Mysteries Revealed!!!

…deep breath.

Not to worry things are good.. there’s just a lot of info to get out and I wanna make sure that I get it correct. Lets start at the beginning of things.

At 1am in the morning on the 13th of Nov Lindsay was yanked out of sleep by sharp pains and her body told her it’s time to give birth. That morning Ayden arrived in our world. What we just learned is that the reason this happened is because the placenta had an infection (chorioamnionitis) within it. So the body said hey… this is bad, it’s makin mom sick and makin’ baby sick. So out came Ayden.

Now as a result the infection passed on to little Ayden. So not only did he have to deal with being born premature and having to survive with organs and parts that were not ready for him.. Now his immune system was getting a work out fighting off this infection. The infection was causing all his tissues to become inflamed. He was in much more trouble than we even knew… his whole body was infected and apparently this was incredibly painful for him. This is why they put him on a more advanced ventilator earlier than premee babies would get.

But already that little hero has gotten through some of the hardest trials of his life. Thanks to the amazing work of Dr Kusch’s team, he was on antibiotics right away. As it stands now, he’s already off of his breathing tubes (knock on wood that stays that way). He’s just on a ventilator which gives him more oxygen for each breath that he’s taking as well as it hydrates him.

His little heart has been through this infection and is still beating up a storm. It’s checked out with all tests so far. EKG’s as well as some other scans for deformations. His digestive system from all indications is now healing and as a result he’s been able to keep all his meals down since last night at 4pm. The staff has been ordered to up they’re feedings from every 4 hours to 1cc every 2 hours. He’s got a little bit of maconium (a thick paste that plugs the rectum so no fecal matter gets into the womb) still to pass but a lot of it has already gone through.

A Little More Serious Now

As a result of the infection which causes inflammation in all the organs. It has also caused inflammation in the tiny blood vessels all over the brain. In the center of the brain are two empty chambers one in each lobe (right and left). These chambers are filled with fluid. Now something to understand is that the brain is designed to let this fluid pass through it’s pathways… these are very tiny and delicate path ways that are not meant for the heavy duty pressure that the blood normally passes through. So when you you have a bleed in the brain the blood, a naturally thicker fluid runs the risk of clogging these sensitive pathways. Should a clog occur as one currently has not. It would result in the expansion of these chambers of fluid as they don’t stop creating the nutrient rich mixture that feeds the brain. This would be bad.. this is when the doctors would have to intervene and manually find a way to release the pressure.

The bleed in question has most assuredly damaged the area of the left side of the brain that controls mobility of the right leg. As the left lobe controls the right side of the body and vice versa. However due to the fact that the brain is in it’s infancy it is not uncommon for these neural pathways that are blocked to find a new way to connect the “A” to “B” that they were designed for. Like the saying goes “Nature Finds A Way” so to say that Ayden will not run or walk on that leg is not yet a truth.

Possible Realities:
One future is that Ayden’s Brain naturally clears the hemorrhage and his neural pathways find a new path resulting in no discernible disability or handicap. This would be classified as a miracle.

Another future is that Ayden requires physiotherapy of a sort to teach his brain how to use his limb, which in time would lead to no discernible disability or handicap.

Yet another future sees Ayden having this aforementioned blockage and requiring a shunt in his brain that would allow the release of built up brain fluids. This future could see all manner of mental problem as there are many unknown factors.

Lastly the future we don’t want to consider is that the bleed is not finished, that it continues to grow and destroy further parts of the brain. And interfere in important functions. Which could result in serious types of Cerebral Palsy. But we’ll not think about this…

As we’ve come to understand this moment right now… we’re steering towards the physiotherapy future.. but each day can change the course of this Journey.

As in any event constant prayer from those who are religious or positive thoughts and wishes of those who are not so much are needed and wanted. I’ve come up with this way of thinking… We’re not out of the woods yet.. but hey.. we found the path. Love my son more and more each day.

Side note, when we did get to visit him today they (laughs to self) had him on his tummy but it’s like he’s kneeling, so his legs are bent and his butt is in the air.. and from time to time he’d push off with his legs and stick his little bum in the air. So cute.. he he he he. I could watch him for hours. So proud.