The Long Journey Home

As we sit here and watch are daughter sleep, we can’t help but be amazed by the work of God. Four plus months of uncertainty, tears and joy have culminated in the discharge of our child Hunter Grace Thomas. On Easter Morning March 23, 2008 she arrived in this world at 1 pound 6 ounces with the assistance of three of the many angels at Rady. Through trials and tribulations, vent tubes and c-pats, nasal feedings and infections, ups and downs she was carried out of Rady on Monday August 4, 2008 with the assistance of her parents virtually unscaved. At 8 pounds 15 ounces, Tasha and I have long prayed for this day, and we thank everyone for allowing us to see it. They say it takes a village to raise a child. In this case it took a community of prayers and loving care to cultivate a life. Through Hunter’s journey we have made life long friends and watched as many gathered to pray for her development. I cannot reiterate how great the staff at Rady is. She literally had a staff of Angels watching over her. As excited as we were to leave the hospital it was accompanied with sadness. We truly had become a part of a family and integrated ourselves into the hospital community. A lot of hospitals call themselves “Community” hospitals. Rady sets the standard. The self-sacrificing efforts of the entire staff are unparallel. Her primary nurse Shelby was sent from above. From the first day she cared for Hunter she set our souls at ease with her vast knowledge, her unwavering confidence, and her settling compassion. Along with Tasha, she was Hunters biggest advocate and was like a second mother. She took it upon herself to make every effort to see that Hunter went home with us through the exit doors of the hospital. Her other primaries, Jill, Marylyn, and Tabitha looked over her as if they were her Aunts. Her Nurse Practitioners were also amazing. The team of NaTasha, Angela and Kylie saw to it that she got the best care and most up to date procedures to grow and develop. We will truly miss the staff at the hospital. Hunter’s departure was filled with many tears. Sunday was her last day with Shelby and Tasha could not contain her tears. It was an emotional goodbye but definitely not the last time Hunter sees Shelby again. On Monday everyone from the hospital came to say their goodbyes to Hunter and we got the opportunity to thank everyone. We had our last meal at the cafeteria before she was ready to go. Our cafeteria dinners had become as much as a staple for us as Pastor Johns daily prayers over Hunter’s bedside. So again thank you Shelby, Jill, NaTasha, Tabitha, Kylie, Angela, Marylyn and Pastor John we will miss you. We thank the entire staff at Rady and Ronald McDonald House. We thank everyone who accompanied us on this journey. We thank everyone who spent countless hours praying for our child. We thank everyone who attended the baby shower and those of you who were there in spirit. We thank every one who left a prayer or comment on this site. We thank you God because without you none of this is possible. We continue to pray for the parents with children in the NICU;

With prayer all things are possible. God Bless

*THANK YOU EVERYONE*THANK YOU EVERYONE*

Rady Children Hospital

* Auntie Shelby * Auntie Jill * NaTasha * Marylyn * Tabitha* Kylie *Angela * Anne(PT) * Casey * Anne(Flight Nurse) * Karen(PT) * Rose * Gina * Tamyra * Marsha * Janet * Marie * Rachael * Erin * Jill * Sean * Jan * Jen * Malinda * Raquel * Lilly * Sarah *Kim(NP) * Mary Anne * Jennifer * Dr. Brian * Dr. Wang * Lynn * Lindsey * Hershey * Ruth * Vanessa(RMH) *

