I just talked with Dr. Resto who is taking care of Bennett tonight at Scott and White at Temple. He said they are still not sure what is causing Bennett's distress but they are running alot of tests. There is so much that can be going on that they simply do not know yet.
At this time, Bennett is on a ventilator and is stable. The hope is that he will continue to be stable until in the morning when they will do surgery. However, should anything change, they will rush him to surgery tonight.
He says the best case senerio is that Bennett will have surgery and will go home in 1-2 weeks. He says the worst case senario is that Bennett would have a loss of blood supply to his bowel causing him to loose it.
The doctors are not feeding Bennett at this time as they don't want anything in his gut. Even when he can eat, it will be some time before they introduce food. However, he is getting the nutrients he needs through his IV.
Brian and I have grieved alot so far. It's hard to give birth and to have your baby whisked away - not only to another part of a hospital but to a different hospital all together. However, we are thankful that he is here and feel confident that he's getting good care.
Fortunately, Oliver did get to briefly meet Bennett tonight. Bennett was tucked within the many machines that were used to stablize and transport him to the other hospital. It was hard to see him as he was bound by cords and hidden within one of those clear neonatal unit boxes. However, he was crying (not interested in taking a soothie), probably in pain. This made Oliver very interested in him. It wasn't the meeting I had pictured for introducing these little guys to each other...but it was still a beautiful picture of a concerned older brother curious and caring towards his baby brother.
Aunt Brooklyn asked Oliver, "do you want to take Baby Bennett home?" Oliver quickly responded, "uh-huh". Yep, we all do. We all want to take Baby Bennett home. Hopefully soon.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pictures: First Pictures of Baby Bennett
Momma and Bennett (Momma has obviously been crying. It's sad for her not to hold her little boy.)
Comparing First Pictures of Oliver and Bennett:
Oliver, November 2, 2007Bennett, September 30, 2009
Birthday - Update 11:30pm
At this time, Bennett has been diagnosed with Meconium Peritonitis, which is bowel perforation.
The doctors think Bennett had a bowel obstruction at some point in the womb. This backed up the meconium (the baby's first bowel movement) and his bowels apparently erupted. Therefore, at this time, the doctors believe Bennett has meconium in his abdomen, which has greatly extended it. In addition to the danger of a ruptured bowel and the potential of infection through the spread of meconium, this displacement of meconium has made it hard for Bennett to breathe.
The doctors think Bennett had a bowel obstruction at some point in the womb. This backed up the meconium (the baby's first bowel movement) and his bowels apparently erupted. Therefore, at this time, the doctors believe Bennett has meconium in his abdomen, which has greatly extended it. In addition to the danger of a ruptured bowel and the potential of infection through the spread of meconium, this displacement of meconium has made it hard for Bennett to breathe.
At 9:30pm, Bennett left by ambulance to go for neonatal surgery at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas (about 30 minutes away). He should have surgery later tonight or tomorrow. We will know more regarding his care once we know the surgery is planned.
Baby Gamel Has Arrived! - Update 5:15pm
Dear Friends,
We thought you might like to know that our newest little addition to the Gamel family has arrived!
Bennett Brinson Gamel was born this afternoon at 3:10pm on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
Weight: 7 lbs, 11 oz
Length: 20 inches long
Head Circumference: 33cm
Please keep Bennett in your prayers as he was born struggling to breath. He is currently in the NICU at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco. We have not heard any news about how he is doing and we have not had a chance to hold him. But we know that he is in good hands with the doctors here. God is good always.
We will send more details as soon as we have them.
Sincerely,
Brian, Breck and Oliver
We thought you might like to know that our newest little addition to the Gamel family has arrived!
Bennett Brinson Gamel was born this afternoon at 3:10pm on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
Weight: 7 lbs, 11 oz
Length: 20 inches long
Head Circumference: 33cm
Please keep Bennett in your prayers as he was born struggling to breath. He is currently in the NICU at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco. We have not heard any news about how he is doing and we have not had a chance to hold him. But we know that he is in good hands with the doctors here. God is good always.
We will send more details as soon as we have them.
Sincerely,
Brian, Breck and Oliver
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bennett's Story
If you're new to the blog, you may not know the whole back story of how we got to where we are now. Here's a quick read to catch you up. (You can also scroll down to the bottom to see his story through video.)
Two days before Bennett was to be induced at 38 weeks, Breck became seriously concerned when she felt like the baby's movements was moving slowly or wasn't moving at all. Thankfully, she went to the doctor and was evaluated. While the OBGYN became concerned that the baby might be in distress, no one was all that concerned. It wasn't until Bennett's birth that we realized just how sick our little boy was.
