Big Sis’s first “visit”; status update

(Original appeared April 13, 2016)

The NICU policy doesn’t allow minors to visit due to concerns over flu and other illnesses. Addison, Jacob’s big sis, has been struggling with this. She wants to see him so badly, and photos/stories just don’t cut it. So we hatched the idea (and got approval from the doctor) to do a video feed from the room! Deb was there, holding her phone, while I was home with Addi. We were able to video chat, and Addi got to see Jacob up “close” as well as his entire room. It was a neat experience, and we are so grateful to the staff that they allowed us to do that. These seemingly small things mean the world to us right now, and it certainly helped cheer us up after a rough day.
Speaking of the day, thank you for allowing us to share a tough moment in the last post. The latest is that Jacob is stable. His vitals bounced back nicely and he seems none the worse for wear. In fact, he was active and enjoyed grabbing his “leads” on his chest and disconnecting them. This of course triggered false alarms but at least the cause was a bit more comical this time. We also learned that he is beginning to take breaths on his own more frequently – about half the time. Perhaps in the next week or so, they doctor will put him on a different ventilator that will assist his own breathing rather than the current one which breaths for him all the time. That will be a huge step forward.
I’ll finish this post with another thank you to all of you. You’re support has been incredible. And I’m so glad that you are joining us on this journey by reading this blog. Good night for now, and blessings to you all.