Friends And Family

* Grandma Linda *Banoi * Papa Charles and Mama Gene * Papa Tony * Auntie Dana * Auntie Maria *Auntie Rachael * Auntie Diana * Hassan * Malcolm * Adrena * *Adonis * Karen * Vince * Brad and Susanne * Josh and Billy * Candice and David *Abby and John * Wesley and Benita * Trey * McKenzie * Vince * Marty and Rashad *Barbara * Debbie W * Barbara Y * Debbie L * Linda M * GG McGowan * GG Goe * *Aunt Velda * Aunt Joanie * Tom and Joan Bomortino * Rosie * Renee * Aunt Sandi * Esther * Aunt Andrea * Brandie * Audrey * Robin * Eddie * Brandie * Kimmy * *Stacey* * Brian and Christine *Bob D * Kamisha and Telly * Lisa and Melvin * Juan and Diana * Jarrod and Becka * Mark and Liz * Charlene * Kyle * Jennifer * Lauren and John * Denise A * D2 * Evelyn * Erma * Alex * Luis * Roxanne * Brenda * Maria *Hector * Scott * Michael S * Vince S * Lisa L * Dona * Martha * Prayer Warriors * Javier * Jaime * Paul W * Dr. Hlliabrand * Dr. Lebo * Nurse Cherice * The staff at Inland Valley Hospital * The staff at Pomona Valley Perinatal * Dr. Curan * Dr. Hanna *

Milk Coma

Hunter is already proving to us that she is a princess. Hunter Grace is taking her sweet time. She has one more job to do. Hunter has to drink 2 Oz's of milk every 3 hours. That comes out to 8 times a day. So far Hunter is up to 1 Oz every feeding. Hunter weights 8lbs and I don't think those cheeks can get any bigger. A week ago Hunter had eye surgery to correct her ROP. You would of thought I was new to the NICU. The way I was crying and begging the nurse to remove Hunter's ventilation tube from her throat and the I.V. from her hand. Now that Gracey has her own little personality I can't stand to see her uncomfortable. Well the Dr. assured me that the surgery went well and Gracey's eyes should show improvement this week. So besides the eating Hunter is smiling, pooping and sleeping right on schedule.

Due Date

One more week until Hunter's actual due date. The Thomas family is over flowing with excitement in anticipation of our princess coming home. Hunter is now 6lbs and 5Oz's. She's starting to cry just a little and it breaks my heart. Hunter still has her feeding tube in her nose and depending on who feeds her she takes 6 out of 8 bottles by mouth. Hunter has passed all of her developmental milestones. Hunter has one issue where she needs her prayer warriors. Hunter has developed ROP Retinopathy of Prematurity. Hunter has stage 2 out of 5. The MD says by next week if no change then she will need laser surgery and then glasses. Out of all the things that could of happened to my baby girl, I know that the power of prayer and the love of my Lord Jesus Christ is why Hunter Thomas is my testimony.

Breathing Gracefully

All good things come to those who wait. I never thought it would happen, Hunter is free from the nasal cannula. This is the tube that kept Gracie breathing. I walked in the NICU this morning with my regular routine of saying hello to the nurses, washing my hands and placing my bottles of pumped breast milk on the table. I walked over to Hunters crib and bent down to kiss her and almost gaged. She was breathing all on her own. Her face is so beautiful. Now she has to eat all meals by mouth then she'll be free from her nasal gastric tube. Hunters' weight is 6lbs and she drinks 52 cc's of milk every 3 hours. She is so close to coming home I can imagine her in her bassinet then the Thomas family can push the play button. Thank you Lord Jesus.

2 Steps From Home

Hunter is progressing every day. Today she is 5lbs, 3oz. Hunter takes 6 bottles by mouth and 2 through her feeding tube that goes in her nose and down to her tummy. She still has her oxygen nasal cannula in her nose set at 25 ml. The next step is for Hunter to breath completely on her own. The one issue that she continues to have is refluxing after her meals. Hunter doesn't completely vomit but she hiccups and a little food comes halfway up her throat and causes her pulse to drop. I sit with Hunter every day and I hold her upright on my chest to alleviate the reflux. Every day that Hunter improves is a day closer to taking her home. Charles and I had a meeting with Hunters' medical team. We discussed Hunters goals and discharge planning. Hunter will go home possible within the next 2-3 weeks. She will go home with a few medications for her lungs and for her reflux. Along with supplements for weight gain and iron. Hunter might have vision problems due to the extended use of oxygen. At this point she might have to wear glasses. God has been great to the Thomas family and if this is all that she has when she comes home we are truly blessed.

