Hi friends and family of Kim, Alex, and baby Eleanor Sutara,
After talking with Kim and Alex, it seemed easiest to send updates to everyone through a blog post. We are grateful and appreciative of everyone's concern, support, and well wishes as Eleanor begins her long journey in Akron Children's.
Eleanor is a PPROM baby, meaning that Kim experienced a preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), showing little to no amniotic fluid in utero, and was subsequently hospitalized long-term for monitoring at 24 weeks following a large bleeding episode, with the hopes that the baby would be able to hang in to 34 weeks. I will let Kim elaborate if she wants on the pre-birth details, but for now I'm just slapping some hard and fast details together from what I can immediately recall.
Heart monitoring of the baby beginning on Saturday, 19 January revealed some variability, and Kim was taken to the labor and delivery ward as a precaution. By Tuesday morning, Kim's doctors prescribed magnesium to assist with baby's brain growth, which made Kim very sick, and a steroid shot to assist with lung development, with talk of an evening delivery, as Kim had another large bleed.
Tuesday evening, the team at Akron General decided to proceed with a cesarean section at 26 weeks to the day, and Eleanor Jane Sutara made her appearance at 5:02pm, weighing 1lb. 15oz. Kim said overall it was a weird but positive experience, and she was reassured about the presence of Eleanor's lungs because she cried upon arrival. Eleanor was able to be intubated without issue. They had a few seconds with her before she was immediately transported to Akron Children's for care.
In delivery, the team discovered that Kim has a heart-shaped uterus, which caused baby to grow on one side and placenta to grow on the other side. This is something that could have been diagnosed with a proper ultrasound prior to conception or shortly after, as a growing fetus renders the condition undetectable (editor's note: Kim will not be returning to Wooster for gynecology). This is a genetic condition. In general, women with irregularly shaped uteruses are also more susceptible to kidney issues.
We were able to see Kim later that evening, and she was very nauseous, not having been able to eat all day and being heavily medicated. Wednesday she looked much better and was not experiencing any pain, but was very dizzy from her medication. About mid-afternoon, the doctor gave Kim a pass to go over to Children's to see Eleanor for the first time.
Before leaving, we received a call from the doctor in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) that Eleanor was very sick and was clinically being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, and they were having trouble getting her oxygen to her lungs. They continued giving Eleanor steroids to acclimate her to life outside the womb, a blood pressure medicine to get her comfortable breathing on the ventilator, and a surfactant to help keep her lungs open. By the time we arrived at Children's, a doctor was doing a heart ultrasound to document what Eleanor's heart was doing, because she is at high risk for air leaks.
This morning, Kim and Alex got a call that Eleanor was again not doing well, and a lung had collapsed in the night at around 3am, which required insertion of a chest tube. The other lung was now facing the same issue, and required another chest tube. Eleanor now has bilateral tubes which work to suck air out of her lungs so that she can breathe. It is a possibility that she may end up with two on each side, but we're NOT GIVING HER ANY IDEAS, and Kim has given her several pep talks to prevent this happening. Let's hope Eleanor listens.
So far, the nurses and doctors have described Eleanor as a spunky baby, with strong opinions on her treatment -- an overall boon to her ability to handle whatever is thrown her way. She is feisty and has already proven herself to be quite the fighter. Today, Eleanor was quite stabilized with good oxygen levels and was under a blue light to treat her preemie bilirubin. I might have made several Bird Box references because she had a very intense eye mask on all day (just trying to diffuse the tension).
The predominant issue Eleanor faced today was a spike in blood sugar, ostensibly due to the steroid she is on. They began testing her blood sugar every hour (which requires a blood draw from her tiny heel each time...weirdly hard to watch, given that she is already hooked up to kingdom come) and increasing her insulin as necessary to stabilize. This is not an indication that she may have diabetes, but it is concerning nonetheless. Tomorrow morning, Eleanor is scheduled to have a brain ultrasound to ensure there is no brain bleeding.
Please continue to pray for Eleanor, Kim, and Alex (if that is your thing...otherwise good karma and positive vibes are always more than welcome). This sweet little lady faces a long, long road ahead, and each day will bring new challenges for her and for her parents. Kim has taken on a rigorous breast pumping for Eleanor's continued health, and of course mom is still continuing to heal from surgery. She was discharged from General a day ahead of schedule and can now spend her time in Eleanor's room at Children's.
Updates as they become available and someone is present to update :)
To Eleanor's good health!
-Pam
After talking with Kim and Alex, it seemed easiest to send updates to everyone through a blog post. We are grateful and appreciative of everyone's concern, support, and well wishes as Eleanor begins her long journey in Akron Children's.
