OK...I should have posted this on September 12th, but I was a bit busy:
It’s with more excitement that I can even begin to communicate via e-mail that I make the following announcement: Tyler Sloan Johnston was born yesterday morning, Saturday, September 12th, at 6:40 AM. He weighs 7 pounds, 8 ½ ounces, and is 21 inches long. That’s the awesome news. The funky/not-so-great news, though, is that he spent all of yesterday in the ICU with an irregular heart rate. Not to worry, though…there’s a light at the end of that tunnel. Here’s a quick recap in case you’re not up to speed:
Saturday
2:30 AM – Holly wakes me up to tell me that her water has broken
3:25 – We meet my mom and dad at the hospital, and pass the boys off to them
4:00 – 5:15 – Various tests, etc., to determine whether Holly’s water had, in fact, broken. The tests all came back negative, but the fetal heart rate monitor indicated a wildly varying heart rate (bouncing from 120 BPM to 250 BPM). The nurses called in the on-call physician, who verified via ultrasound that Holly’s water had, in fact, broken, and that there was no more amniotic fluid at all. She decided, therefore, that it was time to get Tyler out.
5:15 – Since there was so much confusion about the heart rates, the neonatologist was called in for a consult. The question being posed was whether we should go ahead and deliver at Northside Forsyth, or if we should head to Atlanta instead since they have a larger NICU. He decided that we’d be OK here, but that Tyler would most likely have to spend a day or so in the NICU for observation. Here’s the kicker…
5:30 – The anesthesiologist arrives for placement of the epidural in preparation for a 6:15 C-Section! Incredibly, we were slated for surgery less than 4 hours after Holly’s water broke!!
6:40 – Tyler is born. He weighs 7 pounds, 8 ½ ounces, and is 21 inches long. Aside from the funky heart rhythm, he’s perfectly healthy and completely adorable.
7:30 – Tyler is admitted into the NICU for observation, and is quickly diagnosed with SupraVentricular Tachycardia (Google it!), which essentially knocks the rhythm of the heart out of whack and causes it to spike unnaturally (hence the bounce from 120 to 250 and back). They put him on an IV drug to control the severity of it, and (ideally, anyway), to bring order out of the chaos. They also give him a tube in his mouth to provide an oral version of a similar drug. The idea there was to wean him off of the IV drug so that he could be treated via oral meds.
Fast-Forward to Saturday Night
6:00 – The meds aren’t doing their job, and Tyler’s heartbeat is still fluctuating wildly. The neonatologist and cardiologist decide that Tyler would be better-treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta…about 40 miles from here. OUCH!
7:30 – The final decision to transfer Tyler is made.
9:15 – The transfer team arrives and moves Tyler into a really cool transfer carrier (check out the picture). They take him downtown, and my mom and I follow.
11:30 – Tyler is officially admitted to the hospital, and is set up in the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit). They set Tyler up on a strong IV drip in conjunction with the oral meds. During this visit I actually get to HOLD Tyler, which is about the greatest experience of all! Finally, we’re exhausted and head back home to Forsyth for some much-needed sleep.
Sunday
11:00 AM – I talk with the head nurse at Tyler’s new hospital, who fills me in on the night’s progress. His heart rate has stabilized, and they’re turning down the flow on his IV from 300 (of whatever unit of measure they’re using) to 200, with plans to be at 150 by 12:30. They’ve also taken him off of his oxygen. This is about the best news we’ve heard since 6:40 Saturday!
2:30 PM – I talk with the head nurse again, who tells me that Tyler is down to 50 on his IV, and they’re planning to have him completely off by 3:15. SWEET! The nurse also tells me that Tyler is watching football. “He told me that he wanted to watch the Falcons play the Dolphins, so I had to let him!” Loving this nurse at this point!
10:00 PM – Mom, Dad, and I take the boys down to the hospital for a quick visit. The boys aren’t actually allowed into the CICU right now, though, because of flu concerns. Bummer, but Tyler’s doing great, and is completely adorable.
That’s the latest for now. They’re hoping to have Tyler out of the CICU and into the Step-Down Nursery sometime today, and we’re planning to take Holly home sometime tomorrow. Holly and I can visit down there any time, and we’ll have classes with the nursing staff on how to take care of Tyler after we take him home. We’ll probably have to take CPR classes (we had to with Matthew since he was in the ICU…I think this is standard operating procedure), as well as classes on how to recognize SVT if he spikes in the future. He’ll most likely have to be on oral medications for the next six months to a year, but his long-term prognosis is excellent, and they say he’ll be perfectly healthy. PHEW!
