Monthly Archives: July 2012

Amelia means “hard-working” and Grace, “the grace of God.” We’ve always felt that this was to be her name, but now even more so are declaring over our little Amelia Grace to be strong, courageous and hard-working as she is covered by the grace of God.

So much has happened since I was last able to write… I’ll try to recap the rest of the first week of Amelia’s life the best I can. Friday was probably the scariest day. Friday morning she was more jaundiced & starting to get little red spots, she also hadn’t wanted to eat during the night and after 5 days on antibiotic was still dependent on the oxygen (which should not be if the only issue was the pneumonia). The doctor came in while we were with Amelia during visiting hours & shared her concern & that she wanted to start doing more tests to find out what was going on & why things instead of moving forward were getting worse. After she left, we both started to cry… partly just finally a release of all the emotions from the week. With tears we finally got back to the house & as Grandma Gwen fixed us some lunch, we shut ourselves in the bedroom & cried out to the Lord for our little girl’s life.

We regained strength & went back with positive hearts for afternoon visiting hours. After spending some time with Amelia we were informed that her platelet count was low & she needed a platelet transfusion. Leo started making calls to family & brothers & sisters in Christ in Jarabacoa for possible donors to come & he himself went to be tested. Elizabeth stayed a little longer with Amelia & had to leave because there was a Pediatrician-Hemotologist coming in to test some of Amelia’s blood. Elizabeth waited in the hallway outside of the NICU for that doctor to draw the blood, go examine it & come back. Everything in her normal blood work had been coming back fine, but this doctor discovered that in addition to the pneumonia Amelia has neonatal sepsis (a blood infection), which is what was causing the continued breathing problems, change in her coloring, very low platelet count, very low white blood cell count (many times newborns with infections will have a very low WBC count instead of it going up when they’re sick). She was stable, and her antibiotic was going to be changed to treat this infection as well as the pneumonia, but the immediate need was for a platelet donor because if she would start to bleed she would not be able to stop on her own. Her platelet count should have been above 20,000 & it was at 6,000. By 6pm or so, brothers & sisters started to show up to see who could donate. Because she is so small, one adult donor was enough for what she needed for various doses.

Little did we know how difficult it would be to find a donor. The old school process for platelet donation is simply donating the blood & then having a machine separate out the platelets. This process is not used often now, at least when there is another option, because there is higher risk for contamination, especially not something that we wanted for our 6 day old daughter. A candidate for donation first had to have protruding, thick and straight veins & then those possible candidates had two vials of blood drawn & the machine would do tests on the blood (a long process as the machine can only handle one blood sample at a time). Once a donor is found it is then about an hour long process of having blood drawn out of the vein, the blood goes through a machine (kind of like dialisis) which separates out the platelets & then the blood is reinjected back into the donor in a different point of the same vein (henceforth the need for the person to have long, straight & prominent veins). Leo’s blood was rejected because of a trace in his blood from a previous vaccination. Over 75 brothers & sisters in Christ (most from Jarabacoa & some from Santiago who showed up when out of desperation we called a few believers who are barely acquaintances for them to pray) showed up willing to donate their platelets for our little girl who was needing a miracle. Only a couple of those had veins that were possibilities & none of them their blood was in condition.

Around 2am the ER security guard wanted to see if he could donate. His veins were a possibility & his blood was good. They started the process but his veins couldn’t take it. The over 20 brothers & sisters in the entranceway to the ER started to pray. Elizabeth fell to her knees on the pavement as did many others & we desperately cried out to the Lord placing all trust in Him. A sister led us all in prayer, praying specifically that God would bring the donor right in front of us. Then Elizabeth started singing a song in Spanish that had been echoing through her heart that night & people on their knees, others with their arms raised high, the song says:

“Give me your eternal peace, give me the gift to wait & hope, help me to trust in You because in my own strength I no longer can. You are our sustainment, You our Creator, and you have the last Word!”

