The latest on Porter

                                           Look at that cute face!

Friday, June 22, 2012:

Our little Porter is two weeks old today- and oh boy! - did he celebrate! More on that in a minute… Major accomplishments in the last week:

·         Completely off all medications (Phenobarbital, antibiotic, anti-viral).

·         Off Oxygen 90% of the time.

·         Weight is now 8.5 lbs with the help of an NG tube. This is good because the goal for all newborns at their two week visit is to be back up to their birth weight- and he has surpassed it.

·         Holding his own body temperature (often times injured babies have high temps)

·         Abby gave him a bath which he loved!

·         Development specialist indicates that his muscle tone and reflexes in arms and legs are good but there are a few concerns they still need to identify.

·         While resting on Abby’s shoulder the first time, Porter lifted his head and turned toward her face so he could see his mommy (this was a sweet tender moment). Abby cried and so did I.

·         No seizures since the 4^th day after birth.

These are all good signs- and we are so thankful because without priesthood blessings, faith and prayers of many friends and acquaintances, these miracles probably would not have taken place. Several amazing spiritual experiences/signs have manifested to us that our dear departed relatives absolutely KNOW what is going on here and that Porter was sent here to be the son of Thom & Abby.

So back to the way that Porter celebrated his two week birthday? He sucked AND SWALLOWED his mommy’s milk (16 cc’s, but hey, he’s just getting started)!  This accomplishment is a huge relief and tender mercy because the doctor’s assessment and prediction of Porter’s brain damage was very grim- especially when it came to eating. We were in fear that he would have to go home with a gastric tube surgically implanted in his abdomen.

Attached are several recent pictures along with a visit from Brinley. She has had a cold and hadn’t seen him for a few days- so she was excited to visit with him again earlier in the week. (Note her two octave higher-than-normal voice when she talks to him).

Other general facts:

• Thom is back to work (new job at Utah Valley Dental Lab started May 1).

• Abby is feeling better physically and was cleared by the doctor to drive, so her freedom was just expanded. Abby’s OB doctor continues to be totally baffled as to what happened to Porter and admitted to spending several sleepless night trying to figure it out. Usually babies who suffer hypoxia in-utero never survive, so the fact that the problem (that caused the injury) corrected itself IS a miracle.
•  Hospital social workers have given Abby a lot of information and advised her on a few issues, but the task is so overwhelming- including bills- that she is going to take things a day at a time.
• Developmental teams will continue to work with Porter after he leaves the hospital, so this will hopefully bridge fears of the unknown a little bit.
• Ward members, family, friends & co-workers of Abby, Thom and grandparents have all been so supportive. They say it takes a village to raise a child- but in order to meet the needs of special children- we need a village willing to work a little OT!!!

Saturday, June 23, 9:00 p.m.

When Abby called the nurse tonight for a report on Porter, she said that he drank 50 cc’s out of the bottle!  As my Baptist friends would say: “Hallelujah & Praise the Lord!” Oh heck, I guess Mormons’ can say that too!