November 12, 2009 by Jen.

Hey Everyone,

You all have been so wonderful, and so many of you have asked if there is anything you can do for us. Generally the answer is that the best thing you can do for us and Juliana at this point is to continue praying as you have been. Your support is very special and meaningful to us. However, I thought I would write a post detailing some of the wonderful non-profit organizations from which we have benefited, and if you have an opportunity in the future to give money or service, these are some that are now very dear to us.

The Ronald McDonald House: serving families with seriously ill children. We stay at this very modern, well-managed facility in Baltimore for several nights a week for a small nightly fee. We have our own room, space in a very nice kitchen, access to laundry and other useful amenities. This organization, established by McDonalds, is such a blessing for families like ours who have to drive long distances to the hospitals where their children are being cared for.

The March of Dimes: conducts research about premature births, facilitates community services and advocacy to save premature babies’ lives.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: the non-profit photography company that has made it their mission to reach out to parents of seriously ill children and take high-quality, professional photographs of the child in the hospital. They came to take photos of Zoe, and we will receive them in a few weeks, free, to use as we choose. A beautiful ministry.

The American Red Cross: blood donation. Although the babies haven’t used a lot of blood compared to an adult, they each received several transfusions, and Juliana will continue to get blood products for weeks. Giving blood is easy, free, and important. The Red Cross saves lives.

If you ever have the opportunity to give to or volunteer at any of these organizations, you will be contributing to a wonderful ministry. We are so grateful for the help that we have received from each of these services.

Posted in Announcement | 7 Comments »

November 12, 2009 by Jason.

Jen and I arrived at the NICU this afternoon to a nice surprise: Juliana on the conventional ventilator! It is much quieter in the room and she seems to be tolerating it okay this afternoon. Her respiration rate is set at 55 with 62% oxygen currently. They have taken a number of blood-gas readings to check her carbon dioxide. It has been trending back up slowly, so it is possible that they will put her back on the oscillator. A conventional ventilator is not as efficient in clearing out carbon dioxide. It is not uncommon for babies to go back and forth with the different types of ventilation. For now, we were able to get a couple of really clear pictures without all of the oscillator tubes in the way. I will see about posting an updated picture soon. Her blood pressure came down when they switched her over, so she is back on dopamine, currently set at 8, but they hope to be able to wean that soon. We’re looking forward to spending the evening with her.

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