Adjustment

(Hey all, Rebecca again)

See, you think this post is about the adjustment of having Kara away, but no, it's about Danielle's first chiropractic visit.

Really, I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves because I don't know much about chiropractic care, but I do know that Kara and Andrew thought it was really special that Danielle had her first visit from the chiropractor (who is, I believe, also a good family friend) in the hospital.

Big Brother

(Hey all, Rebecca here)

Today I have pictures of Peter and Danielle.

I think one of the biggest concerns any mother has when she is expecting her second (or later) child is how the birth of the new baby will affect the child(ren) at home.

From what I hear, Peter is doing great! He had a couple of moments when Kara was home where she was nursing Danielle and he wanted to be held, too, but after some mommy-snuggles, he was happy to leave her nursing and he would go off and play.

This is (I believe) Peter and Danielle's first meeting. After seeing this picture, I thought to myself, Why didn't I take my boppy to the hospital? I had such struggles getting comfortable nursing in the hospital and then I would come home with the boppy and do fine. Yet, it never occurred to me to bring it up to the hospital. Kara is so practical.

Anyway, Peter likes to hold Danielle with the boppy pillow.

This is at the house. I think this is Friday, when Danielle first came home from the hospital. Again, see the use of the boppy.

Here Peter is helping his grandma feed Danielle a bottle. I love that he has such a helpful spirit about him.
A close up of big brother and little sister. How sweet is it that she is sleeping on his lap?


Hospital update: Kara is doing about the same. Her heart rate and respiration rate had come down some yesterday, but are still higher than the doctors would like to see. The word we keep hearing is "plateau" as in she has reached a plateau everything is staying about the same. The hope is that after a few days of "plateauing," she will start getting better, but the bottom line is that we are very grateful that she is not getting any worse and will take a plateau over a worsening condition any day. Keep praying!

Grandmas and Grandpas

(Hey all, Rebecca again)

This time I have some pictures of Danielle and Peter with their grandparents. It has been so neat to see these folks coming together for Kara and Andrew. Andrew's parents have been in from New Jersey and are with Peter and Danielle. Kara's mom, Cathy, has been staying at the hospital, enabling Andrew to go home at night and sleep in his own bed, knowing that Cathy is there with Kara. Kara's dad has been back and forth between the hospital being with Kara and at the house helping with Peter and Danielle.



It has been so heartwarming to hear the conversations between the grandmas and grandpas as they discuss things like exactly how many ounces to feed Danielle at a time because they are determined to do things in the absolute best way possible. Their love for Kara and Andrew and the children is obvious and apparent and I am so grateful that Kara has such a wonderful family support system.


I know Kara would rather be at home with her children, but since she cannot be, I am confident that she is resting easier knowing how well loved and cared for both Peter and Danielle are in her absence.


UPDATE: Got some pictures of the other grandpas:

Pictures of Danielle

(Hey all, it's Rebecca again)

I went up to the hospital to see Kara (no real change -- her heart rate and respiration rate are still higher than they should be and it's looking like she is going to be on the ventilator for a while, a couple of weeks at least). While I was in the room, though, I saw Andrew's laptop just sitting there, unattended...

So I, ahem, "procured" some pictures of Danielle to share with all of you:



Since Andrew had offered to e-mail me all of these, I'm pretty sure he won't mind a bit and really, who wouldn't want to share pictures of this sweet girl?

Update on Kara

Hey all,

This is Rebecca, Kara's friend. I just wanted to offer an update on Kara's situation. I think most everyone knows what's going on, but I know it helped me to be able to understand the order of events and know how things happened, because really, it seems like everything just happened so fast.

Kara and Danielle came home from the hospital on Friday. Over the weekend, Kara started feeling bad with a sore throat and was having trouble catching her breath. She really didn't want to have to go out to the doctor and kept thinking she would feel better the next day. By Tuesday, she still wasn't better and went to the doctor. They confirmed that she had strep and gave her some antibiotics but were worried that her heart rate was up. Because increased heart rate can be a sign of blood clots (from the C-section), they sent her to get a CAT scan. At the place where they went for a CAT scan, they found that her blood oxygen level was low and sent her by ambulance to the ER at Scott and White in Round Rock.

At Scott and White, they did the CAT scan and chest X-Rays and by Tuesday night, the doctors felt that she was sicker than they had originally thought and moved her to the ICU. They continued to give her antibiotics, but it takes 24 hours for an infection to respond to antibiotics and in the meantime, it was getting harder for her the breath.

Throughout the day Wednesday, Kara struggled to breath on the oxygen mask and finally Wednesday night, she asked (by writing a note) to be put on a ventilator. In order to do that, they had to sedate her, intubate her and put in a feeding tube as well.

The doctor said Wednesday night that he thought she would be sedated and on the ventilator definitely through the weekend, possibly longer.

From what I have understood, the doctor said that Kara has developed ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) which was caused by a bacterial pneumonia. This is a very serious illness and it's just going to take a lot of watching and waiting and letting a combination of the antibiotics, the ventilator, and the rest she is getting to give her lungs the respite they need.

Peter and Danielle are being taken care of by Andrew's parents who have flown down from New Jersey. From what I hear, Peter has told his grandmother to take care of Danielle and is instructing his grandfather to play with him. I know that Kara was very relieved that Danielle would be getting breastmilk from some of her friends who are still nursing. Kara's dad and stepmom have been here in Austin and her mother got in last night. Kara's stepdad is in Costa Rica on a mission trip but will be here just as soon as he can.

That's all I have right now.

Pray for healing for Kara. Pray for strength for her family. Pray for wisdom for her healthcare providers.

It's a Girl!!!

Danielle Grace Hazen arrived today, December 29, 2009 at 1:01PM.

She weighs 8 pounds, 14 ounces and is 21 inches long.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!