Update on Faith and Makaila 14

Today has been a good day in our journey with Faith and Makaila. This morning we went in to the hospital for around 7:30 because Faith was going in for her MRI scan. We got there in time to see her all strapped into the MRI incubator (there will be pictures soon). We walked her into the MRI room in the hospital and then went back to their private room to wait. I got to have a cuddle with Makaila while we waited. Around 9:00am she came back and an hour later the neurologist came in to give us the results...and everything looks good! Her ventricles (the spaces within her brain) are a little bigger than expected (by only a few millimeters) but this is most likely due to her premature age. The ventricles haven't enlargened since her brain scan a few days after her birth which rules out the need for concern. The doctor said that two months from now the ventricles will most likely be the same size but the brain will be 50% larger. Next week the neurological radiologists will be in to confirm the doctor's findings, but he is confident they will be just as positive. So, we are relieved and excited about the results to say the least. They also hope that by next week she will be ready to try going back on CPAP. They want to wait until after Christmas so we can just focus on being with her, cuddles, and not worrying about putting her through the trauma of switching her over to CPAP. Sounds good to us!

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to have a cuddle with Makaila today. It has been weeks since I have been able to cuddle either of them so I made up for it with a 3 hour session! Makaila looks more like a little girl than a premature baby, especially with her little clothes on. She was squirming around at first, looking up at me, probably the most alert I have ever seen her, but then she settled down and slept soundly (and I got to catch a few z's too!) until it was time to move her back into her incubator. The cuddle definitely made my day and I realized how much I missed being with them for long periods of time. I am definitely looking forward to the next week!

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We greatly appreciate them!

Blessings to you in this Christmas season,

Graham

Update on the McMahon Family

Well, I've been keeping everyone up to date as best I can with Faith and Makaila but haven't spent much time talking about the rest of the family. For the past 5 weeks my father has been living with us in Abbotsford taking care of Isaiah. This has helped immensely because it has given Isaiah a routine that keeps him grounded. My Dad has him in swimming lessons, play groups, and out for play dates with friends. My Dad and Isaiah are out in Abbotsford usually from Sunday to Thursday afternoon and then we all go into Vancouver to be together as a family for Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday. We have had the huge blessing of staying in a condo in False Creek right on the water next to the Burrard Street Bridge and across from Granville Island. This condo is owned by a wonderful man in our church named John Wiebe and he has been gracious and generous enough to let us use his condo as a home away from home until the girls are released from BC Children's Hospital. We are going to stay their as a family with my Mom, Dad, and Brother over Christmas. We've even been able to decorate the place up a little for Christmas!

When Karyn has been in Vancouver on her own she has been staying at a house two doors down from the hospital owned by friends of my parents (Gwyn and Michael). She stays in a guest room upstairs and can walk to the hospital that's literally across the street. We have been so blessed by their generosity because we don't have another car and without their hospitality Karyn wouldn't be able to stay in Vancouver and be with the girls.

Between these two places, Karyn has been able to spend every night of the week in Vancouver which means she has been able to see the girls almost every day since they were born. She comes in to Abbotsford for church on Sundays and sometimes for a night or two on occasion. I am usually in Vancouver with her at the condo somewhere between 3 and 4 nights a week and we're all together (Karyn, Isaiah, and I) a couple of nights a week. We've gotten into a pretty regular routine which makes it easier to plan our week and to know what to expect, but it continues to be hard on all of us. At some point throughout every week, one member of our family is on their own without the other two, we're only together as a family for barley 48 hours, and we're never truly a family with the girls in the NICU. We are really looking forward to being all together for a week over Christmas at the condo in Vancouver.

Well, when I get another chance, I will continue to let you know more about how we are doing and how we are coping during this journey. We continue to covet your support and prayers. Thank you for all of your comments and prayers.

Blessings,

Graham

Update on Faith on Makaila 13

In our last entry Faith was going on CPAP and Makaila was continuing to do well on CPAP. Faith lasted for 16 hours but wasn't able to stay on it. She had too many apneas and so was put back on the conventional ventilator. We were a little discouraged but were happy that she made it as long as she did and she continues to do fairly well on the ventilator. When they put her back on the ventilator, they discovered some swelling in her throat at the top of her trachea. The swelling is caused by acid reflux, which is common amongst premature babies, but her reflux is particularly acidic. They put her on medication to change her pH levels and this seems to have done the trick; the swelling has gone down. Faith was supposed to have an MRI early this week but has been bumped to Friday instead. We are eager to hear the results and hope that everything comes back normal.