Bennett was born at 3:10pm on September 30, 2009. He did not cry when he was born. In fact, he was very sick and struggled to breath. At one minute, Bennett's APGAR score was 1. We did not realize things were not ok until after the doctor told Brian to turn off the video camera (who was videotaping right after Bennett's birth). It turns out that while we did not know, the doctor knew that Bennett was very ill. Brian did not cut the cord. Breck did not hold him. Bennett was rushed to the NICU.
Within 12 hours of Bennett's birth, Bennett was rushed to surgery. It turns out that at some point in the womb (the doctors think less than 4 weeks before his birth), Bennett's colon perforated. Bennett's meconium (the name for a baby's first poop) was so thick that it actually ruptured Bennett's intestines causing meconium to fill his abdomen. Within hours of his birth, he was diagnosed with meconium peritonitis.
Unfortunately, the surgeons were unable to fully extract the meconium from Bennett's colon, specifically his ileus. Therefore, part of Bennett's colon was removed and attached to the outside of his body to allow for the surgeons to continue to irrigate his intestines. The hope was that Bennett's colon would eventually work correctly. At that point, Bennett was then diagnosed with meconium ileus.
Meconium ileus is often associated with Cystic Fibrosis. So, the doctors requested a genetic test to confirm that Bennett was suffering from this disease. The genetic test came back on 10/6/09 and at one week old, Bennett was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
(We later learned that 10% of CF patients have meconium ileus - and of those, only 10% of CF patients deal with meconium peritonitis. Therefore, Bennett is in the 1% of CF patients with his condition.)
After 38 days, Bennett was discharged from the NICU. He came home for four days before he was readmitted to the hospital for "failure to thrive." Bennett was in the hospital for two weeks where he began to better tolerate his feedings. Bennett was put on Elecare formula. In December 2009, Bennett had reanastomosis surgery to put his intestines back together.
At this time, Bennett's lungs look great. He is currently being followed by the CF Clinic at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. While Bennett has had a very rough start to his life, Bennett's early diagnosis has allowed for his treatment to begin almost immediately from birth. This gives us the confidence that Bennett has a good chance for treatment of this life-threatening progressive lung disease.
Follow us as God does big things in Bennett's life...
Two days before Bennett was to be induced at 38 weeks, Breck became seriously concerned when she felt like the baby's movements was moving slowly or wasn't moving at all. Thankfully, she went to the doctor and was evaluated. While the OBGYN became concerned that the baby might be in distress, no one was all that concerned. It wasn't until Bennett's birth that we realized just how sick our little boy was.
Bennett was born at 3:10pm on September 30, 2009. He did not cry when he was born. In fact, he was very sick and struggled to breath. At one minute, Bennett's APGAR score was 1. We did not realize things were not ok until after the doctor told Brian to turn off the video camera (who was videotaping right after Bennett's birth). It turns out that while we did not know, the doctor knew that Bennett was very ill. Brian did not cut the cord. Breck did not hold him. Bennett was rushed to the NICU.
Within 12 hours of Bennett's birth, Bennett was rushed to surgery. It turns out that at some point in the womb (the doctors think less than 4 weeks before his birth), Bennett's colon perforated. Bennett's meconium (the name for a baby's first poop) was so thick that it actually ruptured Bennett's intestines causing meconium to fill his abdomen. Within hours of his birth, he was diagnosed with meconium peritonitis.
Unfortunately, the surgeons were unable to fully extract the meconium from Bennett's colon, specifically his ileus. Therefore, part of Bennett's colon was removed and attached to the outside of his body to allow for the surgeons to continue to irrigate his intestines. The hope was that Bennett's colon would eventually work correctly. At that point, Bennett was then diagnosed with meconium ileus.
Meconium ileus is often associated with Cystic Fibrosis. So, the doctors requested a genetic test to confirm that Bennett was suffering from this disease. The genetic test came back on 10/6/09 and at one week old, Bennett was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
(We later learned that 10% of CF patients have meconium ileus - and of those, only 10% of CF patients deal with meconium peritonitis. Therefore, Bennett is in the 1% of CF patients with his condition.)
After 38 days, Bennett was discharged from the NICU. He came home for four days before he was readmitted to the hospital for "failure to thrive." Bennett was in the hospital for two weeks where he began to better tolerate his feedings. Bennett was put on Elecare formula. In December 2009, Bennett had reanastomosis surgery to put his intestines back together.
At this time, Bennett's lungs look great. He is currently being followed by the CF Clinic at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. While Bennett has had a very rough start to his life, Bennett's early diagnosis has allowed for his treatment to begin almost immediately from birth. This gives us the confidence that Bennett has a good chance for treatment of this life-threatening progressive lung disease.
Follow us as God does big things in Bennett's life...
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