Ezekiel is here!

Wow! I can think of no other way to sum up our last few days. They have been a whirlwind of activity and shattered expectations. Ezekiel is here, but it doesn't yet seem real. We're overjoyed to have him out here with us, but that joy is tempered by all the difficulties we know he will face. So far, we know that this kid is a fighter! He has already overcome a few critical hurdles that have all had the most terrible of possible outcomes. Ezekiel took them all on like a champ!

Let's start back on Friday morning, October 31st. At 4am Jenny started having contractions. She had had a few random contractions over the last week or so, so at first we didn't worry. But after an hour and a half, it became obvious that this was a little different. We hurriedly got ready and headed into the hospital on the snowy roads. I was excited to see snow in October, choosing to call it a good omen of some kind. By the time we got to the hospital, Jenny's contractions were only 5 minutes apart and getting more intense. After first confirming that she was indeed in labor, the team at Meriter hospital tried their best to stop it. Zeke wasn't ready yet, his lungs were so immature that they worried that he would not survive outside the womb. They knew they couldn't hold off labor to get to that November 17th target date, but they wanted to buy 48 hours to give a cycle of steroid injections to help kick-start Ezekiel's lung growth. The drugs slowed her labor, but Jenny was still having regular contractions. After 21 hours of labor, it became clear that Ezekiel would not be halted any longer, and letting the labor continue to progress naturally could be fatal for the little guy. They rallied the troops and he arrived via Cesarian section at 1:15am, November 1st.

Scrubbed up selfie!

This was where he encountered his first hurdle, simply making it out of the delivery room. We had been told that without his full round of steroids they feared his lungs might not function at all. After getting him out, they whisked him off to an adjoining room where the NICU team waited. I was able to join them, but Jenny had to stay to get sewn up. After a few torturous moments, I heard what I had been waiting for, a high pitched cry! He was able to breathe, but boy was he struggling. They were able to place a breathing tube to support his lungs and were ready to move him just as Jenny was being wheeled out of the operating room. We both got a little misty as we enjoyed our very first moment as a family.

Not quite how we envisioned it, but we will take it!

Ezekiel was critical, but the NICU team let us have a couple minutes with our son. This brief meeting was the last time we saw him for the next 9 hours. That's how long it took to stabilize him and start his much needed treatments. Our first report from Zeke's neonatologist wasn't too cheery, but the silver lining was that we could finally see him.

Under all those tubes, there is a boy

Although he was stable for the time being, his condition was still very serious. His lungs were, and still are, very underdeveloped and may not be able to function well enough to support him in the long term. But for now, they were responding to treatment. On the kidney front, they were able to place the catheter past his PUV and drain his bladder. Now we had to wait to see if he created any urine on his own. We spent as much time at his side as we could, and he got almost constant attention from the amazing staff at Meriter Hospital. He also got to meet some of his family! Both sets of Grandparents, his uncles Micah and Josh, aunts Jen and Michelle and every single one of his cousins came rushing to our side to give their support and celebrate the hurdles that Zeke had already crossed. The little ones had to wait outside Ezekiel's room, but he knew they were there. I wish I had gotten a picture, but forgot in the flurry of the moment... that was a lot of cute kids in one place. That night, we rested, not having slept the night before, confident Ezekiel was in good hands.

Just over 24 hours old, look at that hip flexibility!

On Zeke's first night, his lungs did well, but his kidneys did not. He hadn't made any urine and was retaining lots of extra fluid because his kidneys weren't clearing any of it from his system. You can see it in the picture above, his face is very puffy. This was super dangerous for Ezekiel because once you get too much fluid in your system, that fluid will end up in your lungs. Zeke's lungs were so small already, that any additional fluid would likely be fatal. Getting that fluid from his body became top priority. To do this, they decided he needed to be transferred to the UW Children's Hospital where there is a team of pediatric urologists (bladder doctors) and nephrologists (kidney doctors). This was terrifying because, normally, they would never try to move a baby as critical as Zeke. They felt that in his case, though, it was worth the risk. To get the transfer rolling they needed parental consent. Our neonatologist sat us down to go over the paper work. It was hard to focus on anything other than the "Risks" section, because written there in all caps were the words "POSSIBLE DEATH". The doctor made sure we understood this risk, describing it as a better than 50/50 chance of survival, but he couldn't get any more specific than that. It was what Zeke needed, though, so we signed on the dotted line. After signing the paperwork, we got our first real alone time with Ezekiel. This was the very first time they cleared the room, shut the door, and let us be alone with our son. They never said anything, but we all knew why. After some tearful moments, we opened the door, stepped to the side and waited while his room exploded with action.

Look at that sweet ride!

This part was agonizing, but if I may skip to the end, he made it! Jenny got to ride in the ambulance with Zeke and I followed in our car. Everything went as well as it could have, and the doctors were all impressed with how well he handled the travel. They were still in the process of plugging in some of Zeke's tubes when the nephrology team came to meet with us. They already had a plan and wanted to execute it now. Their biggest concern was that his kidneys were still not draining properly, even with the catheter in his bladder. This meant there was another obstruction higher in his renal system. The plan was to surgically install a catheter in both kidneys and drain them manually, skipping the rest of the system. We were asked to leave the room and they got started right away. The procedure was only partially successful, they were able to install a catheter in the right kidney, but not the left. They were happy with this for now, though, and wanted to wait out the night before maybe trying again. After all this, we finally got to see Ezekiel again.

Check out the new digs!

We had a quieter night, our family visited and Jenny and I both read Ezekiel his very first bed time stories. He had a good night and is still going strong on the morning of his 3rd day in this world. Jenny and I remain ever hopeful and unwilling to leave his side unless they make us. We love this kid and want to spend as many moments with him as possible.

Until tomorrow,
Caleb