tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48731429371809060752024-03-14T10:46:12.937+02:00The Story of A BabyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-74569504296913325562018-06-26T07:52:00.000+03:002018-06-26T07:52:50.547+03:00A Mother's PromiseThe trauma of a birth unlike others never really fades. The indescribable fall from joy at hearing "Mazal Tov, its a girl" followed by silence, the absence of your baby's cry is so life changing that it becomes a part of you forever. Time moves on, The little girls' health improves, but the battles that you have fought have left scars on your heart that change the essence of who you are. Words like gratitude, health, and happiness take on new meanings.<br />
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I wish these were battles that we never needed to fight. That being said, I wouldn't trade the personal growth that we have gained for them.<br />
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Yaakov Shwekey just released a new song that really touched this cord with me. He has long been a favorite in my family and especially for Avigayil. Since her time in the NICU playing his music has always had a calming effect on her and her breathing and heart rate. During every hospitalization, we would bring her his music on an MP3 and small speakers and play it at her bedside. Somehow, this always helped her health to improve. I will forever be indebted to him for that. For all these reasons and so many more, this new song has really touched me.<br />
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I have met so many mothers over the past 4 years, all fighting different battles, all fighting the same battle. Each is as unique as they come. Yet each has the same qualities: persistence and determination, a quiet strength, the ability to continue the fight even when physically and emotionally drained, extream loyalty to the needs of her child. Although there are days that are harder than others, and there are days that we may feel overwhelmed, sad and out of control, I have yet to see a mother faced with her child's challenges fail. Honestly, having gotten to know so many of these women on a personal level, I don't think I ever will. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-31811705817894399802018-05-31T09:13:00.002+03:002018-05-31T09:21:45.491+03:00Everything Went WellB"H the procedure went better than expected. Avigayil was quite annoyed to be fasting and very concerned that there would be clowns. All the way to the hospital she kept saying "Right Ima, they don't have clowns?" "Well, they do, but we can tell them you don't want one." "NO Ima, they DON"T HAVE any clowns, RIGHT?!" Um, ok. In fact, there was a clown in the waiting area but she hid from him. He knows her and did his best to ignore her and not get close. Then we went into the OR were she made Dr. Joseph promise he wasn't going to bring her any clowns.<br />
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The procedure itself was fairly quick and then we stayed in recovery for a while. She did have a little trouble breathing after but nothing too serious. B"H she woke up and was able to eat and after a few hours, we even went home. SO much different than last time!<br />
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We are waiting for results which take about 24 days.<br />
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Thank you, everyone, for your teffilos.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-9354873434967182182018-05-27T19:22:00.002+03:002018-05-27T19:22:27.269+03:00Bronchoscopy Avigayil is scheduled for a bronchoscopy on Tuesday morning Israel time. While this procedure is supposed to be a simple one it is being done under general anesthesia and with Avigayil's history with anesthesia, we are understandably nervous. This test is being done in order to try and see if she now has permanent lung damage and what is going on in her lungs. Please take a few minutes to say some extra teffilos for her that the procedure should go well and that the results should give us some clarity, especially on Tuesday morning. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-67410020401203933592018-05-14T15:54:00.001+03:002018-05-14T15:54:12.880+03:00Yes, I know Its Been A WhileIts been a while since my last post. B"H we have been busy with life and mostly with good things. Avigayil has made many improvements. Most days she breathes on her own without even oxygen. When she is healthy, she behaves and looks like any other kid (just much smaller). Weight gain has and continues to be a struggle. She still drops about 10% of her body weight every time she gets sick and then spends months trying to put it back on. She still gets sick at the drop of a hat and when she does she can go from a bit sick to critical very quickly. In fact, she spent most of the month between Purim and Pesach in the hospital, fist with a virus that put her in PICU and then shortly after coming home, she went back with the flu. Every virus and infection is still a very big deal with her.<br />
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Our new challenge is discovering if her lung damage is permanent. Her doctors are hoping to do a bronchoscopy soon to establish if she now has a condition called PIBO - Post-Infection Bronchiolitis Obliterans. In other words, she may have been sick so often and for so long that the small airways in her lungs have been obliterated. This would mean that she would always be susceptible to viruses and infections and that they would always have a much bigger impact on her than on others. It would also explain why she has not yet gotten better.<br />
