Wiersma Family Blog

WIERSMA FAMILY BLOG
A glimpse into our lives as a family with micro-preemies. Our twins boys (Lovingly referred to as our Miracle Men) were born almost 16 weeks early.

Our journey continues when our son Max was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 3. This is his story....


Monday, August 17, 2009

Mostly good

The boys had a "mostly good" weekend. Max had a bit of a crummy gas on Friday night (7.37 and 67 for those of you keeping score at home) and the decision was made to put his CPAP pressure back to 8 (up from 7). This was a bummer for us because we really had to fight to get them to move to 7, and Max did so much better, at least outwardly. It seems that the changes from pressure to pressure have not had much of an effect on his gases, but if the docs think they are seeing an upwards trend in his CO2...look out, changes are a comin'!! Nurse Ashley is on for the next 3 nights, so she will do everything in her power to get us back to a CPAP of 7 and on our way to 6. Max's oxygen needs have been hanging in the 40% range, unless he gets to take a nap with his Dad, then it is more like 35%. He tipped the scales at 9 pounds 15 ounces tonight!! So close!!! He has been getting a diuretic called lasics over the last few days to really dry him out, so a stall to the weight gain is expected...but he is on his way back up!!

I was looking through some pictures and realized why Max had such a bad gas on Friday. Someone thought it would be cute to quick put him in this outfit and get some pictures before his Dad got to the hospital. Well Grandpa B...I hope you like the pictures, because it may have set back Max's lung development by a week or two. I am suprised it didn't burn his skin.



Wes had a good weekend. He continues to do well off CPAP and has been requiring very little oxygen. He seems to have the breathing thing pretty much figured out!!! So now the next hurdle is feeding. They moved him down to 1-hour feedings on Friday, then 1/2 hour feedings on Saturday. That was a little much and he had some issues with spitting up, so they moved him back to 1-hour. then today they moved him back to 1/2 hour and said that no matter what, they are going to do at least 24-hours worth of feedings (8 of them) at 1/2 hour to give his stomach a chance to stretch and adapt. Please pray with us that his stomach will do just that. He got his first 1/2 hour feeding at 2:00 this afternoon and then again at 5:00...so far so good!! Wes made another major accomplishment tonight...he hit double digits!! That's right folks, Wesley weighs 10 pounds even. I cannot even believe it. He weighed 1 pound 6 ounces at his smallest about 4 1/2 months ago. God is so good.

I had a little talk with him about how proud I was that he has come so far and fought so hard. It was a very special moment...then he started tooting like crazy, and he found that very hilarious. I had to smell them and was not laughing nearly as hard as he was.


Here is a picture of me holding Wes from May 12...more than 6 weeks after he was born. I cannot believe how tiny he was and how much he has grown!!

9 comments:

  1. The way Wes is looking at you is priceless! How special, what a gift they are!
    Ron and Karen Boersema

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another great post, glad to hear that the boys had a good weekend :) We will be praying that Max will get back down to a 7 and on his way to 6 and praying that Nurse Ashley can help get him there!! Also will be praying that 1/2 hour feedings go good for Wes and that his tummy will handle it just fine :) Praying for a great week of progress for the boys and peace and rest for you and Kate.

    Tina Jacobsen

    ReplyDelete
  3. I so agree with both of the comments made before me, I was thinking this same thing!..."The way Wes is looking at you is priceless! How special, what a gift they are!"
    and then what Tina said...
    There is something about seeing the pictures of your family, makes it more real to see them, how far they have come!
    "God is so wonderful I can't explain but I can sing Glory Hallelujah, Praise His Holy name!"
    this is a chorus that I learned when I was little is singing in my heart!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Praise God for all that He is doing in your family! The boys look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My prayers continue for you...the boys..and those caring for them...God Bless you, God Keep you, God smile on you..and give you His peace...In His Grip, barb baumann

    ReplyDelete
  6. Precious sons... Praying for you. Lil K.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mark .... a couple of "Coaching" suggestions in your efforts to encourage your boy's to "ring their respective medical bell's!" As a "Wiersma Father" of "Wiersma Son's" (Jim, chime in hear anytime) when I want to see my boy's get something done, achieve a goal, I suggest the following ... "I bet you can't _____________" (just fill in the blank). It's amazing how Wiersma's respond to that statement.

    As for the issue of flatulence, I've found that to be a uniquely "family issue."

    We continue to pray for Max, Wess, Kate and you .... stay in the "Word."

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kate and Mark,
    I finally learned how to post a comment.
    I have been praying for you and your little boys for a long time and will continue to do so.
    Thank you for the updates.
    I know your mom, Gail, because my husband and I are former Maranatha members.
    May God continue to bless all of you.
    Glady Kuipers

    ReplyDelete
  9. great update, we continue to pray for the boys and mom and dad, [it's a boy thing]
    jim and kath terp

    ReplyDelete