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....


Sunday, September 27, 2009

Wes is home...again!!

Wow, it has been a whirlwind week. First the surgery, then the recovery, then we found out early Saturday morning that they were sending us home. I was changing the oil in one of our cars and Kate called and said, "you might want to get in the shower...they are kicking us out of here in about an hour." That was at around 9:00 in the morning, we finally left the PICU (yes, they kept us in the PICU the whole time because the Peds floor filled up...yeah community shower room!!) at around 4:00 in the afternoon. I wish I could get away with those kind of "ballpark" estimates at my job. I could write a 1,000 page dissertation on why the neo unit is better than the peds unit at Spectrum Health, but it is one of those "if you don't have anything good to say" type of things. So I rushed up to the hospital, packed all of our stuff up, took as much stuff as I could to the car (via a really sweet Radio Flyer wagon), only to find out we weren't going anywhere for about 5 hours. To top it all off, the hospital does not have ESPN2, and on Saturday, that meant no Michigan football...just MSU football. Needless to say, that couple of hours was BORING!! Anyway, we finally left and went down to visit Max for a while. It was fun to have the two boys "together" again. I say "together" because now that Wes has left the NICU, he is as dirty as the rest of us, and therefore would need to where a gown and gloves. It is easier for one of us to stand outside "the line" and hold Wes while the other visits with Max. We tried to get them to look at each other, and I think they might have at one point, but Kate thought they were just both looking at the ever-so-popular rain forest mobile.

So, after a full day of having Wes home, things are going really well. He is on a good schedule and has been sleeping very well. When I "fed" him last night at 2:00, he never even acknowledged that I was there. That is one benefit to the G-tube: unsnap the sleeper (I think that is what they are called), plug the little tube thingy in, and away you go. I will try and post a picture of the whole operation soon, I know visuals are very useful.

Max has had an okay week. No big changes really. His blood gases have been pretty good, but his oxygen needs continue to be erratic. Not as wild as they have been in weeks past, but anywhere from 40 - 60%. His demeanor continues to be very good and he has started to smile quite a bit (at least for his Dad!!). The only treatment for Max right now is time. He needs to grow. It is possible that his lungs can grow and develop to the point where the pulmonary hypertension will not be such an issue. It is our prayer that this will happen very quickly.

The boys are 6-months old today. Half a year of this crazy life. 6-months of driving to GR, parking in Parking Lot 7, riding in the elevator that says, "Welcome to the Spectrum Health Medical Center. when you exit the elevator, turn left and proceed to the end of the elevator lobby. The Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center is on your left, and the Butterworth Hospital and the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is to your right. Please see the attendants at any of the Information Desks for directions." But now Wes is home, and we cannot wait until his big brother can come home too.

8 comments:

  1. That's great news Mark and Kate! Happy 1/2 Birthday Max and Wes! We will continue to uplift your family in our prayers, because in Him all things are possible!

    Love, MBIKLG

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  2. Praise the LORD! Thanks for the update and enjoy Wes at home. 6 months old, wow! Sarah Schreuder

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  3. Kate,
    We had a conversation last week in the scrub room in NeoNatal. My little girl (2 yr old) was also the one who was fascinated with you in Prizms a little while back. So happy to hear that Wes came home! So glad for you guys. Our newest addition came home on Saturday as well. Guess it was a good day! God bless you and the boys!
    Robin

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  4. Great to hear that Wes is back home again! Praise God!... we're praying he can stay healthy and keep growing stronger each day. We're continuing to lift up Max, too, and praying for complete healing and developement of his lungs. 6 months... wow! Stay strong, you guys. You have been an amazing example through this all and we're praying that soon your days at De Vos Children's Hospital are a distant memory and you'll all be home together as a family. With love & many prayers... Brent and Amy Sluiter

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  5. Welcome home again, Wes!!

    Your family continues to be in our prayers...

    Love every picture and post.

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  6. What wonderful news! Happy half birthday to the boys! :)

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  7. Yaaaa-hooo! So happy to hear Wes is home again! We continue to pray for you and think of you often. Half a year old already! WOW! Hope you had time to celebrate together! Thanks for the update. I love how real you are, and I must say I'm impressed with the entire monologue from the "wonderful elevator lady". Smiles and hugs to you all - Sue and boys

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  8. Giving God all the Praise and Glory to day for the wonderful news of Wes being home!!!
    Happy Six months birthday also!! What a joy it will be when all of you are together under one roof at home...
    God is Faithful
    Blessings love and lots of prayers too!
    Pam

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