Sorry for this being the world’s longest post, but I thought it’d be best to get all of the details out there in case you were curious. A HUGE thank-you to everyone who’s called, stopped by, sent text messages and/or Facebook messages, and generally been wonderfully supportive this weekend. We truly appreciate the incredible outpouring of love and support, and can’t wait to introduce Tyler to all of you soon!
Saturday
2:30 AM – Holly wakes me up to tell me that her water has broken
3:25 – We meet my mom and dad at the hospital, and pass the boys off to them
4:00 – 5:15 – Various tests, etc., to determine whether Holly’s water had, in fact, broken. The tests all came back negative, but the fetal heart rate monitor indicated a wildly varying heart rate (bouncing from 120 BPM to 250 BPM). The nurses called in the on-call physician, who verified via ultrasound that Holly’s water had, in fact, broken, and that there was no more amniotic fluid at all. She decided, therefore, that it was time to get Tyler out.
5:15 – Since there was so much confusion about the heart rates, the neonatologist was called in for a consult. The question being posed was whether we should go ahead and deliver at Northside Forsyth, or if we should head to Atlanta instead since they have a larger NICU. He decided that we’d be OK here, but that Tyler would most likely have to spend a day or so in the NICU for observation. Here’s the kicker…
5:30 – The anesthesiologist arrives for placement of the epidural in preparation for a 6:15 C-Section! Incredibly, we were slated for surgery less than 4 hours after Holly’s water broke!!
6:40 – Tyler is born. He weighs 7 pounds, 8 ½ ounces, and is 21 inches long. Aside from the funky heart rhythm, he’s perfectly healthy and completely adorable.
7:30 – Tyler is admitted into the NICU for observation, and is quickly diagnosed with SupraVentricular Tachycardia (Google it!), which essentially knocks the rhythm of the heart out of whack and causes it to spike unnaturally (hence the bounce from 120 to 250 and back). They put him on an IV drug to control the severity of it, and (ideally, anyway), to bring order out of the chaos. They also give him a tube in his mouth to provide an oral version of a similar drug. The idea there was to wean him off of the IV drug so that he could be treated via oral meds.
Fast-Forward to Saturday Night
6:00 – The meds aren’t doing their job, and Tyler’s heartbeat is still fluctuating wildly. The neonatologist and cardiologist decide that Tyler would be better-treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta…about 40 miles from here. OUCH!
7:30 – The final decision to transfer Tyler is made.
9:15 – The transfer team arrives and moves Tyler into a really cool transfer carrier (check out the picture). They take him downtown, and my mom and I follow.
11:30 – Tyler is officially admitted to the hospital, and is set up in the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit). They set Tyler up on a strong IV drip in conjunction with the oral meds. During this visit I actually get to HOLD Tyler, which is about the greatest experience of all! Finally, we’re exhausted and head back home to Forsyth for some much-needed sleep.
Sunday
11:00 AM – I talk with the head nurse at Tyler’s new hospital, who fills me in on the night’s progress. His heart rate has stabilized, and they’re turning down the flow on his IV from 300 (of whatever unit of measure they’re using) to 200, with plans to be at 150 by 12:30. They’ve also taken him off of his oxygen. This is about the best news we’ve heard since 6:40 Saturday!
2:30 PM – I talk with the head nurse again, who tells me that Tyler is down to 50 on his IV, and they’re planning to have him completely off by 3:15. SWEET! The nurse also tells me that Tyler is watching football. “He told me that he wanted to watch the Falcons play the Dolphins, so I had to let him!” Loving this nurse at this point!
10:00 PM – Mom, Dad, and I take the boys down to the hospital for a quick visit. The boys aren’t actually allowed into the CICU right now, though, because of flu concerns. Bummer, but Tyler’s doing great, and is completely adorable.
That’s the latest for now. They’re hoping to have Tyler out of the CICU and into the Step-Down Nursery sometime today, and we’re planning to take Holly home sometime tomorrow. Holly and I can visit down there any time, and we’ll have classes with the nursing staff on how to take care of Tyler after we take him home. We’ll probably have to take CPR classes (we had to with Matthew since he was in the ICU…I think this is standard operating procedure), as well as classes on how to recognize SVT if he spikes in the future. He’ll most likely have to be on oral medications for the next six months to a year, but his long-term prognosis is excellent, and they say he’ll be perfectly healthy. PHEW!
Sorry for this being the world’s longest post, but I thought it’d be best to get all of the details out there in case you were curious. A HUGE thank-you to everyone who’s called, stopped by, sent text messages and/or Facebook messages, and generally been wonderfully supportive this weekend. We truly appreciate the incredible outpouring of love and support, and can’t wait to introduce Tyler to all of you soon!
2 comments:
He is too cute! Can't wait to meet him. Hope you all are doing well.
I'm so glad everyone is home and healthy!! Congrats to you all and we can't wait to meet him!
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