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Joseph's Web Page
My Story
April 17, 2007 1am - Mommy begins having
contractions. She and Daddy go to the hospital. Mommy's water breaks a
few hours later. I am at 22 Weeks and 3 days gestation. Everyone knows
that babies don't survive this early out of the womb. It is a very scary
time. Mommy and Daddy are preparing themselves for the worst. They just
don't know how strong I am, and that there may be a few miracles set
aside for me.
April 20, 2007 11am - Mommy has been on a lot of drugs to keep her from
having contractions. She is weak, has an infection, and the contractions
seem to be coming more often. We are told in the morning that they are
not treating me as viable. I am too early, and Mommy is not doing well.
She is trying so very hard to keep me in because she believes that I
can't survive on the outside.
April 20, 2007 2pm - We get a visit from my neonatologist. He explains
that I have about a 2% chance of survival. He will be here when I come
out to evaluate me, but we should be prepared for the worst. Mommy and
Daddy are sad, but still clinging on to some hope, and praying a lot. I
begin planning a trip to Vegas when I get older.
April 20, 2007 around 7pm - I start to work my way out. There are only a
few nurses in the room, as no one thinks I have much of a chance. They
continue to monitor my heart and I keep it strong to make sure they are
aware that I will not go so quickly. As I am being born, my heart stays
strong, and more and more people begin to enter the room. They all now
know I am strong and there is still some work to do. My neonatologist is
there with 2 nurses from the NICU and a bunch of other people to take
care of Mommy. Daddy is there with Mommy. Daddy sees me come out and I
am moving. The neonatologist takes me to a special bed and gets me some
air. He works for a few minutes in the room and then informs Mommy and
Daddy that he is going to give me a chance. This is a big moment. He did
not need to give me a chance, and no one would have blamed him if he
handed me to my Mommy and let me move on. He is the first to know how
strong I am.
April 20, 2007 After 9pm - Daddy comes to visit me in the NICU. I am a
22 week 6 day preemie. My Daddy is told about what they are doing to
help me breath. My lungs are not mature enough to give me all the oxygen
I need. My parents are hopeful and are given a lot of support from
family and friends.
April 21, 2007 - I later find out that there were not many nurses or
doctors that thought I would make it through the night, but I did. Mommy
and Daddy come to visit me in the NICU. They are told I am in a
"Honeymoon" period. A lot of preemies do well in the first 24 hours, but
then there are often a lot of problems. They are preparing Mommy and
Daddy for bad things to come. They just don't know how strong I am.
April 22, 2007 - I'm still here. Our neonatologist tells us that "he is
doing so much better than he should, it's amazing." "He is being very
unusual" ( by not having problems ). "He just doesn't know he is not
supposed to be doing this." She does again warn us about the "Honeymoon"
period where a baby does good for a while then goes downhill, but she
says "he seems to be skipping this".
My Parents, and other family members do some research on babies born
prior to 23 weeks gestation. The news is not good. Very few babies
survive, so there is very little information on babies born this early.
They keep reading things like "babies born at or before 23 weeks
gestation are too fragile to live" and they begin to notice that a lot
of statistics, charts, etc. start at 23 weeks. Also, they keep reading
about "Miracle" babies born at 24 weeks. This is very scary. I wish I
could have told them about my future so they would not have had to worry
so much.
April 22, 2007 - Over the next 4 months, my Mommy will visit twice a
day, and Daddy will come with Mommy every night and during the day on
weekends. I will go through test after test. There are so many common
complications that may come up, so there is never any lack of something
for my family and friends to worry about. After 1 month my parents are
told my chance of survival is around 17%, after 2 months I am up to 50%.
All the time there is the worry about how my mental and physical
development are working.
August 14, 2007 - I go home from the hospital after 116 days. It is 3
days before what was my actual due date. My parents are super super
happy that I am home.
August 2007 - I am home on oxygen. I have an apnea monitor and another
monitor to tell my oxygen saturation level, and my heart rate. My
parents keep very busy, as I don't allow them to get much sleep. Even
when I sleep, my alarms on my monitors often go off and my parents must
take action. They do anything from turn up my oxygen to making sure my
nasal cannula is still under my nose. When I am awake, I like to be
held. I am a lot of work, but my parents say they don't care, because
they are just so happy I am doing as well as I am.
September 2007 - I still alarm often, but am growing at a very nice
rate. I see my pediatrician once a week, and other specialists on some
other day every week.
October 2007 - After doing well at gaining weight, I develop reflux, and
don't eat enough to gain weight. Over the next month I will only
maintain my weight, during a time when I should be gaining about an
ounce a day. Mommy and Daddy spend a lot of time trying to get me to
eat, and making sure I am never laying flat. My parents are reminded
that I am a Preemie, and as a preemie, there is a lot of extra work
involved in taking care or me. They can't get help because I am very
susceptible to colds so they keep people out of the house as much as
possible.
November 2007 - I'm eating better, breathing better, but still seeing a
few doctors a week.
December 2007 - I'm still not eating as much as I should be eating, but
am starting to gain some weight again. I don't desat as much so my
parents get to sleep when I sleep. I have started playing by myself, so
that allows my parents more time to do the things they have been
neglecting for the past few months. It is still very hard on everyone,
but things are starting to look a bit better.
December 24, 2007 - I rolled over for the first time today.
June 19, 2007 - I crawled for the first time.
August 21, 2008 - I am walking.
November 2008 - I know several sings. I can say 'Ball'.
March 06, 2009 - I can Jump.
I was 1 month old when this picture was taken on May 21, 2007.