Welcome to our site about our son Brodie Dick who will join our family on August 8, 2011 at 8:00. At 22 weeks we went in to find out if we were having a boy or a girl and we found out that we were having a boy but that he may have a birth defect. After an agonizing week we found out that our son had CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing the abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. CDH occurs in 1 of every 2500 births and a baby with CDH is born every 10 minutes. 50% of babies diagnosed with CDH do not survive. The cause is not known. This will be a journal of our journey and will allow our family and friends to keep up to date on what is happening with us and our son Brodie. Thanks for your prayers and support!


Sunday, August 14, 2011

ECMO Settings Reduced

This board is now are life we just stare at the numbers on the machines and on this board.  It is not beautiful but I thought that you would like to see what we look at all day. Today was an overall good day and he opened both eyes.  It was the first day in a few days that not all was good.  The nurse told us today that they took him from 100 to 80 today on the ECMO machine and that hopefully they would take him down to 60 tomorrow and then do a trial off on Tuesday.  If you are like us you are probably thinking that they were going to do a trial off ECMO tomorrow.  As you can see things change all of the time.  Brodie did have a downturn on his numbers and they had to increase the ventilator settings but he did respond well to that.  I have a feeling that it is just going to be up and down from here.  We need your prayers more than ever because now is when we find out how his lungs are responding to the treatments.  It was harder to leave tonight than it ever has been.  He just looks and you and it feels like he is asking his Mommy and Daddy to help him.  I know that he is more aware of things now and it just tears you apart that you can't help him nor can you hold him in your arms.  We just have to be there and just pray that we will be able to do that soon.  He is getting ALOT of blood and platelets so I think tomorrow I am off to the blood bank to give blood.  We will let you know more tomorrow about how you might be able to help.  I am not too excited about it since I am a bit of a baby but you just push that aside especially when you can give blood to your son.  It is off to bed for some much needed sleep. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lavona and Todd, I know you are watching those settings and that you spend many hours every day on a roller coaster. I know of your family only through Alicia Heisler. As I look at the pictures, my mind races back 27 years to my own roller coaster. A piece of advice I received back then from Dr. Adams and a nurse; the little boys are lazy, they love for everyone to do everything for them. So it is not as easy to get them off ECMO or the vent, as it would be for a little girl, but they will push Brodie and he will grab hold of Jesus and breathe. I wish everyday as I read the post that I was there to hold your hands and give you hugs from a mom that's been there, and you need only tell Alicia and i will be there. In the meantime, know that I lift up prayers daily for your entire family. Brodie's fighting spirit is already glorifying the work of our Lord Jesus Christ and I know that in the days to come he will do so more and more. May God bless your family richly today.

JOY in CHRIST,
JOYce