Hey Folks,
While in Toronto [where I still am] my son Joshua's wife [Heather] gave birth
to a baby girl - Maya, by first name. Her birth was an ordeal beyond what I could imagine. But, now - all is well.
Those of you also in Toronto for the Massey Hall shows know of her birth -but not
of The Struggle. Please forgive my holding up The Brave Face leading to 'beaucous' jabbering on my part.
These events, also, are why I didn't show up for various of the gatherings in Toronto . . . I was at-station by the phone and laptop . . .
and on my knees in prayer.
The following e-mail is written by my boy Josh to explain the circumstances.
Rejoice,
Rez
*****************
Our daughter Maya was born last Fri. Nov 20th at 6:04a.m., weighing 7lbs 12oz
and measuring 20 in. long. There were complications with the birth and the
tumultuous, exhausting, last five days have left us little time to communicate
except with close family, but we are extremely happy to report that she has
recovered wonderfully and all reports are that she will have little to no lasting
injury.
We can’t yet find the words to convey the full experience, but wanted to at
least give an update and provide the general story.
Sometime during late labor Maya was deprived of oxygen. At birth her heart
was beating but she was unresponsive and unable to breath. She was rushed
to the resuscitation table where she pinked up when bagged, but remained
utterly limp and non-responsive.
A breathing tube was put in and she took her first breath after about 20 minutes.
Her first, feeble cry was at 30 minutes just before being taken to the Special Care Nursery.
Her lab reports indicated the damage was potentially significant enough
to warrant transfer to Swedish to consider a relatively new procedure called a
“cool cap”, where the brain is cooled in an effort to reduce injury from oxygen
deprivation.
So four hours after Maya’s birth Heather was recovering at Group Health and Josh
was at Swedish with Maya in the NICU. At 6 hours we learned that a cool cap
would not be done (a good sign) but that the progress in the next 24, 48, 72 hours
would provide more clues about the long term effects, both on her brain and the
other internal organs that had suffered injury.
Each day brought incremental but positive news: reducing and eventually removing
the breathing support; holding her for the first time; improving lab reports and
physical assessments; her first feeding; MRI results that showed no signs of brain
damage; the doctor saying that no test were showing signs of long term damage
to her brain or other organs; her first breastfeeding; removing her IV. She should
move out of the NICU in the next day to a less acute level of care and eventually
home, though no date has been projected.
An experience like this is difficult to wrap your head around. At times we felt robbed
and ill-fated, but Maya’s amazing recovery and seeing the other children in the NICU
has also left us feeling very fortunate. The outpouring of love and support has also
made us feel incredibly fortunate, and we believe it had a huge effect on Maya’s
recovery and our ability to cope. Maya is a beautiful, incredibility strong little girl,
and it is clear that she is going to grow up with a network of family and friends
enveloping her with love, just as we have been. That’s a wonderful thing and we
know what we will be thankful for the Thanksgiving. The list is long.
Thanks to everyone and take care,
Josh and Heather
Maya - My Baby GrandGirl - and The Struggle
!!! My hopes and prayers for Maya and family.