The Big Girl Crib

Today was a glorious day. It started off normal. I walked in to the entrance of the NICU and called the nurse on the phone so she could let me in to the unit. I looked in the window and I couldn't see Hunters' isolete. I then realized they put her in a crib. A big girl crib. I was so happy. I rushed to wash my hands and ran in the unit. Hunter looked so cozy wrapped in her blankets lying in the crib. I couldn't hold back the tears of joy. The only problem with her being in an open crib is I can't stop touching her. Hunter weights 4lbs and 9oz. She is on the low flow oxygen with nasal cannula on a rate of 50. The next step with the oxygen is to turn her down to a rate of 25 then to take her off the nasal cannula completely. Hunter is breast feeding twice daily. The NICU has bought a scale that measures her before she breast feeds then after she breast feeds. The scale will tell you in cc's how much milk Hunter has drank. Hunter is up to 38cc's of milk every 3 hours. She drank a full bottle of milk for me last night. Then she let out a loud manly burp. If every thing goes well Hunter could be home as early as 3 weeks. She is doing so well. It's amazing to see the daily transformation.

Milestones

Hunter is crossing milestones left and right. Today she weights 4lbs. Hunter is eating 36cc's of breast milk every 3 hours. For the past week she has been breast feeding or drinking from the bottle 4 times a day. Hunter has a pattern where she has to play on the nipple before she gets down to business. Hunter wears her own cloths now. My favorite outfit is lavender and it says daddy's little princess. Hunters' latest challenge is to get off of the nasal cannula oxygen. She is on a very low flow of oxygen but the few times that they turn it down she starts having labored breathing. Even though Hunter is 3 weeks ahead of schedule I feel like those moms who push their kids into beauty pagents. I always want more for her. Hunters' two NICU moms (Shelby & Jill) keep me grounded. These two great nurses have taught me so much about Hunters' care that when they're off I'm so independent the fill in nurses really don't have anything to do. I really do appreciate all of the NICU staff and often think how lost I'll be when Hunter comes home. I guess my nursing and mommy skills will have to kick in. Every day that I sit with Hunter she changes and matures. Today I came back from lunch and gave her a bath which normally poops her out but today she was wide awake and wanted to eat. She has hunger signs like putting her fist in her mouth and smacking her lips. I put her to my breast and without any playing she went at it like a champion. Watching Hunter breast feed so instinctively always reminds me that no matter how much we evolve our animal instinct is what keeps us alive.

Amazing Journey

We are about 10 weeks into this amazing journey and the light is clearly at the end of the tunnel. What makes this journey so remarkable is seeing the new parents come into to the NICU and seeing ourselves in them. The uncertainty in their eyes mirrors the look on our faces 10 weeks ago. We pray for them and look for the opportunity to catch them in the waiting room and tell them the amazing story of our blessed child and reassure them that God has a plan for them and their child. Hunter has come a long way. We as parents could not be more proud of the accomplishments she has achieved. She shows no signs of brain abnormalities, her lungs are progressing at a normal rate, her internal organs are as normal as a full term and she has begun to feed on the bottle and the breast. She is at a size in which we can truly call her a bundle of joy. She receives a an overwhelming amount of kisses from her mother and myself and she is beginning to occasionally smile and giggle. She is truly amazing and her middle name of Grace has never been so fitting. She never seems to amazes us and we can't wait to take our gift from God home. The one thing we would like to reintegrate is, if anyone knows of anyone with a sick child or one born premature, please put your faith in God, never stop praying and never give up on God. Tell them the story of a child born on Easter who God had a plan for. He has a plan for everyone on this earth, whether they have been on this planet for 50 years or 50 minutes. Before we where a thought in our parents minds God had a plan for us. Through the power of prayer and faith we will be taking our beautiful daughter home very shortly and it is all attributed to the power of the Lord. We would like to thank everyone for your prayers and everyone who has shared in this amazing journey. We look forward to showing Gods work to the world.

