As I walked into the NICU this morning, I said hello to Benjamin and told him it was my birthday today. Ben is sedated twenty-four hours a day so that he won't mess with all of his tubes, but that doesn't mean he can't move his little tongue around. He started blowing bubbles to celebrate with me. I've always been one for understated birthday parties, but there was no holding Ben back.
I was also surprised to find that Ben is now sporting a two-inch tall mohawk. I didn't think that I was going to have to deal with this kind of behavior until he was a teenager. The NICU nurses are definitely a bad influence on him.
Ben also appears to be disappointed that there are no cheese burgers in the NICU, but he seems to be happy with the alternative. One of the syringes contains nothing but fat that is pumped directly into his body. He is living the American dream.
Today has been a great day for Benjamin, and we continue to find strength in God through all of your prayers. Many of you know that I was a computer science major at OC and have no real knowledge of anything in the medical realm, but I will now attempt to give you my "Medical Lingo for Dummies" version of what the doctors and nurses have told me. Ben has been totally taken off of his Epinephrine drip, which was keeping his pulse rate up. He is also being weened off of Dopamine which was keeping his blood pressure up. This is great news because it moves him one step closer to being physically ready for surgery to repair his trachea and esophagus.
We also received report back from a brain ultrasound that was done yesterday. This is not a full brain scan, but it checks to see whether the structure of the brain is normal. They wanted to see if any capillaries had ruptured due to the trauma of his delivery. We are happy to say that they did not see any damage.
On top of all that, Adrienne was released from the hospital on Monday and has been recovering quickly. She is my joy in sad moments, and I know Ben gets his toughness from her.
What a blessing to hold my baby's hand and get so much good news on my birthday. I know there will be days when he will have setbacks and struggles, but I want to thank all of you for praying so hard for our little boy and sharing the good times with us. We read all of the comments you leave here and they touch us deeply. Please pray for all the doctors and nurses who have been serving us with their talents. We have nothing but great things to say about all of them.
With much love,
Whit, Adrienne, and Benjamin
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32 comments:
Happy birthday Whit!
Oh, thank God for the good news and your spirit. I can go to sleep tonight much easier than I have the past nights. What a blessing. And try to watch out for that "fat drip"... I hear it's a gateway drug. :)
Thank you God for the "small" joys that mean so much and for the strength we don't know we have.
Love you Gatewoods and Malans!
Dear Whit and Adrienne,
Happy Birthday, Daddy! No better joy can be found than to touch one's child and know there is a connection between you two! May he bring you many more such Happy Birthdays!
Praise God for your good news! We continue to pray and think of you often. Adrienne, I pray that your healing be swift and 'painless' (Mothers have a way of not feeling pain associated with a child). I smile at the thought of the two of you as parents. :) Hallelujah! You bring joy to the earth.
Call if you need us. Aaron has the number.
We love you,
Michael and Jennifer (Corum) Michener
Hey Whit! What a birthday gift! Bubbles from your baby! I'd say that's one for the books huh? I'm excited for the fantastic news on weening process. This is good news! And the CT! That's really good news! YAY GOD!!!!
I look forward to hearing more great news!
Praying!
Brenda
Happy birthday! I'm so glad to hear of the good developments recently. I've been praying for little Ben and have asked many others to pray as well. You have a wonderful sense of humor for going through all of this. It was one of the things that got me through the past few years with my own sons.
I am a new mother. Last night when I read your entry about Ben I sat in my little man's nursery and cried barely able to utter "thank you" over and over again. You are truely praising God in the most difficult storm I can imagine. Souls will be saved because of your faithfulness! I pray continually for your sweet child. Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!
What wonderful news! I have been thinking of you often and I'm glad to hear about Ben's progress.
I wept with you as I read the last two blogs. I don't know if you remember us from OC. I made my way over to your blog from Ann's and I will now be bookmarking it. You are both beautiful people and I know the Lord is with you. I will be praying.
What an amazing birthday gift!! Whit your abiblity to see humor in this most difficult time is an inspiration to all who know you. You two are a testimony of the power of our Lord to sustine and hold us during the very worst of times. Praise be to His Mighty Name!!
We love you all so very much and are in constant prayer. What a testimony your lives are in the Kingdom!