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Another development has been Avigayil's new and intense fear of clowns. Every time she sees one she is in the hospital feeling terrible and then someone comes and sticks her with a needle or does some other unpleasant procedure to her. I can't really say that her fears are unfounded. Most of the fear seems to focus on the red nose. During her last hospitalization, all the clowns had a meeting and made an effort to take off the noses before visiting her. I was touched by the gesture, she was not quite convinced.<br />
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Another recent experience has been a reminder of how different life is for her. Avigayil had her first dentist visit. First off, she didn't quite understand the concept. It was hard for her to believe that there was a doctor who was only interested in her teeth and that she wasn't going to have blood drawn or be hooked up to any special breathing equipment. Afterall, what kind of doctor could she possibly be if she didn't even have a stethoscope!<br />
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After a lot of anxiety in the waiting room and much reassurance that in this office they don't use IVs and that this wasn't a hospital, we went in to see the dentist. Avigayil was confused about the chair in place of a bed but climbed in when told. She looked at the doctor with big teary eyes and a quivering lip and a look of sheer terror. (She hadn't even seen the drill yet at this point.) The doctor again reassured her that this was not a hospital and she just wanted to look in Avygayil's mouth.<br />
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Well, surprise, surprise, Avigayil has two cavities. Honestly, considering that she is on a high calorie, high sugar diet I'm surprised it took this long. This lead to the discussion of anesthesia. As we all know Avigayil and anesthesia don't get along. All anesthesia depresses breathing and there is no way to know how Avigayil will react to any given type but she already has a history of severe reactions to some types, meaning we need to be careful with everything. There are two types of anesthesia used here with children in dentistry. The first is a liquid the child drinks. There is no antidote to this type of anesthesia so that is clearly out. The second is a gas, commonly called laughing gas. This also slows and depresses breathing. While preferable to the liquid, it should only be used in her case if absolutely necessary.<br />
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The third option is to do nothing. It is a baby tooth with will eventually fall out. As long as the cavity doesn't get worse, get infected or start causing her pain, the doctor explained, we could just try to wait it out. I liked this plan.<br />
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However, the doctors' office wasn't comfortable saying this would not cause long-term damage without sending her to a specialist. The specialist was located in....that's right, a hospital. Great, there goes all our hard work convincing Avigayil that dentists were safe.<br />
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So we showed up at Hadassa (of course they don't have dentists at Shaare Zedek, that would have been too easy) and what is the first thing we see? A medical clown! All illusions of a quite visit are out the window. You could almost see the look of betrayal on Avigayil's face. Finally, after a long wait and a repeat of the first dentist's visit's anxiety and fears we go in to see the dentist. She concurred that we could wait but added that if we do have to deal with the cavity, they will do it in an operating room with an anesthesiologist present and a space in PICU reserved "just in case".<br />
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All this for a cavity.<br />
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Sometimes people ask me if life will ever be normal for her. They ask if she will ever experience things the way others do or if there ever be anything that will happen for her easily? I think about their questions and the unspoken implications behind them. Then I see her smiling face. Despite everything that she has been through and everything to come, she is happy. She does see this as normal. This is just her life and this is how Hashem wants it. Rebbitzen Heller once told me something about the efforts and sacrifices we make for parenting in general that I think about often in regards to Avigayil. "This is what Hashem wants from you right now." This is what Hashem's plan is for her and for us. And so we will go along with it. Really, what other choice do we have? The only option is whether or not to experience it with simcha, happiness. In that regard, I think the choice is fairly clear.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-85227312859458943632017-01-09T18:22:00.001+02:002017-01-09T18:22:06.369+02:00Life BloodI'm sure most people don't realize this but January is Blood Donner Recognition Month. Donating blood is (almost) painless and usually takes around 20-30 minutes. Some people have never done this and some people donate every two months.<br />
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While in the NICU Avigayil received several blood transfusions. They where life saving. Somewhere out there there is a an anonymous person walking the streets. He or She does not know it, but I owe them the greatest debt of gratitude any parent could have. He or She walks around going about daily life and has probably long forgotten giving blood. For me, every time I look at my daughter I will bless that person. Without their selfless act she would not be here. Mr./Mrs Anonymous, you are my hero!<br />