Little did we know what God had already been doing all night. It was probably about 4am by this point & the group of 20 or so who had been rejected piled into vehicles to head back to Jarabacoa to continue to look for possible donors (having a clearer idea of what kind of veins to look for first of all). The grandmas, Leo & Elizabeth & another friend, Eudis, were who were left. We were sitting outside with Eudis, confident that God was going to do something, definitely sensing His presence & the presence of angels (for example someone just sitting on a motorcycle outside of the ER with nothing better to do playing loud Christian music on his cell phone). It was at this point that one of the guys from the front desk of the ER strolled out & began to talk with Leo & Eudis. Eudis told him to take off his sweater & let him see his veins. They were perfect. “You are the person we are looking for; you are the person that we need!” He was willing & the tests of his blood began. He passed! At about 5:30am Leo went in with this young man, Nathaniel, to begin the process. It was a partial success! During the procedure his blood pressure dropped very low & he got pretty sick, was taken to the ER & given 2 IV’s, but what he donated was enough to give the first dose to Amelia! As he was recovering in the ER he told Leo that the whole night he had been willing, but scared as he had never really been sick, exposed to needles, etc. He had seen people flooding in all night to see if they could donate & said that when the security guard stepped forward within him he felt like it was supposed to be him but he continued to stay silent. When the attempt did not work with the security guard & we were on the ground crying out to the Lord he said that he was completely covered with goosebumps and at one point he looked down to see that he had started to write his name on the form himself, signing up as a donor without knowing what he was doing. He still didn’t go out to talk with Leo & Eudis to volunteer himself, but rather out of curiosity. Nonetheless, he was willing & helped get our sick little girl the first dose of platelets that she needed around 8am.

The grandmas & Elizabeth were taken back to the house to shower & regroup before morning visiting hours & Leo waited for Nathaniel & gave him a ride home. We headed back to the hospital for 10am visiting hours. Amelia was still stable, but not much notable change after the first transfusion. We also then found out that because the first donor had gotten so sick & the process wasn’t able to be completed, we needed to find another donor. As we waited for the doctor, Leo began to make calls again & brothers & sisters in Jarabacoa, Santiago, even in Santo Domingo, La Vega & San Francisco de Macoris, started to look specifically for strong healthy males with thick & straight veins. Still thanking the Lord for what he had done the night before, we started to pray that today the donor that we needed would be one of the first people to walk in the door. Saturday about 25 people (knowing the specifics for the veins) came. Very few of them were rejected for their veins, and the blood of one of the first four to arrive, from our church in Jarabacoa, passed the tests!!! Ideally she would receive the platelets every 12 hours, but because of the busyness in the ER, etc. Amelia received the platelets at about 9:30pm. By that time we had just arrived to the house, ready to rest, peaceful & trusting in the Lord. The phone rang & it was Amelia’s pediatrician. She wanted to share the good news that the NICU nurses had called her to tell her that Amelia reacted positively almost immediately after receiving this transfusion. Her color changed & she pinked up, she started being more active, crying with more strength & looking for food! Praise the Lord!!!

Sunday when we saw her it was a night & day difference in her appearance! Her belly was slightly distended, filled up with gases, and so the doctor upped her glucose through the IV & stopped feeding until her belly went down. They did x-rays none the less of her chest & abdomen to confirm that there were no other issues in her intestinal tract & it was proved to be just gas. Her lungs also looked clearer than they had been. Praise the Lord!!! Her platelet count is now up from 6,000 to 14,000 & this afternoon/evening (Monday) they were going to repeat the platelet transfusion as well as again tomorrow. We’re praying for it to be well above 20,000 by the next time they check. Today the source of her blood infection was found to be bacterial, tests are being run as they seek to find exactly what bacteria so that the antibiotic most effective for that bacteria may be used.

We know that this is not just a physical battle for Amelia, but a spiritual war. Our battle is not against flesh & blood. But in the midst of it all, we have received many words & believe beyond a doubt that God knows what He’s doing. In her doctor’s words, “God is not crazy!” We know that the presence of the Lord & His angels are with our little girl when we can’t be with her and that the Lord is singing over her & giving her the strength to fight. It’s not just the medicine & science, Jehovah Rapha, the Lord her Physician, the Lord her Healer, is doing a miraculous work in her little body! He has also used these first days of her life to reveal Himself to many others (nurses, parents in the waiting rooms, people in the ER & only He knows who else), unify His body, strengthen our faith & risk-taking & we are priviledged to witness God at work!

Where things are at right now… our little girl is still pretty sick, needing her platelet count to continue to go up, fighting the infection in her lungs & the infection in her blood & still needing the oxygen. Her veins are pretty beat up from having her platelet count so low, over a week of IV’s & being poked & prodded so many times. Praise the Lord she’s eating again with a healthy appetite (they started her back on mama’s milk this morning (Monday)). Elizabeth is doing well & no one can believe she had abdominal surgery just over a week ago. This morning she saw her OB-GYN & got her stitches taken out.

God is with us & working all around us! We are so thankful for what we know are the hundreds of you, if not thousands who have been praying for Amelia Grace! We choose to not grow weary but to draw closer to Him & continue to believe & pray until we see the good work that He has begun in our daughter’s body completed. Please pray specifically for: her platelet count to continue to rise to above 20,000, the pneumonia to be completely healed, the blood infection to be healed, that she will no longer be dependent on the little bit of oxygen that she is needing, for healing in her skin & veins from all the pricks, that there be no other complications, and overall that our little sweetheart be completely healed & that we can all rejoice SOON in taking her home! Thank you again for standing with us in this battle in prayer & encouragement! May God be glorified!!!