Hunter Finds Her Voice

I have good and not so good news. First the not so good news. The culture of Hunter's nose swab came back and she still is colonized with MRSA. This isn't new news the Dr.s thought there might be a change and Hunter could of come off of contact isolation. The good news is yesterday Hunter drank 10cc's of breast milk with a bottle and today 9cc's without any breathing problems. Drinking from the bottle tuckers her out and she sleeps for the rest of the day. Physical Therapy came and worked with Hunter on Passive Range of Motion (moving her arms and legs). PT said Hunter is a very easy going baby. I've noticed that Hunter will make sucking noises with her lips right before her feeding. I guess that's a sign that she's hungry. So that's the time that I do dry breastfeeding and she latches on for about 10 min. The other day Daddy and I got to bath Hunter for the first time. We had such a good time bathing and loving on her, unfortunately she didn't share our excitement. Today Hunter found her voice and she knows how to use it. I checked her position, her diaper, I rocked her, finally I gave her the pacifier and she settled and went to sleep.

Honor Roll

It's been a while and I have a lot to report. Hunter Grace was started on dry breast feeding that's were I go and pump out milk and then let her suck on the nipple to avoid her from drinking any milk and dropping her heart rate. Hunter had other plans. Hunters stimulation on my breast, which typically doesn't produce enough milk for the demand, created milk that she drank with no problem. The Occupational Therapists thought this was a good time to test Hunter and see if she could start drinking from the bottle. I tried not to stress Hunter out about the up coming test but we are on the honor roll. This puts Hunter 3 weeks ahead of schedule. OT sat down with Hunter, gave her the bottle of breast milk and Hunter drank 4cc's of milk. Then she fell asleep. The poor baby is just to little to work so hard for food. OT decided that they would test her once a week and not force the issue. They want eating to be enjoyable for Hunter and not hard work. Hunter is now 3lbs and 4oz's. I'm able to take her out and hold her as much as I want. I can't stop holding and kissing her. They took a swab of the inside of her nose to test for MRSA so she can come off of contact isolation. All this time the nurses have been putting on gowns and gloves just to touch her. So far the culture shows no MRSA present. Hunter is such a happy baby. She smiles and when she lets out a little cry she soothes her self to sleep. When she hears mommy talking she tries to open her eyes but she is so sleepy one eye opens to look at me then slowly closes. With all her hurdles jumped and just weight and age to be gained Charles and I think Hunter is coming out before her due date of July 17th. So for the next few weeks we will be scrambling to try and get our affairs in order. We will lose our 24 hour, highly trained baby sitters and gain one of God's many miracles.

Growth Spirts

Hunter is growing so fast I can hardly keep up with her. She is eating 24 cc's of breast milk every 3 hours. That comes out to 8 feedings a day. Hunter is almost eating like a big girl but my breast milk is still preemie. Shelby (nurse) tells me that this is common with premature babies. I still feel like I'm not doing my part. I've tried the herbs and even got a prescription from my Dr. The only thing that I can do now is pray and let God's will be done. I should of included that in my prayers along time ago. Every day that I see her, she changes just a little. The growth process is amazing. Sleep does a body good. She has short periods of time when she is wide awake and looking all around. Hunter is able to maintain her own body temperature. She doesn't have the heater on in her bed. Hunter normally wears micro preemie diapers. Today she graduated to the big girl preemie diapers. They are to big for her little booty but she fills it with other things. I have one confession, I get jealous when I call the nurses for an update and they say Hunter is awake and looking at them. When she is finally home I don't think I will take my eyes off of her.