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I would like to take this chance to encourage anyone who is eligible (eligibility depends on criteria in your country) to step up and save a life today! I personally can't think of a better way to spend half an hour. In Israel you can donate blood by contacting your local MDA station or hospital. In the US contact your local Red Cross or hospital.<br />
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Leave me a message and tell me about your blood donation experience. I'd love to hear it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-48823372503006341352016-12-30T12:44:00.000+02:002016-12-30T12:44:26.973+02:00Home B"H Avigayil was discharged! She is so happy to be home with her siblings and they are happy to see her too. She still has a way to go but is doing much better. There is a concern that she may have had a setback in her breathing since she was sick for so long but we will not know for at least a couple of weeks if this is her new baseline or if she is going to recover further. In the meantime we just keep davening.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-12561926849572578802016-12-28T04:54:00.001+02:002016-12-28T04:54:49.971+02:00Channukah and ChesedMi kamocha Yisrael, Who is like you, Yisrael! The pediatric department is always a big recipient of chesed but when there is a holiday people seem to go all out. We came in on the first morning of Channuka. That first day we where offered no less that 5 sufganyot (traditional jelly doughnut ) and given enough cand and pekalach (bags filled with treats and prizes) to last all week. It didn't stop on Sunday though. Monday and Tuesday brought more sufganyot and pekalach, decorated cookies, toys, bubbles, driedles that light up, a tira (Avigayil has been wearing it ever since) and a box with 3 pairs of earrings (her sisters will enjoy that).<br />
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We have been visited by multiple people dressed in costume, clowns (part of Shaare Zedeks amazing medical clown program), a goup of girls dressed as Minnie Mouse, groups of people singing and playing guitar, and more. These visitor come from all walks of Israeli society from Charradi/Chassidish to secular. Some are from seminaries and yeshivot, some are from local companies, schools, youth groups, and social clubs. Some people just come on thier own wanting to make this time a little happier for the children.<br />
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As some of you know we moved to a new community and city this summer. The amazing women of Beitar Illit are sending dinner to the house every night. Some friends from Har Nof have come to visit in the hospital as well. One fantastic friend and former babysitter came to stay with Avigayil for an hour so I could have a break and run to the shopping center across the street.<br />
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So many times I have been asked how we go through these challenges without family. My answer is always "We make family. " These are some examples of that. Bh, It is hard to be truly alone in Israel unless you work hard to be.<br />
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Avigayil has been improving. They are hoping to move her from the machine to oxygen today. We are hoping that her pco2 has come down. They will be testing that again today as well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-1481663502552697022016-12-27T05:55:00.000+02:002016-12-27T05:55:17.920+02:00In The HospitalI have not sent out an update in a while. Avigayil has had a rough winter. She has spent more time sick than not. Most recently she has been sick for the past month. She has had 2 rounds of antibiotics and multiple rounds of steroids. The steroids turn her into a tiny manic depressive. She gets a high from them and goes a bit nuts until the exhaustion of being sick takes over and she passes out on the floor in a very small heap of heavily breathing baby.<br />
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From Shabbos afternoon until Sunday morning she had 5 episodes of hypoxia, turning blue. She lost half a kilo in 2 1/2 days. She is currently back in the hospital. Her pco2 is very high and she is on the Vapotherm breathing machine. Yesterday they told us that she has influenza (despite having had her flu shot) and RSV (AGAIN! ). Well, at least now we know why she keeps turning blue.<br />
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Please continue to daven for Avigayil bas Rivka Batya. Thank you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-32869071207143306052016-09-29T19:39:00.002+03:002016-09-29T19:39:32.481+03:00Rosh HaShana<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As my baby lay fighting for her life, I stood in the shul of the hospital on yontif next to other parents who's babies where also barely holding on. We begged Hashem for the life of our children and the lives of our neighbor's children. Our tears fell like rivers to the Rabbenu Shel Olam as we cried out for mercy. We beseached Hashem "Please bring the moshiach! Why Hashem, are there so many other mothers like me? How many mother must cry for their children until it ends? How much longer must you suffer in pain along with your children? Please Hashem, let this one's baby survive the next surgery, let this one's baby survive the night."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we approach Rosh Hashana we all have a special opportunity to help make that happen. There is a </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">belief in Judaism that when one davens for another person in a similar situation, his prayers are answered for his friend and for himself. This year, as we stand in judgment, take a moment to think about thoes in your community suffering similar trials as you. The one who needs a job or hasn't yet been blessed with a spouse or with children. The one who needs a yeshua that you also need. Stand before Hashem and advocate for your friend. </span></span><br />
