"This is one lucky boy..."

The above quote was from Britton's neonatologist today. Considering that this doc is known around here as Dr. Doom & Gloom, we were guarding ourselves for the negative feedback on little Britton's condition. Instead, he was quite encouraging and gave us a really good report ... summing it up with the statement -- "This is one lucky boy." We of course know it is divine providence at work.

So here's the nitty gritty:

* The radiology report on Britton's brain ultrasound were NORMAL! We were praying & hoping that the brain bleed would be held to stage 1 or 2 level (referring to how much blood is on the brain), as opposed to a 3 or 4. Instead the result was even better than a Stage 1. It was a normal ultrasound, meaning there was no blood found in the ventricles of the brain.

* His kidneys are picking up. He's had 48+ ccs of urine in the last 12 hours. The doctor said he believes his kidneys will return to full function. Though kidney function is a big concern, we are grateful that the docs are thinking he likely won't have a problem here.

* They are lowering the level of his CPAP (nasal tube providing room air) because his oxygen saturation levels are holding steady. They will continue to wean him off the CPAP throughout the night & tomorrow. Thankfully, he did not have to go back on the ventilator last night, as was a possibility.

* The morning will mark the end of 72 hours that Britton has been on the cooling therapy. His body has been at a temperature of 91 degrees. So, beginning at 9:30 a.m., they they will slowly start warming him up. It will take 48 hours to bring his body temp back to a normal level.

* Emily is doing better every day. The entire birth took less than 10 minutes so we pray the healing will be reflective of that expediency. Our emotions wane, but we have been praying since day 1.

What is to come?

We are waiting for all of the big neurological tests to take place on Monday (MRI, EEG & EKG). This will show how much damage was done by the oxygen deprivation, and will give us a clearer picture of how much bleeding occurred in the brain (a better picture than the ultrasound gave us). We have been very encouraged by the ultrasound report from today, but we realize that Britton is still in very critical condition. We just hope & pray & trust that today's report is a good start on the test reports that we'll get early next week.

Pray for Britton as he comes off the cooling blanket! Pray that his brain was undamaged by the oxygen loss that occurred as a result of the placental abruption. We just hope that there was only very little time that he was without blood & oxygen. We talked to the doctor who performed the emergency c-section today. I asked how much time passed between when he called the stat c-section and when the baby was born, and it was b/n 6 and 8 minutes. It would have been a minute or two shorter had an operating room near where we were had been open. Instead they had to rush me to another side of the hospital for an open OR. I'm still darn impressed that they were able to knock Emily out and get the baby out in just a handful of minutes. Praise the Lord for a doctor who moved fast!

Now, here are a few pictures from today:

Emily got to prop his head up today to pose for a picture. This is the closest we have gotten to holding him.

The three of us.

A close up of our little miracle taken tonight. His eyes and lips are swollen today from all the excess fluid they are giving him.