She's a fighter!

Audrey is doing much better today. She's almost completely off oxygen. She's also crying quite a bit now which is great to hear and will help her get better quicker. Keep the prayers going.

JB

A Step Back

Hey everyone, Audrey had a rough day yesterday evening and experienced some respiratory distress. I had to call an ambulance at home to take her to my ED. She's been diagnosed with RSV which is a nasty bug for little ones. She's was admitted to the Pediatric floor at Womack and has stabilized a lot now. We're doing supportive measures for her as this virus clears her system. Please pray for this little girl, she has been through so much. I'm staying with her at the hospital and will send updates through my Blackjack.

JB

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been awhile since I last updated the blog, but we have been going non stop. I don't think it ever ends......:)) Audrey continues to improve almost daily at home. She cries and coughs quite a bit now. She even is starting to grunt around like little Hondo which is great. She really starting sucking on my little finger tonight while I was giving her G tube feed. Austin, aka Hondo, is doing fantastic. He weighed 9 lbs and 10 oz at the doctor's office on Tuesday. Audrey is even starting to chub up also which we're totally pumped about. The Speech Therapist came out to the house today for her first visit. It looks like she will be here twice a week. We're still waiting for OT and PT to start. Not a whole lot else to update everyone on other than she continues to thrive at home. Please continue to pray for her and our family. This journey is going to be a long one, but today is a good day.......

JB

Future Lady Vol

Pat Summitt was scouting Macy today at her game. Girlfriend is working on a scholarship.

Audrey is finally home!!!!! We got home on Wednesday afternoon, and things are overwhelming to say the least. Audrey seems to be doing a lot better at home. We had to take her to a follow-up appointment at Womack today. We're getting glued in to all the therapy and follow-up visits that she will need in the coming months. So this little girl will get everything that she will need. We've tried to put her and Austin together as much as possible, but we're having them sleep in different beds because we are having to suction Audrey about every 2-4 hours and don't want to disturb the little man too much. The only medicine that Audrey takes is a multivitamin with iron, and we are feeding her through a G tube every four hours. She's taking 3 ounces and seems to be do well with the feedings. We just really need to pack the weight on the little girl. She's gained weight just about everyday the past 7 or 8 days. She weighed 6.4 lbs at Womack today. Austin continues to do great and is our little chubster, and Macy is very helpful to Mommy and Daddy. Shannon's family is coming tomorrow so that will be a big help. Shannon and I just need to make sure that we take care of each other as well as the other little ones. That's all for now, but please continue to pray for our family especially little Audrey. I want to a say a big thank-you to the Angels that cared for Audrey at Duke. Ashby and Melissa were a godsend to our family, and we will never forget the love and care you provided Audrey. Talk to you soon.......

JB

Hard Work

I'm hard work, but I'm worth it!

Big Sister and Little Brother

Macy is really enjoying being a big sister.

I'm coming home soon!

Audrey is set to come home. Keep your prayers coming.........JB

Saturday is here, and things haven't slowed down....:)) Macy had her first basketball game today which was fun to watch. She did really good for her first game. It was funny watching the kids play. I'll attach some pictures from the game at the bottom. We had a change in plans since my last blog entry about Audrey. We're keeping her at Duke until she is ready to come home which will be on Tuesday or Wednesday. We were concerned about her continuity of care and the ensuring that the follow-up piece was squared away and not leave it to Womack who really doesn't know her. Audrey continues to do well. She is gaining weight and making intermittent signs of her starting to begin her suck and rooting reflex. She is also coughing a lot more. I met with the neurologist and neonatologist yesterday to get their impressions and game plan. The neurologist showed me her brain MRI, and she definitely has an insult to her thalmus area. The neurologist was very concerned but was optimistic and really stressed the importance of aggressive therapy for Audrey. Audrey's follow-up EEG was really good and shows almost normal activity for a neonate. Time and continued prayer are going to be the biggest allies for Audrey. We are optimistic she will continue to do well. Shannon will spend Monday night at Duke so she can demonstrate she can care for Audrey by herself before she is ready to come home. I will watch the kids on Monday night and probably ask off for a couple of days when she gets home on Tuesday or Wednesday. We're definitely excited to get her home, but it is a little overwhelming because things are going to change a lot ensuring that she gets everything that she needs. Talk to you soon.......

JB

Has anybody seen my bottle?

Check me out, I'm growing like a weed.

It's me again. I'm sorry that I haven't updated the blog lately. I know a lot of the family are relying on this page. I'm sorry that I haven't called many of you, but to be honest it's simply been too difficult. Audrey is tentatively scheduled to transfer to Womack this Saturday. Shannon and I are working out some of this discharge planning and education from Duke tomorrow and Friday. She continues to remain stable. The neurologist at Duke didn't give us really good news about her long term prognosis so Shannon and I are trying to process it all right now. I certainly see where she was at one month ago and see how far she has come so we remain hopeful that she will continue to improve. No one has a crystal ball at Duke so we are going to have to see what happens and how much she improves over time. Please pray for her and our family. This has been so devastating for us, and we're just trying to hold it together. This message is dark, but I'm sorry that's just where we are at now. Audrey will certainly receive all the love we can provide her once we are home. Austin continue to do great. He had his one month follow up, and his weight was 8lb 10oz! When he came home he was just 5.5 pounds. The pediatrician was very pleased so we definitely have much to be thankful for. Thank-you once again to all of our friends and co-workers who have assisted us so much during these past several weeks. I simply do not know how we would have done it without you (COL R and COL C, thanks for looking out for me and covering my back). Talk to you soon..........

JB

Multimedia message

It's a tough life.

Hello once again. The weekend is upon us and the holiday rut is over. Shannon and I have driven to Duke for the weekend. Austin is with us, and Macy is with Aunt D and cousin Bailey. I'm sure Macy is having a ball! Audrey did great during the surgery and continues to improve. She really looks awesome today. Her weight is up to 6.2 pounds, and they will drastically increase her feedings now with the G tube up to 50 ml/kg (this is a good thing). She is starting to put her hands in her mouth a lot now which is definitely a prelude to sucking and swallowing. The game plan for Ms. Audrey this coming week is for Neurology to reexamine her, obtain another EEG, hearing and vision screening, and getting another MRI of her little noodle. Once this is complete, and she continues to do well on her feeds then we can look at getting her close to home at the NICU at Ft. Bragg. This will be a huge hurdle because the drive is really wearing us down. We really appreciate all the support and prayers we continue to receive, and my work has truly been great. I will include some more pictures and video of Ms. Audrey for everyone to check out. Mr. Austin continues to do great. He's packing on the weight and has grown over two inches already. Talk to you soon.........

JB

Hello everyone............I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. The twins continue to do okay. Audrey will be having surgery tomorrow to have a Gastric tube placed in her belly. They are also going to tighten the sphincter from her esophagus to her stomach. The reason they are doing this is because she keeps having really bad reflux, and she is at risk for aspirating this into her lungs because she is really not swallowing and sucking yet. Please keep her in your prayers tomorrow that everything goes okay. I started back to work today. It was good to get my mind on something other than the situation at hand. My staff have really done an outstanding job and have made my absence really easy. I drove up to Duke this evening after work so at least one of us could spend some time with her. We plan on Shannon going up on Tuesday and Thursdays , and I'll continue to take Monday and Wednesdays. I guess we'll try to spend the weekends in Durham so we can both see her. There is really not a plan so I'm making this up as I type it but it sounds good so far. Thanks to everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers............

JB