Hunter's Eyes

Today grandma Linda came to see Hunter. She was impressed by Hunter's weight gain since her last visit. Grandma Linda has no doubt that Hunter is the spitting image of her father. I always tell Charles that he could be a very pretty girl. Today was also day two of trying the dry breastfeeding with Hunter. When I tried it on my own Hunter wasn't have'n it. Ruth came to save the day and gave me detailed instructions on where the nipple and Hunters head should go. Ruth told me to squeeze a few drops of milk out and Hunter will find her way. The moment that Hunter smelled the milk she was like a Parana. Hunter's sweet little mouth opened up like a shark. Every one says that breast feeding hurts. I was actually scared for a while but it feels great. You have to remember that I've been using a supper power, double breast pump for the past 2 months, every 2 hours, 24 hours a day. So compared to that it felt like a massage. The whole time Hunter was looking up at me with those big beautiful eyes. I've been waiting for that moment my whole life.

Bonding

I have been sick for 3 days and couldn't see my baby girl. Today was my first day to see Hunter. She looks so good. She's getting fat in all the right places. Hunter's weekend primary nurse (Shelby) recommended to the Dr.'s that Hunter might be ready to dry breast feed. The purpose is so mother and baby can bond, baby can get used to the nipple and mommy's milk can increase. Today was my day. I was so excited I practically was bouncing. Hunter and I melted together. She latched on to the nipple with no problem and started sucking away. The lactation nurse (Ruth) was amazed. Ruth told Hunter's other favorite nurse (Jill) that she has never dry breastfeed with a 31 weeker and she never expected Hunter to do so well. Ruth at first told me that if she doesn't latch on it doesn't matter. She repeated," it is only for the purpose of bonding." I keep telling every one that my baby is honor roll. Hello!!!!!!!! Hunters success is do to God first and the wonderful staff at the NICU.

True Meaning of Motherhood

On the eve of Mothers day I took time to reflect on this amazing journey. The events that led up to this day have given me a true admiration for mothers. Tasha is an unbelievable mother. Day in and day out she arrives at the hospital like clock work to assist in the care, provide breast milk and hold Hunter. The bond Hunter and Tasha have goes beyond words. The simple recognition of Tasha's voice has an immediate effect on Hunter's vital signs. I know it is very difficult to have this amazing bond with your child and leave empty handed every day. It can take a tremendous toll on a mother being limited to the amount of time she can hold, touch, and see her young infant child. As a child it is equally distressing to know that mom is not around in the we hours of the night. With that said Tasha and Hunter are troopers. Their pure desire to unite outside the hospital walls keeps them pressing on and gets them through each challenging day. Tasha is not the only courageous mother in the NICU. If you were to define what a mother is it would be listed under NICU in the dictionary. A couple of weeks ago I was heading to the hospital and I saw a familiar face get of the bus. At the time I could not recall where I saw her before but I knew our paths had crossed before. An hour later I looked up and I saw her in one of the corners of the NICU. She was one of the mothers of the children. Dedication, was the word that instantly popped in my brain. This young mother took the bus everyday to see her child. Motherhood goes beyond the mothers who have children in the NICU. The self sacrificing nurses who are mothers and grand-mothers to their own children often spend more time with the children in the NICU than they do with theirs. Their unrelenting concern and compassionate nature exemplify what a true mother is. They often sacrifice there time with their own families to ensure that our children are getting the best care possible. Fittingly enough I will never view Easter the same way again, because that was the day we were delivered a miracle. Seven weeks later I have a new profound view of Mother's Day. Tomorrow most of us will give our mothers, flowers, candy, or take them to a traditional brunch. All these means are very admirable. However, while performing these traditional mother's day task take time to look your mother or the mother of your children in the eye and say thank you, and I love you. What I have witnessed over the past seven weeks will change the way I look at Mother's Day. A mother's love is unrelenting, unconditional, and irreplaceable. Hunter you are surrounded by the most amazing group of mothers on the planet. Happy Mother's Day to everyone in the NICU and happy Mother's Day Mom, and Tasha I love you both.