Makaila has been doing really well on CPAP. So well, that they took her off of CPAP a day and a half ago. She now only has oxygen prongs in her nose to keep a constant flow going. This is far less evasive and a great sign of her growing stronger. A few days ago Karyn went in to visit the girls only to find that they had been moved from their usual spots in the NICU. It turns out that they needed the space so Faith and Makaila have been moved to their own private room. This is great for visiting because we have our own room to ourselves, can decorate it how we want, and it's set up better for longer visits. The only drawback is that we won't see the other parents as much whose children have been Faith and Makaila's neighbors for the past 8 weeks. We'll just make sure we go in and visit them on our way in and out.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We greatly appreciate them!

Blessings,

Graham

Update on Faith and Makaila 12

Since our last entry, not much has changed with Faith and Makaila which is good news. Makaila continues to do really well on CPAP and has had a cuddle with Karyn almost every day she has been at the hospital. Late last week Makaila had an MRI done as she is part of a research project that studies the brain development of premature infants. We are very fortunate to be able to be a part of this study because there are only a few neurologists in the world that specialize in infant neurology (like maybe 8) and Canada has one and he is one of the best and is at BC Children's hospital. The MRI incubator cart they put Makaila is the only one in Canada and is worth $400,000. We are so fortunate to have this kind of care for free! Makaila did really well throughout the MRI, sleeping through it all. Karyn was able to find out the results within an hour of the MRI and we have been told that everything looks great. The doctor doing the MRI said he saw more fluid between her brain and the inside of her scull then he thought there would be, but said it was not something to be concerned about and they would simply monitor it in the MRI's to come.

Faith is not yet ready for an MRI because she hasn't been stable for long enough and their priority for her is to get her off the ventilator. Faith was taken off the oscillator late last week and has been doing well on the ventilator's conventional setting (she got to have a cuddle with Mom a few days ago). They have continued the process of weaning her off of the ventilator and she has done well on the lower breathing rate and lower oxygen levels. Today they started administering caffeine (yes, our girls are already coffee drinkers) to get her breathing rate up and steroids to keep her lungs strong. This is all in preparation for tomorrow afternoon when they hope to transfer her to CPAP. We are really excited and very nervous at the same time. When they have tried Faith on CPAP in the past she has not lasted more than 30 minutes and it has been very traumatic for her and for Karyn and I. Faith has been doing really well in the last week or so, so we hope that this time she goes on CPAP, it will be for a much longer time so she can learn to breath on her own and grow her lungs. This possibility excites us greatly! Please pray for Faith as she goes on CPAP tomorrow (Tuesday), that she will be able to stay on it until she doesn't need it anymore.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Blessings,

Graham

Update on Faith and Makaila 11

The last 3 days have seen some improvements in Faith and Makaila's conditions. Three days ago, Makaila managed to remove her ventilator tube again, and so they decided to put her on CPAP. She has continued to do really well on CPAP and her reliance on it for oxygen is very minimal. She has had a few cuddles with Karyn and these have gone very well for Makaila and have been a huge highlight for Karyn, something she has really cherished. We are very encouraged and we just keep hoping and praying that she can stay on CPAP.

Faith is still on the oscillator, but she seems to be doing well on it. Her oxygen levels stay fairly level, she has been crashing far less, and really only needs to have her oxygen levels upped when she is handled. The goal with Faith is to wean her slowly off of the oscillator. This means gradually dropping the pressure, the breathing rate, and the oxygen level. Once she is less dependent on the oscillator, they will move her to CPAP. We are not sure how long this will take, but it will at least be days before she can be switched over. She has yet to be stable enough and long enough for Karyn to have a cuddle with her. We hope that in the next day or two, this will be able to happen.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Blessings,

Graham

Update on Faith and Makaila 10

Not much has changed since our last update. Faith and Makaila continue to be on full feeds and are both still on the ventilators. Faith has had to go back on the oscillator setting because she isn't getting enough oxygen. She had another blood transfusion today and that has seemed to help. Makaila has been put on CPAP to see how she does, but she doesn't last much more than an hour. So, the goal right now is to get them bigger and stronger so they are capable of breathing on their own. The medical staff are adding supplements into their milk as needed to help with this process. So far they remain infection free which is encouraging, and this needs to continue to help keep their bodies focused on growing. They are both reasonably stable as long as they are left alone, so it has been a while since we have had a chance to cuddle with them. Karyn and I are satisfied with how they are doing, but we want them to grow and get stronger as soon as possible so they can get on CPAP. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Blessings,

Graham