Bodie Update

After Bodie was born he was grunting and breathing vigorously. After we spent the first few minutes with him, he was taken to the nursery to run some tests and make sure he was doing O.K. Later on that night he was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He was having difficulty breathing on his own. The doctors suspect he may have been born a little prematurely. The lungs are one of the last things to develop, so they think his lungs may still need to develop a little more. He was hooked up to machines to help ease some of the pressure on his lungs and to monitor for any other problems. The doctor in the NICU told us that the tests they were running for infections were coming back negative, so he thinks they don't need to worry about infection. With the help of the machines he seemed to be doing alright and gradually they were letting him do more of the breathing on his own. At about 5 a.m. this morning his right lung collapsed. The medical term for this is Tension Pneumothorax. They think that he may have caused stress to his lung from breathing too hard or crying and it caused a small hole in the lung. They put a tube in his side to suck out the air and other things caused by the collapse. They were able to stabilize him, and he has been doing well the rest of the day. They expect the hole to heal in the next 2 to 3 days. Because babies are still developing, the healing process in more rapid than in adults. We have been reassured by the many doctors and nurses working in the NICU that he is doing well, and they seem pretty convincing. His eyes are covered because he is also being treated for Neonatal Jaundice, and not to keep him from being overwhelmed by his father's extreme level of awesomeness. Jaundice is quite common in newborns and not a big concern. When we last asked the nurse, she thought that Bodie would most likely be in the NICU for 7-10 days. On a brighter note, he does know how to use a snorkel and will be S.C.U.B.A. certified by the time he comes home.

Sara came home tonight and is recovering well from the birth. We appreciate all of you who have expressed concern, kind words, offers to help out, and kept us in your prayers. Bodie has received a Priesthood blessing and we know that our Heavenly Father has a reason for giving us trials. We will keep you updated as we know more. We ask that you continue to keep Bodie in your prayers. Some of our family will be fasting on his behalf this Sunday and welcome anyone else who would like to join us. If you want to learn more about fasting, you can click here.
Thanks again for all you have done for us.

p.s. His middle name is McCoy.