Love to Adrienne, Kay, and Noel,
Dwight and Brenda
Whit, Adrienne and Ben,
Hey, we found ya! Happy Birthday, Whit! I was so saddened to read your last post, but also uplifted by your faith and hope. Your humor in the midst of this astounds me! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. We will be following Ben's progress. May God heal his precious body and shower him with love unfathomable. We love you guys!
Laura and Nobu Hirosawa...
www.nobuandlaura.blogspot.com
Whit, your faith and strength inspires me. What a blessing you and Adrienne have been to our family at Memorial. I look forward to seeing what wonderful things God will do in Ben's life because you have trusted in Him. You are in my prayers constantly.
Happy birthday Whit!
Praise God for the tremendous witness of your faith through these so difficult and unexpected trials. You have all been in our prayers and will be until Ben comes home. We love Adrienne, Ben and you.
Mike & Lise Mazzalongo
Whit, Adrienne, and Ben:
I just want you to know that the Mayes Clan is praying over your family allof the time. We love you guys so much. We want you to know that we are walking with you through this time. Please know that you are deeply loved. Thank you for the updates. We look forward to getting to see the new baby boy. Hug each other for us. Happy B-day Whit! Shawn and the gang
Whit & Andrienne,
We just want you to know that you are on our minds constantly and in our prayers. Kendall prays every day for Miss Adrienne's baby to get better. She remembers being in the hospital with her surgery, saying it is yucky, and she gets very serious when she prays for your sweet baby boy. So, please know that hearts of even 3 year olds are with you and praying for quick healing! Our prayer for you is for peace beyond measure, for strength to endure, and for God's healing hand to be on your son in amazing ways.
What good news! I can only imagine how this fills your spirit - I feel such relief for Ben and I'm not even family! Last night at Park Plaza Donna and I made sure they announced your prayer request, so know that now even more people have you in their hearts.
Hi Whit, Adrienne and Ben,
Thanks for your humorous reports. The good news is wonderful to hear. God is good. And happy birthday! I remember writing a birthday song for you years ago. It was called "With This Power". Of course it was a spiritual birthday song and I'm glad to know that your faith is strong and your hope is well-placed. We're praying for you all here at Quail.
Here's the song link.
http://www.quailchurch.com/files/Download/1728url.pdf
Whit -
I have hesitated to write because I don't know if I've ever met you personally, and I have no wisdom, but I am amazed at the wisdom and grace YOU are demonstrating. You're so young! We cherish your mom and dad, so I shouldn't be surprised that you've inherited their grace and wisdom.
I can't help but thinking you are in such a good place for this terrible trial, with Shane and Alice there, and the Memorial Drive congregation - with the wonderful folks at Park Plaza down the road praying for Ben. And you've got people you've never met praying for your family - countless people.
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date. We are so grateful to know what's going on.
What a great news! We are so happy to hear that Ben is making progress. God is so amazing! May He continue to heal Ben and encourage all of us.
Love you all,
Jennifer, Sam,& Chris
What a wonderful birthday surprise! He sounds like a very happy little boy! And a strong one for such great progress! Thank you for having this blog and allowing all of us to keep up with your family. We love you!
Hey, I think the mohawk thing is disturbing news, Whit. If you hear them discussing piercing of ears or tatooing of ankles, I think you may want to report this the the hall monitor!
Know that the three of you are top priority in our world right now. Once again, we have run into Christians who look like they have a Living God in the room!
Love you!
Dear Whit & Adrienne;
Just found out about your baby Ben. I am sorry. May God brings you two strength and comfort and healings to baby Ben. It is amarzing, though, to hear about the ability and power tiny Benjamin already has. Braxton and I will continue praying for your best. Please take care.
Love, Braxton & Nao
You guys are amazing to me. I am blessed by your faith and trust in God. Please know your family is in our prayers everyday. We love you guys!
Happy Birthday Whit!!
Christi
Whit and Adrienne, I've been praying for your family and am so glad that you had some better news today. I've passed on your blog to the Vienna team so you've got even more people praying for you! Love you both, Mandy
Wow! What power our God has to transform what seems so tough into the strength that you all show! It is without question from God but you have allowed Him to work through you and throw a blessing to all who read your update! Know that our prayers follow yours and that we love you guys! Hugs!
