WOW...what a day! First of all, please let us thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your prayers, love and support. We literally felt them the entire day. Over 1,400 people have viewed this blog in the last 24 hours and in 10 different countries. We have seen an abundance of love on facebook, text messages, voice mails and e-mail and I cannot tell you how much this means to Ashley, Me and our family.
Its hard to know exactly where to start so I guess Ill start with the stats :)
Landen Jeffrey Hatch
May 20, 2015 at 11:21AM
7 lbs 11 oz
20 inches
This is absolutely the first blessing as his weight and health will give a great start to battle the next couple weeks. Ashley was amazing! For those men who have witnessed this amazing (and terrifying) experience, you will likely agree that WE ARE NOT CAPABLE OF THIS! She faced the morning with confidence and joy in a way that makes me so proud to be her husband. This doesn't mean it didn't come with its fear, but when I walked into that O.R. and could see here confidence and determination amongst all the seemingly chaotic noise of that room....well, lets just say SHE is the rock star for today! Ashley's recovery went well, with the exception of some major nausea. She spent the majority of the afternoon pretty sick which of course doesn't make for a fun recovery, especially since Landen wasn't even in the room to show her what all that discomfort/pain was really for. As a husband, that was the most heart breaking thing to see today.....and it still is.
This wasn't a surprise to either of us. We understood that Ashley would have some time before she could physically see Landen. We were blessed to hold him for several minutes prior to his evacuation to the CICU, but its not the same. So to combat those emotions, we prepared. I was equipped with two iPhones, and our Sony a600 slung over my shoulder like a modern day photo combat vet :). The goal was to take as many pics with Ashely's phone as possible and when I left her to travel with Landen I would leave her phone so she could contact me if needed, and view the pictures helping to bridge that inevitable gap. Once we had Landen stable in the delivery room, we whipped him over to the CICU at Children's. For those who know, this is already good news as originally we were supposed to stabilize him at Brigham's in the NICU here, before transporting to Children's but he proved strong enough to take the risk on an early move! He was administered O2 only for the purpose of transport and once we arrived at Children's his O2 was pulled and he continued to breath on his own and maintained the appropriate levels all on his own! Praise be to God!!
Once stable at Children's they started the echo and I returned to Ashley to help with her very difficult afternoon, and relieve Skip and Lori (who are the best mother and father in law a man could EVER ask for) from their duty for a bit. The remainder of the day was a series of back and fourth visits just to check on him with no real updates other than "he looks great, and we will see what the echo tells us". Just before I ran out for something to eat at dinner, I swung in to say hi again and had a chance to talk to Dr. T regarding his echo, and this is the short version of what he said. Landen is maintaining his O2 levels very well. He also seems to be maintaining adequate blood flow to extremities along with other specific criteria that I honestly forgot at this point. He did say that even though we did not do any procedures today, this doesn't mean he feels that they will not be necessary. The first 48 hours of an infant's life are constantly in flux. Due to these variables, we are preparing to conduct a catheter procedure on Friday (unless things change and we need to do it to tomorrow) at which point they will go into his heart and expand the "hole" we are referring to as the ASD. Even though this hole is large enough to help him survive now (and thrive by the looks of it), he will likely lose pressure on in that area of his heart in the next couple days (as expected with newborns) and this could cause that hole to shut. This hole is one of the major contributors to the fact that he may not need the first of what would be 3 major surgeries considering his condition, so it is imperative that we take minimally invasive action in order to maximize his future!
All in all, it was a pretty exhausting day, but we couldn't have done it without all who are supporting us. We send a special thanks to my parents and Ashley's parents for coming along side us today and picking up the slack where needed so we could focus on this important day! I would love to share so many other details from the day, but I think that will need to wait for another post. Now its time to get some sleep and take on another day.
If you want to see pictures, make sure to check out the link at the top of this blog called "Landen's Photo's and Video". This link will be updated periodically with new pics from the days adventures :)
Enjoying the journey one day at a time!
George, Ashley, Madison, Lyla and Landen :) (man that feels good to write!)
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