First Update (The first 2 days)

Well, the past 2 days have been a whirlwind and a rollercoaster.  Thursday night, as embarrassing as it is, Carrie thought she was dealing with a little constipation.  As the night went on however, her pain continued to increase, and by 3 am Friday we were texting the midwife.  After much discussion of kidney stones and other possibilities, it was decided we needed to go quickly to the hospital to get checked out.  I called our youth minister, Bobbi, at 4 and told her to pray.  She began waking most of the church to pray also.  I stopped at Stripes to get some gas and I took the word hurry very literally.  (kids don’t try this at home!)  I drove 95 all the way to Midland.  Now before you say that was stupid, let me say that if I hadn’t, I would have delivered Shiloh on 349 in the back of the van, and neither he or Carrie would have been here today.  We got to the hospital at 4:25 am.  Carrie was in Labor & Delivery by 4:30 am as I was sent to register her.  At 4:40 am, the phone rang in registration, and I was told I was needed up there now!  By 4:45 am Carrie was in active labor.  At 5:25 am on June 21, Shiloh Aaron Strickland was born.  He weighed 5 lb 1.5 oz and was 17 ¼ inches long.  We now know we were 34 weeks along rather than 32.  He was loud so we knew he was okay, but a slight mistake was made along the way and he wasn’t immediately given the surfactant needed to lubricate his lungs. Surfactant is a natural enzyme of our bodies that allows us to tranfer oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs. Babies naturally develop it somewhere around the 37-38 week mark. Later in the day he was transferred to Odessa NICU while Carrie had to stay in Midland.  Once we found out she wasn’t being released that night, Bobbi came and sat with Carrie while I went to check on Shiloh.  He was doing as well as could be expected. That first night and second morning were a little rough on him, but he’s holding his own. He has a few obstacles to overcome: 

• His Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is still wide open. The PDA is the "hole" in the heart that allows blood to go to the placenta to get oxygen rather than the baby's lungs while in utero. The PDA usually closes near the end of pregnancy (up to a little after 40 weeks). Being 34 weeks, his PDA is still open. Doctor isn't too concerned about this, and she is watching to see if it closes on its own (which it should).
• His incomplete white cell count is up which signals infection. He is on 3 broad spectrum antibiotics to fight infection. First, pregnant women are usually tested for strep b at 35-36 weeks and if they are positive, they are treated so the anitbodies will go into baby. Since we were only 34 weeks, and had been told 32, Carrie was never tested. As a precaution, the NICU policy is to automatically give such babies 2 broad spectrum antibiotics to cover the strains of strep b so they stay ahead of the infection if it is present. His incomplete white count being up is also normally expected in babies of his gestational age, and they added the 3rd anitbiotic to cover all of their bases.
• He is a little lethargic, but that is because a combination of infection and the fentanyl which is to sedate him enough that he won't fight the ventilator and cause major lung damage. Babies born earlier than Shiloh lack muscle mass in their lungs and will just chill and do what is needed when it comes to the ventilator. Babies like Shiloh, as it was explained to me, have muscle mass. While he does count on the ventilator to breath (or remind him to breath) he is not dependent in the sense that he can't breath. He can breath on his own, but his lungs are so underdeveloped and lack natural surfactant he overworks his lungs and wears himself out too easily, and then will quit breathing, thus the ventilator. The problem becomes his little muscles work against the ventilator because He wants to breath on his own. To remedy this, they have him on a sedative to keep him from fighting and causing lung damage.
• You can see his red hair today better. His hair is quickly starting to show some red. For those who knew me (Troy) as a child, there is some of that same color.
• His clotting factors in his blood are also off. I talked in length with the medical staff last night about this because this was the most concerning of all. Right now, the plan is to watch and wait. The leading theory is the clotting factor will fix itself once Shiloh expels all of Carrie's antibodies from his body. The thinking is his system is fighting her antibodies because they are different blood types. Carrie is O positive and Shiloh is A positive like me. So the NICU believes this will go away in the very near future.
• This evening a new rule has been put up for Shiloh in the NICU. There seems to be a 1 to 1 corelation between over stimulation and breathing episodes. Whenever he has too many loud noises or is touched too much, his oxygen saturation falls, his heartrate races, and his blood pressure goes up. So, for now, we will not be touching him too much, and we will be whispering in his room. He does fine if Carrie or I place our finger near his hand and he chooses to hold it, but other touching is very distressing to him right now.
• Doctor says everything is going good. Everything she sees in Shiloh is what she would expect to see in a baby of his gestational age. Her exact words twice have been, "He is a sick baby, but he is not a sick baby who is going to die. He is a sick baby who needs some time for his lungs to develop."
  
  

The past few days have been long and tiring, but we have felt the prayers going up for us and Shiloh all around the world.  Thanks to the visitors and all those who have been praying.  God is working through this situation in a mighty way.

• First, he provided dependable transportation for us just one day before we needed it.
• Second, the timing is miraculous. Just a little over 24 hours more and Carrie would have been in Abilene on her way to Garland, and I would not have made it on time. Just a little over 48 hours more, and Carrie would have been in Garland and I would have been in New Mexico and surely would not have made it.
• Lastly, Shiloh's name has been picked out since November. Shiloh Aaron literally means "God's promise of strength." How fitting in this time

If you want to know what you can do, here are our needs and prayer requests:

• Pray that Shiloh’s lungs develop quickly and normally
• Pray the clotting factor clears up
• Pray the pda in his heart naturally closes before time to come home
• Pray the NICU stays ahead of infection
• Pray that God will provide a way for Carrie to be able to stay most of the time in Odessa to be with Shiloh. - Motels are expensive and the hospital isn’t any cheaper
• Pray for travel to and from
• Pray for a quick growth and homecoming date
• Pray for Carrie’s recovery
• Pray for overall health for Carrie and myself
• Pray that when Shiloh does come home he is a perfectly healthy baby
• Most importantly, pray that God is glorified in this situation and that we have opportunities to minister in the midst

Keep checking here for updates on Shiloh and this journey. We will try to update daily.