cut, my Dr checked and I had already dilated to 10cm, I was complete. They had me push and Chase was out in a matter of minutes. Chase Anthony Jeans was born Sunday January 6, 2013 at 10:53PM. He was 2lbs 5.8oz and 14 inches. He came out crying and eyes wide open. God is so AMAZING!They initially told us that he was big for 26 weeks and very fiesty. We found out on Thurs Jan 10th that Chase suffered from one of the side effects of the medication they gave him to close the ducts to his heart. They said he showed no visible signs of any issues, it was only when they did a routine x-ray that they noticed a small bubble. The side effect was a spontaneous intestinal preferation(a small hole in his intestine), which required surgery. They transported him to LeBonheur for the procedure, which only took about 30 minutes because the tear was very minor. They told us they would go back in to close him up in 6-8 weeks, so we knew there would have to be a follow up surgery. His recovery was going well, no issues. He was gaining weight and things were looking good. They did a routine head ultrasound on Fri Jan 11th and notified us on Sat Jan 12th that Chase had bleeding on his brain. Grade 4 is the most severe and he has a grade 2 on one side and a grade 4 on the other. They told us that there was a chance that he would not be able to use the entire left side of his body, he might not be able to walk, talk or learn. On Monday Jan 14th, they did another ultrasound and said the bleed was in an unusual spot, but it was not as bad as they originally thought. Through all of it, Chase had remained very alert, active and responsive. They continued to monitor it to see if the fluid would simply resolve on its own. On Monday Jan 28th the Dr told us that they would more than likely have to do surgery on his head because his ventricals were beginning to get larger, so they wanted to prevent any further damage. They told us that they would place a VAD in his head, under the skin, so they could manually drain any fluid when needed. He would eventually need a Shunt, which is permanent and also be under the skin. The shunt would automatically pump fluid from his head into his belly and it would be absorbed there. He was too small for a shunt, which is why they decided they would need to do the VAD initially. They did the surgery on Wed Jan 30th and it only took about 15 minutes. The surgeon came out and told us that Chase did well and there were no issues. They did another head ultrasound and told us that they did not have to drain any fluid from the VAD in his head and it appeared his head was improving on its own. They said they would continue to monitor it, but they were hopeful that he may not even need the Shunt afterall.  Chase continues to make progress, God has given us a little fighter.  He continues to grow and his lungs are getting stronger each day. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know God is in complete control and we Believe in His Healing power. We do not allow the enemy to bring doubt or worry in our minds, we are in constant prayer, so we are positive and in good spirits. Our Faith and our Strength is renewed everyday and through it ALL, we are truly Blessed.

The beginning of our Journey

I want to start by saying Ryan and I sincerely appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time. We agreed that we would share our experience and begin to answer questions, which I'm sure most of you have...we will try to keep everyone updated by using this blog....My original due date was April 12th. I had no issues during pregnancy, not even morning sickness. My appointments were all normal and I was coasting through. I began experiencing cramps on Wed Jan 2nd. I called my Dr and she assured me they were Braxton Hicks contractions, so I continued my day at work. The discomfort never went away. I was unable to sleep, so I went in without an appointment the next morning Thurs Jan 3rd. She checked and said my cervix was closed. She tested to see if I was going into labor and said the results would be back the next day. In the meantime she advised me to take Tylenol to ease the pain. She also took me off work the rest of the week and said I could return on Monday. I was actually scheduled to fly out to Baltimore on Sun Jan 6th for work, but she said I had to cancel it. The pain continued, but I fought through it. The nurse called the next afternoon, Fri Jan 4th, and confirmed the results were negative, so I wasnt in labor. I advised her that I was still in pain and she suggested Tylenol and a hot shower/bath. I could not sleep at all due to the pain. I went to use the restroom and was alarmed to find a good amount of blood. It was around 1:30AM Sat Jan 5th, so I woke Ryan up and we drove to the nearest ER(St.Francis), which was not the hospital I was registered to deliver. They checked me and confirmed I was dilated 3cm, there was no doubt I was in labor, so they admitted me around 2:15AM. My contractions were very close together. They called my Dr and she advised them to stabilize me enough to transport me to Methodist Germantown. I arrived there around noon and remained stable, so I rested most of the day. I was still experiencing contractions, but they were only 1-2 every hour or so. My Dr advised me that I would remain there until I delivered.