Day 1

Yesterday we woke up to what we thought would be a normal day. It was extraordinary.

I woke up that morning feeling well rested and ready to get a lot accomplished. The best laid plans... I was startled when Aslynn toddled out of her room pushing her doll stroller at 7:00 AM. I think I scared her as much as she did me! She's in her toddler bed now and just loves it. We have to close the door to her room at night though, because she keeps sneaking out - like this morning. So, we were leisurely getting the kids ready to go shopping with Grandma and Auntie when the phone call came. 9:00 AM. "She's having a baby!" Wow. Life changes in a heartbeat. The kids, being ready for the day, went to Grandma's house with a few necessities and accessories and Faith and I headed to Innisfail not knowing what the day had in store. We were just in town visiting this past Monday and had finally decided on a name for this child, this baby who was on his way to meet us and us to meet him.

It was a good day. We played some crib together in the delivery room, I delivered food, and visited with her mom and friends. I think they had all placed bets on when Judah would come (day AND time AND gender). The day moved along fairly quickly for us, but we weren't the ones having labour pains and contractions every few minutes. The doctor broke her water shortly after (or was it before?) lunch and put her on a drip to induce labour at 3:30 PM. I left the room occasionally for privacy and did a little shadow boxing in the bathroom to keep myself limber and bring down the adrenaline. Who am I going to beat up anyways?

(By the way, if you want to enlarge a picture, look at it closer, or save it, DOUBLE-CLICK the picture...)

Things got pretty intense around 4-4:30 PM. Her mom, best friend, Faith & I were in the room when Judah got his first glimpse of the world. 5:00 PM. I was on the censored end of the bed, of course. He came quickly (and early) and what we thought was a smooth and uneventful entry became something more. I attended to Judah with the nurses there and got to finish cutting his umbilical cord! Soon after, the nurses were suctioning his airways and such to get him breathing and we heard gurgling in his lungs. His cries were strong and hard, and his face was rather purple. The nurses put the heat to him rather quickly and started him on some oxygen, just in case. They called in another doctor to examine Judah. Faith and his birthmom were still occupied and couldn't really tell what was going on across the room. Judah's heart had started beating quickly and his breathing was rapid and erratic. But he was pinking up nicely and had a good temperature. Is he okay?

So now there are 11 people in the room - birthmom and her mom and best friend, Faith and I, Judah, three nurses, and two doctors. Moments later, two paramedics and one in training arrived at the door, prepared to do whatever to help little Judah in his time of need. A phone call was made to Red Deer, who promised to dispatch their Respiratory Team, and the paramedics whisked off lights and sirens to get them. They arrived about a 1/2 hor or so later with the team of 2 doctors and a PSCN (Paediatric Special Care Nursery) nurse to prep and transport him. Our heads were spinning. Was all of this really happening? 17 people crowded into a delivery room. I had kept the oxygen mask on Judah until the R-Team took over. Judah was squirming and kicking well, and his feet were very ticklish. But he was not okay.
Faith and I gave hugs and assurances that we would watch over and take care of him and report back when we knew more. We filled out some paperwork saying we could care for Judah, saw his birthmom to her room, and rushed to the hospital, arriving shortly thereafter the team, nurse, and paramedics.
They and another doctor intubated him, injected him with medication, and ran a line into his umbilical cord. Then they attached sensors to measure his heart rate, pulse, oxygen levels, breathing, and temperature. We didn't have a clue what was happening at the time, only that we felt helpless to do anything. We were afraid for him. We love him so much. There was barely time for tears with everything happening so quickly, but our hearts ached, stomachs churned, thoughts and emotions weighed heavily.

His heart beat at almost 300 times per minute when he arrived. Compare that to what we see now and 150-180 looks good, but it's still high. His heart is making up for him breathing between 80-120 times per minute. Scared? Yeah, we we're scared. And we feel helpless - we didn't even get a chance to hold him, and neither did his birthmom. His chest is very indrawn because his lungs are stuck closed and he's trying so hard to breathe. He's panting for air that just won't come. Please pray. Ask others to pray. God is the only one who can really help us through this and give us hope and Judah strength.

Faith spent the night in Red Deer at the hospital last night and I went home to the kids. We both want to cry. And sleep (but how?). And hug each other. And be apart to take care of ALL of our children and be together at the same time. But we can't. We're torn in different directions. I wonder, if I feel like this, I wonder how God must feel for Judah? Or what He must have felt even sending Jesus as a fragile baby knowing that one day He'd have to watch Him suffer? Jesus said that the angels of these little ones behold the Father's face - He treasures them. And each of us...