Jess, Sydney’s mother, wrote this:
Prayers for Sydney- a few more details
It’s hard to explain all that we’ve been through. As hard as it is to take my eyes off our girl for even a minute to sit at the foot of her bed and type, I want to write this out so everyone will understand what’s going on (as best I can explain it) and know how to pray with us.
How we ended up at Vanderbilt- the quick version
Thursday morning, before we were released from the hospital (from Sydney’s birth), the pediatrician thought she looked slightly jaundiced. It wasn’t serious enough to require any treatment at that time; he wanted us to follow up on Saturday morning though, just to be sure it wasn’t getting any worse. Saturday morning, the pediatrician, Dr. H, was satisfied with Syd’s color. However, he was concerned because she was breathing pretty rapidly and wasn’t responding appropriately to all the pokes and prods- rather than being agitated, she just laid there. He gave us instructions to go straight to the ER at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and told us they would be expecting us.
Vandy ER
Sydney was seen right away. By this time, her breathing seemed to be under control, but she was extremely lethargic. It had been four hours since her last feeding and she wouldn’t wake up to eat and wasn’t crying or fussy. All the doctors could tell us at that point was that something was causing her to behave that way and we needed to figure out what it was. It was a long day of waiting, crying, and praying. She had chest x-rays, abdomen x-rays, blood tests, urine cultures (after hours of trying to get urine out of her), and even an attempted spinal tap- 2 sticks were unsuccessful at withdrawing fluid. All the tests were coming back ok, but the doctors weren’t convinced that all was fine.
In the Infant Unit
She was finally admitted around 6 or 7 last night. Her blood-ox level had been good all day in the ER, but the nurse on the floor noticed it dropping shortly after we moved up. She was assessed by yet another doctor. It wasn’t long before they started “blow-by” oxygen, indirectly giving her concentrated amounts of O2. By 10 or 11, she was showing signs of needing more attention, and over the course of the next hour or so she ended up with 5 nurses/doctors standing over and around her bed trying to draw blood, start a new IV, get her blood pressure from all extremities. It was excrutiating for me and Rob, so we know it could only have been worse for her. Finally around 1am, they finished and were satisfied that they’d done all they could do until morning. By this time, we’ve been told her situation could be related to a viral infection, lung problem, heart defect, heart murmur, meningitis, and several other options I can’t even remember any more.
Overnight
Sydney had an EKG and a nasal cannula was started because the blow-by oxygen was no longer enough to keep her blood saturation up at a healthy level.
Sunday Morning
We’re waiting for a pediatric cardiologist to come up and do a heart echo. Sydney nursed a little bit, and then drank 2 oz. from a bottle (yay!). She blew her second IV early this morning, but Dr. H wants to hold off on a third IV if we can get her to keep drinking. He sat down with us and was very compassionate in explaining that while most pediatric cases are pretty clear, Syd’s obviously is not. He feels like he can rule out, at this point, a viral or lung issue or infection. He’s anxious to hear from the cardiologist, though, and believes that we may find the root of our girl’s problems. Dr. H is a believer, and he prayed with us before he left. He also shared that as he prayed yesterday morning, before he began his day and met us for the first time, God stirred his heart and told him that he needed to be on alert because he was going to see something important that day; he thinks God was preparing him to meet Sydney. She is indeed important to us.
**Updated Sunday Afternoon**
The cardiologist just left and her heart is “perfectly normal”. PRAISE THE LORD!!! He suspects bronchiole-itis (sp??). We’re back to waiting for the next step, but we’re so encouraged that it’s not a problem with her heart! Thank you Jesus!
As for us…
Rob and I are “ok”. I’m so thankful that he’s so strong; he’s been a rock while I’ve been a mess. On Tuesday, I thought labor and delivering a baby would be the hardest things I would ever do. I was so, so wrong. The hardest thing I’ve ever done is sat and watched my four day old baby be poked and prodded while she screamed with all her little lungs had. The hardest thing I’ve ever done is sat and watched my four day old baby be poked and prodded while she lay there and didn’t respond at all. My heart has been broken over and over again, and put back back together every time she’s opened her eyes and looked at us.
Really, we are ok. We have absolute faith and trust that God knows what is going on and He will continue to be faithful to heal our girl. It hasn’t been easy to believe, but it’s all we can do. We’ve been encouraged and strengthened by the calls, texts, and prayers of so many. Thank you for loving us and loving our baby enough to lift up her name. We look forward to the day we can take her home and send out pictures of a happy, healthy, thriving little girl.
How you can Pray for Us
– Pray for Sydney!! She’s been a trooper so far. Pray that she’ll continue to eat good without IV fluids, pray that she’ll sleep good when she’s not being messed with and that she’ll show her dissatisfaction when she’s agitated. Her cry has become a sweeter sound than we ever could have imagined. Pray for her pain to be minimal and healing to come quick
– Pray for the doctors, nurses, and specialists who are treating Syd and reviewing her case. Pray for wisdom for them to see what exactly is causing these problems and knowledge of how to treat it quickly
– Pray for Rob and I to continue to have strength and energy to endure the next few hours and possibly days. We came in as exhausted parents of a four-day-old baby and haven’t gotten much rest since. Pray for my milk to continue to flow so that it will be enough to sustain Syd nutritionally. Pray for our faith to grow in the midst of this trial
We love you and are grateful that we have a wide network of family and friends who we can call on for support- both physically and emotionally. Please keep praying and we’ll do our best to keep you updated.
The Prayer Link 