Eleanor is a PPROM baby, meaning that Kim experienced a preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM), showing little to no amniotic fluid in utero, and was subsequently hospitalized long-term for monitoring at 24 weeks following a large bleeding episode, with the hopes that the baby would be able to hang in to 34 weeks. I will let Kim elaborate if she wants on the pre-birth details, but for now I'm just slapping some hard and fast details together from what I can immediately recall.
Heart monitoring of the baby beginning on Saturday, 19 January revealed some variability, and Kim was taken to the labor and delivery ward as a precaution. By Tuesday morning, Kim's doctors prescribed magnesium to assist with baby's brain growth, which made Kim very sick, and a steroid shot to assist with lung development, with talk of an evening delivery, as Kim had another large bleed.
Tuesday evening, the team at Akron General decided to proceed with a cesarean section at 26 weeks to the day, and Eleanor Jane Sutara made her appearance at 5:02pm, weighing 1lb. 15oz. Kim said overall it was a weird but positive experience, and she was reassured about the presence of Eleanor's lungs because she cried upon arrival. Eleanor was able to be intubated without issue. They had a few seconds with her before she was immediately transported to Akron Children's for care.
In delivery, the team discovered that Kim has a heart-shaped uterus, which caused baby to grow on one side and placenta to grow on the other side. This is something that could have been diagnosed with a proper ultrasound prior to conception or shortly after, as a growing fetus renders the condition undetectable (editor's note: Kim will not be returning to Wooster for gynecology). This is a genetic condition. In general, women with irregularly shaped uteruses are also more susceptible to kidney issues.
We were able to see Kim later that evening, and she was very nauseous, not having been able to eat all day and being heavily medicated. Wednesday she looked much better and was not experiencing any pain, but was very dizzy from her medication. About mid-afternoon, the doctor gave Kim a pass to go over to Children's to see Eleanor for the first time.
Before leaving, we received a call from the doctor in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) that Eleanor was very sick and was clinically being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, and they were having trouble getting her oxygen to her lungs. They continued giving Eleanor steroids to acclimate her to life outside the womb, a blood pressure medicine to get her comfortable breathing on the ventilator, and a surfactant to help keep her lungs open. By the time we arrived at Children's, a doctor was doing a heart ultrasound to document what Eleanor's heart was doing, because she is at high risk for air leaks.
This morning, Kim and Alex got a call that Eleanor was again not doing well, and a lung had collapsed in the night at around 3am, which required insertion of a chest tube. The other lung was now facing the same issue, and required another chest tube. Eleanor now has bilateral tubes which work to suck air out of her lungs so that she can breathe. It is a possibility that she may end up with two on each side, but we're NOT GIVING HER ANY IDEAS, and Kim has given her several pep talks to prevent this happening. Let's hope Eleanor listens.
So far, the nurses and doctors have described Eleanor as a spunky baby, with strong opinions on her treatment -- an overall boon to her ability to handle whatever is thrown her way. She is feisty and has already proven herself to be quite the fighter. Today, Eleanor was quite stabilized with good oxygen levels and was under a blue light to treat her preemie bilirubin. I might have made several Bird Box references because she had a very intense eye mask on all day (just trying to diffuse the tension).
The predominant issue Eleanor faced today was a spike in blood sugar, ostensibly due to the steroid she is on. They began testing her blood sugar every hour (which requires a blood draw from her tiny heel each time...weirdly hard to watch, given that she is already hooked up to kingdom come) and increasing her insulin as necessary to stabilize. This is not an indication that she may have diabetes, but it is concerning nonetheless. Tomorrow morning, Eleanor is scheduled to have a brain ultrasound to ensure there is no brain bleeding.
Please continue to pray for Eleanor, Kim, and Alex (if that is your thing...otherwise good karma and positive vibes are always more than welcome). This sweet little lady faces a long, long road ahead, and each day will bring new challenges for her and for her parents. Kim has taken on a rigorous breast pumping for Eleanor's continued health, and of course mom is still continuing to heal from surgery. She was discharged from General a day ahead of schedule and can now spend her time in Eleanor's room at Children's.
Updates as they become available and someone is present to update :)
To Eleanor's good health!
-Pam
Prayers for all
ReplyDeleteLove you Aunt Annie & Uncle Doug
Lots of love and prayers are going out to you all. Please take care of each other and stay strong.🙏
ReplyDeleteWe are neighbors of your grandparents Marge and Art God Bless you all We are praying for you and Eleanor
ReplyDelete