Tammy Bowers
PS...Kids have to express themselves, you know, and Ben has just started a little early with the hair thing :) Wait until he decides to make it yellow or green...
Happy birthday Whit! We'll have to talk about sons and the mohawk thing! Our oldest son use to spike his hair up in high school and since his hair was so curly it was hard to make it spike rather than curl. In order to achieve the spikes he wanted he would use varying colors of fluorescent Elmer’s glue to spike it! Of course, it was only a stage – which led to yet another stage – dreadlocks! You can go to my blog and see a recent picture of those beauties!!! My son has taught me a lot about life, one thing being, hair is just hair – it will all fall out by the time he’s 50 so there’s really nothing to get excited about! I’ve just told him when it gets to the point that he has to do a dreadlock comb over, then it’s time to cut it – a Mama can only take so much!! It's amazing what our children can teach us! We love you guys and we’re holding you all in our hearts thoughts, and prayers!
Whit, Adrienne, and Ben,
Hey, it's been a long time! Debbie found you on MySpace the other day and she told be about Ben. I am excited to see how God is going to use this challenge you are facing, although I must admit that some tears were shed when I read your blog. Debbie and I are praying for you guys along with the guys at Tinker.
Randal
I had a dream the other night that our little one had come into the world while Benjamin was still up at the hospital. You were both up there so you two and I and Bobby and our baby went down to see Benjamin and let them "get aquainted"! It was a beautiful dream full of joy and hope for the future of our little ones together! I can't wait...maybe though our baby will have to meet Benjamin at your home and not the hospital! :) I love you two! Give Benjamin our love! I have been telling my little one, still resting inside of me, all about you guys and about Ben. I hope he/she hears me. Love all 3 of you!
Hi Whit, sorry I didn't wish you Happy Birthday on your birthday!!! I am glad that you got to spend it with Adrienne and with Ben. The mohawk thing could be a problem. The NICU nurses could be a gang recruiting members right out of the nursery. oh well, I know that whatever you and Adrienne can handle it. I am glad to hear that Adrienne is getting stronger. I am glad that you get to touch Ben. We love you and continue to pray for more good new. YOu are in our prayers continually, Joe, Vickie and Aaron
Whit, Adrienne and Ben, We are all praying for you here in Wyoming. I am glad to hear that Ben is progressing. There is so much I want to say, but I know you and I know your heart. You are in the right spot, and your family is strong. God bless you. We will continually pray for you. Love Lynn Valdez and family
Thank you for the blog and we are so encouraged by Ben's progress. God gives us comfort in all things. Prayers going up from Knoxville TN for all of you
Hi there Whit and Adrienne
When we heard you had a baby boy we were delighted but sad at the same time to hear he has had to fight for life. You are in our prayers. Thanks for the blogg. It has brought tears to our eyes and we are glad to be updated with Big Bens progress.
With lots of love from the Macquarei chruch of Christ in Sydney
Hey guys,
All of us down here in Salvador are praying for you. We're praying for strength and health for little Ben and strength and sanity for you guys! Happy birthday, Whit!
Russ and Val
Hi little one, Well you made your big entrance a little differently than all of us had planned. The first thing I'd love to ask is if that fat drip comes in a portable unit? It sounds more efficient than my driving to Taco Bueno, LaLuna, San Marcos, El Chico, and Chelinos everyday! I was feeling a little old when I found out the news Whit and Adrienne were expecting a baby, because we all know I couldn't possibly be old enough to be a great aunt. Now I'm feeling a little empty, because I haven't had a chance to cuddle you yet. I know this is all a test you have to see just how patient I am. Well I'm passing, but not liking it. There is a big, beautiful world out there that God has created and is waiting for you to explore. Sometimes the journey takes you places you never expected, but God is always along for the ride and most of the time he has some really interesting people for you to share that ride with. Get healthy and let the journey begin. Love, Aunt Donna P.S. I have so many wonderful things I'd like to share with you: chocolate, playing monopoly, music, art, chocolate, books, looking up at the stars, riding bikes, have I mentioned chocolate.
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