My boys arrived 12/20, but not without another roller coaster ride

I haven't been on here in about a month - and I've been meaning to post my birth story. I was supposed to go in for a growth u/s on 12/21, with the expectation of taking the babies by c/s due to small growth on baby A. However they had their own idea, and my waters broke at 12:27am on 12/20 instead. I went into some pretty strong back labor before making it to the operating room, and delivered my boys:

Keaton David (baby A) 3:15am; 4lbs 10oz, 17 inches
Brogan Carter (baby B) 3:16am; 6lbs, 1oz, 18 3/4 inches

My delivery went very well, and I was happy to be holding my boys in the recovery room shortly after surgery. The next 24 hours were pure bliss, enjoying what I thought were two healthy babies in my L&D room.

However within that first 24 hours, Keaton developed low blood sugar and was moved to the NICU. I wasn't too worried about this honestly. I went to visit him over the next two days and fed him there, where he was taking up to 32cc by bottle.

But on 12/23 at 3am, a neo-natologist entered my L&D room to tell me that Keaton had a heart murmur. She went on to explain how they were doing an echocardiogram and were expecting some sort of common issue, commonly corrected with medication, and not to worry. But within 24 hours we had a much different diagnosis: "abnormal origin of the right pulmonary artery." It was extremely rare, and something not seen by many cardiologists in their careers. We met with a lead cardiologist from Cleveland on Christmas Eve morning, and he told us Keaton would need surgery within 2-3 weeks. We were in shock, and were just so upset about this - we thought we'd get to take him home, then schedule his surgery in a couple weeks.

However on 12/28, he became septic, looked very sick, and was transported to Akron Childrens' Hospital via ambulance. I rode with him, fearing for his life that day. I spent the night at the hospital not knowing if he'd make it through the night. He was so sick. His kidneys were starting to shut down from lack of oxygen to the organs. His right lung was full of fluid and his heart was in early congestive heart failure. And that night I had two babies in two different hospitals in two different towns, and my almost 5 year old son at home.

His twin, Brogan came home after a short stint in the NICU learning to eat, on December 29th. It was so bittersweet taking him home alone. But I was comforted by his presence at home.

Over the next few days it was touch and go with Keaton. He was their most complex patient, critically ill, receiving blood transfusions and many drugs to keep his system operating. He was on a breathing tube, essentially on life support at times. I received a phone call one night asking for permission for the transfusion and was told they were praying for him, and "if he was meant to be, he'll pull through..." - I was just absolutely sick to my stomach.

On January 4th, the cardiology team felt that all of Keaton's various stats had plateaued, and it was time to go in for the surgery before it was too late. So on the morning of January 5th, a team of 30 doctors and specialists met in the NICU to plan for the surgery and post-op recovery. These doctors had a lot of anxiety about how he'd be after surgery, as well did myself and my DH. We waited about 6-7 hours for the surgery to be complete, getting updates throughout the day. The biggest hurdle was seeing if his heart would beat on its own after coming off of by-pass. And it did. And we cried tears of relief. By the end of the night we got to see him in the PICU.

Somewhere along the way, my requests for prayers and positive thoughts, had spread like wildfire, all over the country, heck, even the globe. Friends of friends, placing him on prayer lists at their respective churches. It was amazing. And it worked. Within ONE WEEK, our Keaton was in such good condition, he returned to the NICU where he could start re-learning to eat from a bottle.

He's now doing well, still learning and growing, but in good health and no longer critically ill. He will have a lifetime of checkups with a cardiologist, but we have every reason to believe he'll lead a normal life like his brothers. We're anxious to have him home with us, where we can begin our lives together and I can reunite the twins, and hope that they pick up where they left off.

It's amazing how things happen, but this has made us one very strong family, and we value what we have more than ever.

Thanks for letting me share! We have a CaringBridge page that covers Keaton's journey, and ours. If anyone is interested: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/keatonpierpont

 

:Clap: Congratulations Momma!! :hug: Keaton is a fighter! :wub: I'm sorry he, you and your family had to go through this but I'm so happy to hear he is doing well now. :hug: Welcome to the world Brogan and Keaton!!

 

wow! what a roller coaster. :hug: congrats on the birth of your boys. it's so good to hear Keaton is doing well. :good:

 

Oh my goodness - bless your heart! I had a similar situation with my second child - so, so traumatic and scary when complications are unexpected! It sounds like Keaton is doing great - and a lifetime of cardio appointments will be a piece of cake compared to what you've made it through! Congratulations on your two sweet baby boys!

 

Congrats on your baby boys!! So glad that Keaton is doing better and how wonderful it will be to have your whole family sleeping under one roof Take care I'm having twin boys due in May and one of our names is Brogan. We have loved the name and with our 2nd child being a girl we have just been waiting on a boy to use it

 

Wow- what an amazing story and what a roller coaster!! I'm happy to hear that both of your boys are doing so well. I hope Keaton will be home with you soon! Thanks for sharing your story and congratulations on the birth of your baby boys!

 

What a roller coaster indeed! Hope that everything is smooth sailing from here on in. :hug:

 

Wow!!! Congrats on your boys, I love the names you chose!!
You tell Keaton he is not to cause any more trouble until at least age 18!!
I hope your family is all home together soon!!

 

:Clap: Congratulations! I agree, what a roller coaster that was.

 

Oh, how scary that must have been - thank God he's doing so much better! Congratulations and blessings on you all.

 

What an amazing story of survival! And the wild thing is that according to your ticker your "due date" just passed a few days ago... You guys have been through so much in the last month! Congratulations...may you all stay healthy and happy for a long, long time!