Never would we have imagined that our favorite times of the day would be visiting hours of the NICU!  Every time we walk through the NICU, our hearts are filled with mixed emotions: crying out to Abba Father for mercy & healing for all those precious little ones (Amelia is huge next to them) and gratefulness to Him for her stable condition and being healthy (minus the pneumonia).

Yesterday (Tuesday), Elizabeth was released from the hospital.  We left the hospital around 2pm to head to the court house & officially declare her birth.  Then back to the hospital for afternoon visiting hours.  We were warned that visiting hours would be short because there was a new baby in critical condition & as soon as the doctor arrived we’d have to head out.  She was at the breast, just starting to latch on when the doctor arrived.  We got to go back in after about a half hour of waiting, but by that time the nurse had fed her (breast milk at least, but still a little frustrating).

When we had to leave her again, we grabbed some food at a local super market’s cafeteria & then to the pharmacy (to wait for about 45 minutes for E’s prescription).  Elizabeth’s mom got in last night and we arrived at the airport at almost the exact time that her plane did.  Headed to Jarabacoa to reorganize & repack bags & get a little sleep.

This morning we packed back into the car & flew down the mountain to make morning visiting hours.  Went for a go at breast feeding again this morning, had to step out when the lab came to take Amelia’s blood (she is slightly jaundiced today & the pediatrician wanted to make sure everything was within normal ranges).  Back for attempt number 2.  As she was latching on had to step out again as they were going to take an x-ray of her abdomen because her belly had been puffy in the morning (PTL, results as expected… just filled with gases, no problems).  Our pediatrician arrived at that point & we told her what had happened the afternoon before in regards to nursing.  We really like her & are blessed to have her on our side.  She talked with the nurses & attempt number 3 was uninterupted & a success!!!  The nurses even made an exception & let Grandma Gwen come in & meet Amelia.

We’ve been blessed by a brother & sister in Christ to have a place to stay about 10 minutes away from the hospital!  We had lunch, got settled, E pumped & back to the hospital for afternoon visiting hours.  Amelia had eaten about 2 hours before, over an ounce of breastmilk & was wanting more.  While we were there her bowels worked so well she even soiled the sheets (so glad things are coming out well on that end ;-)).  We put her to the breast again, but because she was full she wasn’t too interested in doing all the hard work of sucking.  Visiting hours are officially only a half hour, but we got to spend about 2 hours with her this afternoon and did eat again right before we left.

Amelia’s still receiving oxygen… it’s only a little bit, but she seems to think she needs it.  Please join us in praying that she’ll soon be able to do all the work of breathing on her own & that breastfeeding will be a success.  Thankful in the mean time for modern pumping technology!

We went in for afternoon visiting hours today & Amelia was crying… amazing how I (Elizabeth) could recognize her cry from across the room with so little real time with her.  She had soiled her diaper & was not happy about it… she also got all the sheets, meaning that as the nurse changed the sheets, I was able to hold our precious girl for a few minutes!  Here are some pictures from our afternoon time with her.  Still needs the oxygen… praying that by tomorrow, 48 hours of antibiotics will really make the difference & insisting on another miracle from Abba Father.  Know that she’ll be here longer than I have to be here, but praying to be able to hold her more soon & that she’ll be able to suck & nurse within the next couple of days.  Until then, Leo’s being reminded of his days of milking cows.

Fuimos para la hora de visita esta tarde y Amelia estaba llorando… increible como yo (Elizabeth) pudé identificar su llanto del otro lado de la sala con tan poco tiempo con ella realmente.  Se había ensuciado su pamper y no estaba feliz… también se ensució todas las sabanas, significando que mientras que la enfermera cambió las sábanas, ¡pude cargar a nuestra hija preciosa por par de minutos!  Aquí están algunas fotos de nuestro tiempo con ella esta tarde.  Todavía necesita el oxigeno… orando que ya mañana, 48 horas de antibiotico marcará la diferencia y estamos insistiendo por otro milagro de Abba Padre.  Sabemos que ella estará aquí más tiempo de lo que yo tengo que estar aquí, pero estamos orando que pronto podremos cargarla más y que ella podrá succionar bien y amamantar en los próximos días.  Hasta entonces, Leo se está recordando de sus días de ordeñar vacas.

