April 30

4am, Susie knows she is in “real” labor, 4:20am time to push, 5:28am Audrey is born and immediately transferred to the UofU NICU for stabilizing, she scores a 9 (out of 10) on her “Apgar” score (a terrific sign of great health and vigor), breathing great on her own, weighs 6.7 lbs and 19.5 inches long, Justin arrives 5:45am and is immediately invited to observe her in the NICU.
6am Audrey is brought in to meet Susie, Justin gives her a priesthood blessing, then Audrey and Justin go with the Airmed team to be transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital.

1pm Audrey’s first surgery. Her EA/TEF is Type C, with a single fistula (unwanted tube) connecting the lungs and distal esophagus. Surgeons repair the fistula first. They then discover that the gap in her esophagus is too large to connect at this time. (After stretching, the gap is still 1.5 inches.) A G-Tube (feeding tube) is inserted directly into her stomach near her belly button to allow for later feedings. This will be how she will be fed for up to three years, depending on when her esophagus can be reconnected and how long it takes her to learn to eat successfully, but they will wait to start using the G Tube for now, until it is determined that she has a working digestive system. For now she will receive nutrition through her IV. Surgeons also observe that all of Audrey’s small intestines are grouped on the right side of her abdomen.

For the surgery, an incision is made between two of her ribs under her right armpit. Her right lung is deflated and she is put on artificial ventilation (iron lung), with a tube down her throat. When she comes back from surgery, she is kept on morphine to help her stay still-- every time she starts to ‘come to’ and tries to breathe on her own, she gets the hiccups! The nurses don’t want them to aggravate her incision, so they keep her under for a little longer and continue the artificial ventilation.

Susie's parents had already been half way here, driving from Oregon, the night before Audrey was born.  If things had gone according to plan they would have been here well before the birth, but it turned out great that they arrived just after she got out of surgery.  In the midst of all the stress of those first few days, it was wonderful to have them urge us to take a few moments for a treat here and there.  When I was discharged from the hospital, they helped me move into the Ronald McDonald House.  They made sure I ate regular meals and rested more than I otherwise would have.  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for watching out for my health in the middle of all of this.