We've known since they were born that when the boys turned 1 year adjusted they'd need to be circumcised (they were much too fragile to do it while they were still admitted). Nich took them to their January Urology appointment and we were planning to get a date scheduled...turns out the boys need more boy surgery, both different. Brennan's missing a nut...they need to do exploratory surgery to find it since it may even be in his abdomen! Landon has had a hydrocele for awhile and they feel it's not resolving itself and may cause other issues so are planning to take care of it.
8 days later they all went to their Opthamology appointment and left with the boys needing eye surgery...total surprise! Brooke's eyes are right on track but the boys are starting to go cross-eyed (called Strabismus). She has a degree of this but not warranting surgery. Read the link if you have a chance - it's really interesting what happens and the eye muscle surgery they can do. It may not work 100% but will help the eyes look in the same direction and hopefully not confuse the brain. :)
8 days later they all went to their Audiology & ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) appointment and they all need tubes in their ears! We were kinda expecting that for Brooklyn, hoping for Landon (this means part of his hearing loss is conductive/fixable!!!), but were surprised for Brennan! Since Nov, she's had 4 ear infections and Brennan has had 3. Thankfully they're such tough kids we didn't even know and were taking them in for something else!
So all in all, walking away with 9 surgeries/procedures scheduled that we learned about within 3 weeks! Brennan & Landon - 4 each and Brooke scoots out with just 1. We're hoping to do this all the same day, sometime in February. I know you're thinking we're probably crazy and torturing ourselves/the babies, but 1 round of anesthesia, 1 surgery day and 1 recovery round! They'll book 3 OR's and go right down the line! We're really praying the babies go through this well. We're praying Landon's lungs will be strong enough to get right back off the vent! This time around feels so different, even though we've already been through 19 surgeries between the three babies, this time they've been home for so long and they're older! Every time we go back, memories fill with what it was like 16 months ago. Turning them over to the doctors and surgeons is so hard but God's going before us, which is our strength!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Next surgery round - a whopper!
Monday, March 22, 2010
From Pirate to Spiderman
Spiderman! :)
Both of the surgeries he extubated (bot his breathing tube out) in the OR and he's breathing on his own - without cannula! He's woken up well and tolerated the surgery well. The surgeon took a look at his right eye and it seems to be doing good. There's still a little bubble in his eye, but they're hopeful it'll go away and his retina will reattach correctly. His left eye was worse and the prognosis isn't as good, but what do statistics mean to the Pollak?! :) Don't get me wrong we understand the seriousness of what's going on, but there's always the God factor. We're praying for sight!
Also, wanted to share, our local newspaper featured a story on our family this past Sunday on the front page! Here's the link - it was such a great article!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
More ROP...FULL update
Update #2! Landon went down to the OR at 7pm and didn't come back until 11:30pm. Brennan's took 5 hours, Brooklyn's 4 and Landon's 4.5 hours from the time they went down to the OR until they returned to the NICU room. Today was the first day I was able to go down with them and wait in the holding rooms. It was so different, there were families of all ages (well under 18) waiting for all kinds of surgeries. Each baby and I cuddled and waited for surgery together. Both of them fell asleep! When they came back from surgery they were intubated (on a ventilator again) due to the anesthesia. Brooklyn is still pretty sleepy from the drugs and is not ready to breathe on her own yet. She has been Bradying and De-sating (low heart rate and low oxygenation) since she got back and it's mostly due to her just riding the ventilator and letting it do all the work. Landon is still on vent too. They actually had to give him paralyzer to calm him down as they brought him back to the NICU! He was waking up in a matter of minutes! I hope we will be ventilator free tomorrow! Thank you God for enabling the surgeons to have steady hands and help work Your miracles!
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Brooklyn came through great! She was first case this morning and actually went down 45 min later. Landon on the other hand went down and came right back up! Shortest laser surgery ever! :) They are way too far behind to keep him down in the treatment rooms so brought him back up to the NICU room to wait. Hopefully he'll go later today if not, first thing tomorrow morning! I'll keep you posted again! :)
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This tine we'll get 2 done in one day! Brooklyn and Landon both have Retinapothy of Prematurity (ROP) like Brennan, only there's developed to stage 3 a week later. Here's a link to Brennan's big day and what ROP is all about. (He's doing great by the way!!) Brooklyn is scheduled for laser surgery at 7:45am and Landon will be at 3:30pm. As we're learning in the OR, please start praying at the scheduled time - they may go back a couple hours late! :) This procedure is common among preemies, the three now have 2 surgeries in common! They will have all had this surgery and their PDA ligations, for a total of 9 surgeries to date! Praise God for all he's brought us through and promises to be with us all the time! Please pray for them and us today - Daddy is working and I'm here with them. Will keep you posted! It'll be a long day!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Brennan's ROP - UPDATE!
Brennan did great! He didn't go down to surgery until 5pm and came back just before 10pm last night. I should've asked you to START praying at 2:30! You never know how the OR will go! He was inubated (on a venilator) for the procedure, but they were able to extubate to CPAP when they got back up to the NICU. He woke up well from anestesia and even opened his eyes when he heard my voice! I expected him to have patches over his eyes, but they're just a little cloudy. Thank you all for your prayers!
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Prayers for Brennan please! Each of the babies have been getting eye tests periodically and this last one, Brennan's came back as Stage 3 (out of 5) Retinapothy of Prematurity (ROP). The blood vessels in his eyes have grown abnormally and are putting pressure on the retina. We don't want it to detach! He will be having laser therapy surgery at 2:30 tomorrow. Nich will be able to be with him, I'll be working and I'm still fighting a cold so I'll be praying from a distance! I'll update everyone as soon as surgery is over. You'd think we were pro's at handling surgery, but each time I get a little nervous. I know God has my baby in His Hands and will guide the surgeons (and the laser!). Thanks everyone!