Amelia Grace Escalante was born Sunday, July 15, 2012, via C-section, 5 lbs 8.5 oz, 18.9 in.

What happened?  She wasn’t due this side of the womb until August 7 & we were expecting her to take her time, come probably a week late, be a big probably 9 lb. baby & have a natural birth… but God had other plans.

Thursday night Elizabeth started diarrehea which continued to worsen on Friday.  Friday night we called her OB-GYN & he had her continue drinking lots of liquids as well as start Pepto Bismol & to call Saturday if things did not improve.  Amelia continued as normal to move a lot in the womb, but the diarrehea continued to become more frequent.  Saturday morning Doc’s orders were to head to the ER to get things checked out, make sure Elizabeth didn’t have a bacterial infection or parasite.  Everything came out fine on that end (too well… E was in the bathroom about every half hour), but her urine analysis came back with infection: nitrates & traces of protein in the urine.  After spending an unproductive afternoon in the ER & continuing to become more & more dehydrated, we met our Dr. in the maternity ward & received very good treatment right away.  An ultrasound showed that Elizabeth’s kidneys were being slightly affected by the weight of the uterus, causing the infection.  Amelia was doing fine, but there was slightly low amniotic fluid (something we had known was a slight problem from her normal ultrasound two weeks before that).  To have Elizabeth & Amelia close by to be able to medicate E for the infection & hydrate them well, Elizabeth was admitted.

Sunday morning when the Dr. came by to check on Leo’s two girls, Amelia’s heart beat was slightly low so we were taken back to the maternity ward for closer monitoring.  What the doctors believe was happening was that due to the low amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord was sometimes being pressed because there was not enough room causing her heart rate to drop.  It was going back up & then down again, with her making normal movements & Elizabeth having contractions with no pain.  But considering the risk of it going down without us being aware & her possibly then not making it out of the womb, our doctor strongly recommended taking the risk of her being a few weeks premature & doing a C-section.  Understanding that our Dr. was the medical authority that God had placed over Elizabeth & Amelia’s life, we agreed & all of our plans changed.

The good news is that with a successful C-section with no complications, Amelia Grace was born at 11:20 am local time (currently same time as East Coast time).  She cried a lot & hard right away, was cleaned off & passed to mom.  After trying to suck on mom’s chin, with her hand on mom’s mouth, and a few pictures with mom & dad (will post later, on our camera which we don’t have the cord to download with here at the hospital), her pediatrician swept her away to measure her & check all her vitals.  PTL, Elizabeth didn’t have any negative reactions to the anesthesia (even though she had eaten breakfast shortly before the surgery)!  By 2pm Elizabeth was back in the room, but Amelia was taken to the NICU for observation due to some distress when breathing.

Because Elizabeth had/has infection, it was passed to Amelia & is presenting in pneumonia.  Leo was able to be with her during visiting hours on Sunday & Elizabeth was even allowed to see her for about an hour less than 7 hours after surgery.  For the first 24 hours she was being fed through IV & has been under the oxygen hood.  The NICU has visiting hours twice a day & we were able to both see her this morning & will see her again in less than 2 hours.  Elizabeth tried to nurse her this morning, & Amelia tried, but her oxygen levels dropped when taken out from under the hood.

So, we’re pumping (breast-pumping that is) & praising & praying!  All of her other vitals & systems are normal & working fine, PTL!  We appreciate all your support & prayers.  Please continue to pray for Amelia Grace as she will be in the NICU this week as she has to be on antibiotics for 7 days for pneumonia (considering no other complications occur).  Pray for God’s grace over us all… patience for Elizabeth as she heals & pumps, patience for both of us as new parents as we cannot be with our precious little girl constantly as we would like to be, and for God’s provision of somewhere to be able to stay close to the hospital once Elizabeth is released (possibly as soon as tomorrow) as we wait to be able to take our sweet baby home.  Thank you!!!

(As mentioned earlier, we have many more pictures & better pictures, but the only ones we have been able to upload so far are a few from Elizabeth’s phone… will post more soon!)

Amelia Grace Escalante nació domingo 15 de julio 2012 por cesarea, 5 libras 8.5 onzas, 18.9 pulgadas.

¿Qué pasó?  No la esperabamos de este lado del vientre hasta el 7 de agosto y estabamos esperando que tomara su tiempo a nacer una semana tarde, ser una bebé grande de probablemente 9 libras y tener un parto natural… pero Dios tuvo otros planes.

