Resting on ECMO

Baby Jackson is stable and resting on ECMO. For those of you who don't know about ECMO, it is basically a heart/lung bypass machine that will give Jackson's lungs a rest and time to develop more. ECMO is used when the ventilator settings would have to go outside the "gentle" ventilation strategy settings to keep O2 and CO2 measurements in check. To avoid compounding the already critical situation by damaging his lungs with more aggressive ventilator settings, they bypass them with ECMO and perform the O2 and CO2 gas exchange in the blood in a machine and then return it to his body.

Stef did get to visit Candice today and she is still in a lot of pain. She may be discharged as early as tomorrow. We did hear that they determined the liver is down below the diaphragm which is good news and should make for an easier surgery. The surgery isn't on the immediate horizon as they give Jackson some time to rest.

Please continue to pray for this little CDH warrior who is fighting so hard to get through this difficult battle.

We will update as we get more information.
Shawn

Current status

The medical team worked for a few hours last night trying to stabilize Baby Jackson on a ventilator, but determined that wasn't going to be possible. Around midnight, he was transferred over to Children's hospital and was placed on ECMO to give his heart and lungs some time to rest and develop.

Candice is doing ok, but she is still in a lot of pain. We weren't able to see her or Baby Jackson today, but hopefully will tomorrow. Candice was able to see Jackson last night before he was transported to Children's.

I am really at a loss for words right now when I think about everything this wonderful family has been through just over the past couple of days. I will continue to update you all each time I get a status update and ask that you continue to pray for this little fighter.

Shawn

Jackson has arrived!

Jackson was born tonight sometime around 7:30. I don't have a lot of details, but will continue to update as info comes in and definitely will have more tomorrow when we are up at the hospital. Jackson appears to be in pretty severe respiratory distress right now and the doctors have indicated they are struggling to stabilize him. They are going to continue trying to stabilize Jackson for a while and then assess if ECMO is the right path to take.

We just received the first picture of Baby Jackson:

The family is struggling to take it all in right now and are terrified. We anticipated Jackson might be critical early on and it looks like that is the case. Please pray for this family who is searching for answers and trying to make sense of the current situation and strategy and please pray for Jackson to fight like mad to stabilize.

I will update as I get more information tonight or in the morning.

Shawn

Baby Jackson's not here yet..

But it should be soon! Sorry for the delayed post today. Stef and I have been up at the hospital and we were able to go back and visit with Candice and Rob. Both of them are doing good and holding up very well given the eventful night they had. Candice was put back on Pitocin this morning at 7:00 and she is making some progress with labor so it should be any hour now.

The Parkland team is all ready for Jackson's arrival. They have the isolation room all prepped and ready to go. This is the same room Kamryn was in after she was born. Children's hospital is also prepared with ECMO if needed so everything is in place and on standby right now.

My next post today should be to announce the arrival of Jackson and it will be posted the minute we get word!

Stay tuned...
Shawn

Things are a little crazy right now..

Hey everyone,
Well, if the CDH situation wasn't enough to worry about, Rob and Candice have another event happening that is pretty odd. I am not sure if I have a complete understanding of the whole situation because I just can't believe it, but here goes.

Like I posted earlier, the medical team at their hospital figured out they didn't have an ECMO machine available until after they started inducing Candice. They were told that a baby would soon be coming off ECMO so it was no problem and they would just let the labor continue on its own. It appears that plan B is now in progress.

There isn't an ECMO machine available after all so they are getting ready to Careflight Candice to Parkland hospital in Dallas which is where Kamryn is. Children's hospital is connected to Parkland so if Jackson does need ECMO it is just down the hall where Kamryn had her surgery. We texted Candice back to see when she was going and haven't heard back so she may be in the air now.

I promise to let all of you know the second we hear something more. We will be up at the hospital with Kamryn tomorrow so we can definitely give a first hand account of how things are going.

More to come...

Shawn

Quick update

Stef talked to Candice just a little bit ago and Jackson hasn't arrived yet. They did start the Pitocin this morning and labor has been going well. Candice is doing fine and has her epidural in. There was a small change in plans with inducing her because they just found out that there are too many babies on ECMO right now so they stopped the Pitocin and will let things take there course from here. There is a baby coming off ECMO in the next hour and they just want to be safe and have that option if Baby Jackson requires it.

That's what we know right now and will update everyone the second we hear anymore news.

Shawn

The BIG day has arrived!

Hey everyone, it's Shawn (Kamryn Hope's dad) posting for Rob and Candice. They want everyone to know that tomorrow (Tuesday) is the big day for Baby Jackson's arrival. Candice will be induced at 7:00am and sometime tomorrow they will truly begin their CDH journey. Stef has been talking with Candice and she is doing well. She and Rob are excited, but very nervous and anxious about tomorrow. I will post all the info the minute we get word and have information to share.

I remember the excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty both of them are feeling right now and how we were comforted by hearing from all of you. I hope you will join Stef and I in praying for Jackson, Candice, and Rob and sharing your support and encouragement through comments (they are able to view the blog with their cell phone).

Thanks,

Shawn