Dylan's First Week

January 14 – January 18

Overall, we are hanging in there and taking this journey day by day, but trying to stack up Dylan’s progress week by week to ensure that we know he is progressing. Our emotions have been all over the map.

The first week went by rather quickly, but for the last couple days we seem to be watching the clock tick as the three months cannot go by fast enough. Brandi and I struggle with the idea of wanting to take home our somewhat stable son from the ICU nursery and knowing that that there is no other option considering his condition.

The past few days have been a net positive for all of us as Dylan seems to be making a lot of progress. Although Brandi and I have been a little under the weather lately and have not been able to visit as often as we would like, we have been able to talk on the phone often with the doctors and nurses for updates. At times we felt like certain weights had been lifted as the mini man has stayed strong through these turbulent times as follows:

· Testing to check levels of the fluid that was first discovered in Dylan’s head was deemed to be normal and no brain hemorrhages were found;

· Dylan was put back on the ventilator for a couple more days and then taken off when he started taking more breaths on his own. He's now doing very well, with the help of a little caffeine (yes, he gets caffeine!);

· After the first round of medical treatment, the doctors determined that the Patent Ductus from Dylan’s heart causing the heart murmur was now insignificant and treatments of medication were discontinued until the next EKG;

· The latest EKG showed that the Patent Ductus opened slightly again and the doctors began his next and final round of medication;

· Dylan was able to have Mommy’s milk and hold it down, but doctors had to stop the feeding upon starting his next round of medication for his heart. With the help of intravenous nutrition, his weight has stopped dropping the last few days. He now weighs 1 pound 12 ounces.

As we realize that these may be insignificant steps for most children, these are milestones for Dylan. It seems so amazing that such a small life can dramatically impact the thoughts and feelings of so many and bring them to spiritual peace.

Overall, Dylan has made amazing progress. We are optimistic about him continuing to breathe on his own and we remain hopeful that he does not need surgery to close the Patent Ductus from his heart. Although this is not heart surgery, the procedures would require him to be transported to Children’s Hospital of Oakland and would increase his risk for infection.

We still haven't been able to hold the mini man yet. He's been stable enough the last few days but we have both been sick, which means we are supposed to stay away from the hospital until we feel better. I've never been so eager to get over a cold in my life - and never more worried about averting another one.

Life seems to be getting back to normal (a new normal) for the Klintworths. We have moved past shock and into acceptance. We know that Dylan is getting the best care possible where he is, but there's an empty sadness in my heart when I'm not with him....