El jueves en la noche Elizabeth comenzó una diarrea lo cual se empeoró el viernes.  El viernes en la noche llamamos a su ginecólogo y él la mandó a seguir bebiendo muchos liquidos y comenzar Pepto Bismol y llamarlo el sábado si no se mejoraba.  Amelia siguió moviéndose mucho en el vientre, pero la diarrea se volvió más frequente.  El sábado en la mañana y doctor nos mandó a bajar a emergencia para chequiar todo, asegurar que Elizabeth no tenía ninguna bacteria o parásito.  Todo salió bien por ese lado (demasiado bien… Eli estaba en el baño cada media hora), pero el analisis de orina resultó con infección: nitratos y trazos de proteina en la orina.  Después de pasar una tarde inproductiva en Emergencia y ella seguirse deshidratando, nos encontramos con nuestro médico en la sala de parto y recibimos un super buen trato de una vez.  Una sonografía mostró que los riñones de Elizabeth estaban siendo afectados un poco por el peso del utero, lo cual estaba causando la infección.  Amelia estaba bien, pero estaba un poco bajo en líquido amniotico (algo que habíamos sabido que era un poquito preocupante de su sonografía normal de hace dos semanas).  Para tener a Elizabeth y Amelia cerca para poder medicar a Eli por la infección e hidratar a las dos, ingresaron a Elizabeth.

El domingo en la mañana cuando el médico vino a chequiar a las dos chicas de Leo, el palpitar de Amelia estaba un poco bajito, así que nos llevaron de nuevo para sala de parto para poder monitorearla más de cerca.  Lo que los doctores creen que estaba sucediendo es que debido al líquido amniotico bajo, el cordón umbilical estaba siendo presionado a veces por falta de espacio, causando los latidos bajos de su corazón.  Se subía y se bajaba de nuevo con ella siguiendo sus movimientos normales y Elizabeth teniendo contracciones sin dolor.  Pero, considerando el riesgo de que su palpitar bajara sin nosotros saberlo y ella posiblemente no sobrevivir para salir del vientre, nuestro doctor recomendó tomar mejor el riesgo de ella nacer par de semanas prematuro y hacer una cesarea.  Entendiendo que nuestro doctor es la autoridad médica que Dios había puesto sobre las vidas de Elizabeth y Amelia, estabamos de acuerdo y todos nuestros planes cambiaron.

La buena notica es que con una cesarea exitosa sin complicaciones, Amelia Grace nació a las 11:20 am hora local.  Ella lloró mucho de una vez, la limpiaron y la pasaron a mamá.  Después de intentar de chuparle el mentón a mamá con su mano sobre la boca de mamá y par de fotos con mamá y papá (las subiremos después, no tenemos el cable aquí en el hospital para poder subir las fotos), su pediatra la llevó para medirla y chequiar sus señales vitales.  ¡GAD, Elizabeth no tuvo ninguna reacción negativa a la anestesia (aunque se había desayunado poco antes de la cirugía)!  Antes de las 2pm Elizabeth estaba de nuevo en la habitación, pero llevaron a Amelia a la sala neonatal para observación debido a distrés respiratorio.

Resulta que la infección que tenía/tiene Elizabeth se pasó a Amelia y se está presentando como una neumonía.  Leo pudo estar con ella durante las horas de visita el domingo y aun Elizabeth pudo pasar a verla por casi una hora en menos de 7 horas después de la cirugía.  Por las primeras 24 horas la estaban alimentando por suero y ha estado bajo un “hood” de oxigeno.  Neonatal tiene horas de visita dos veces al día y los dos pudimos verla esta mañana y en la tarde.  Elizabeth intentó de darle seno esta mañana, y Amelia intentó de chupar, pero sus niveles de oxígeno bajaron y no se pudo.

¡Así que, estamos extrayendo leche, alabando a Dios y orando!  Todas sus otras señales vitales y sistemas están normal y funcionando bien, ¡GAD!  Agradecemos su apoyo y oraciones.  Por favor, siguen orando por Amelia Grace porque estará está semana en la sala neonatal porque tendrá que seguir los antibioticos por 7 días por la neumonía (considerando que no ocurran otras complicaciones).  Oran por la gracia de Dios sobre todos nostros… paciencia por Elizabeth a sanar y ordeñarse, paciencia por los dos como nuevos padres que ahora mismo no podemos estar con nuestra hijita preciosa constantamente como quisieramos poder estar, y por la provisión de Dios por un lugar cerca del hospital donde nos podemos quedar cuando ya le dan de alta a Elizabeth (probablemente tan pronto como mañana) hasta que podamos llevar nuestra dulce bebé a casa.  ¡Gracias!

(Como ya mencionado, tenemos más fotos y mejores fotos, pero las únicas que hemos podido subir hasta ahora han sido del celular de Elizabeth… subiremos más pronto.)