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We would like to wish everyone a Shana Tova. It should be a happy and healthy year for everyone. </div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-40251206023511628742016-09-27T18:58:00.001+03:002016-09-27T18:58:57.224+03:00Still SickAvigayil is still sick. She is at home but still on oxygen all day. Her fever came back and the doctors started her on Zinnat, a particularly strong antibiotic. She seems to be responding to it as her oxygen requirements are dropping and her fever is much lower however, her lungs are still full of mucus and she is wheezing like mad. Please continue to daven for Avigayil bas Rivka Batya.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-64744700152741652592016-09-21T09:37:00.001+03:002016-09-21T09:37:38.837+03:00HomeB"H Avigayil is home. She is very tired and sleeping most of the time and still having difficulty breathing but we can do everything she was getting at the hospital here at home. She is still on steroids and oxygen and getting larger than normal doses of ventolin. Every time she gets one of these bad viruses I feel like the recovery time gets longer. We know that this winter will be rough because of her new exposure to children. We are going to try to be hyper vigilant and try to catch things early. As they say, there is no way around the coming storm but straight through. Our home is that it will be light rain as opposed to a hurricane.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-57245399694139214912016-09-19T16:49:00.001+03:002016-09-19T16:49:04.181+03:00Big step forward and a step back<p dir="ltr">Avigayil took a HUGE step forward this month. She started gan! It took a few days to adjust but she has really been enjoying the interactions with other children and of course the big slide. All the way to gan she says "Slide. Slide. Love slide." She brought home her first project which she was proud to show us and her first gan related virus.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Which brings us to the step back.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We are currently in the ER. Avigayil has viral pneumonia and a partially collapsed lung.  We are expecting this winter to bring challenges. For the first time she will be exposed to social situations and need to learn to interact with other children her own age. She will also be exposed to germs more regularly and frequently. </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-13990811644558204272016-08-08T07:19:00.001+03:002016-08-08T07:47:49.858+03:00Growing<p dir="ltr">All my kids have been small. Small babies are not new to me. However, like most everything else, Avigayil took this to a new level.  She is now almost 2 1/2. Yesterday, we finally put away her 12 month size clothing. The challenges of being a preemie. </p>
<p dir="ltr">On the weight gain front Avigayil has been the same weight for over 2 month. This is not hreat as we want her to hrow but also good because she was sick during that time and didn't lose weight. Thanks to the many of you offering to donate a pound or two! ;)</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-72054699832499651672016-07-31T18:34:00.003+03:002016-07-31T18:34:55.147+03:00You Might Be a Preeemie Parent IfSo I saw this today and thought, wow, that is so true!!<br />
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B"H Avigayil is almost back to her base line. This infection really took a long time for her to recover from but had it happened a year ago we would have been in intensive care for sure. It's hard but its another sign of how far we have come.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-4977267439292353672016-07-13T14:00:00.001+03:002016-07-13T14:00:11.031+03:00Going Home<p dir="ltr">B'H Avigayil is home now. We are working on getting continued respiratory therapy at home. As far as hospitalizations go, B'H, this one was fairly benign. </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-33007020375457711332016-07-10T16:14:00.001+03:002016-07-10T16:14:15.179+03:00Hello, My Old Friends <p dir="ltr">Avigayil was admitted to the hospital today. Hopefully she will stay for a few days, get some respiratory therapy and get over the virus that is causing the problems. </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-22129714500728453832016-07-08T11:05:00.002+03:002016-07-08T11:05:41.378+03:00Days Since Last Hospital Trip - 2 It's been a while since my last post. I keep meaning to write but there has been a lot going on in life that has kept us very busy.<br />
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After a 7 month stretch without a hospital visit, Avigayil was back in the ER on Wednesday. I was afraid that after so long away from the hospital our first trip back would be more traumatic, but it actually felt very routine, almost like we had just been there last week. We were worried about pneumonia but she seems to have some very bad virus. She has been sick for about 2 weeks now and is back on the oxygen. She is on steroids and antibiotics. So far they are not helping much. We are hoping that this will not get any worse. Please continue to daven for Avigayil.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-70517057319950928322016-02-15T13:05:00.000+02:002016-02-15T13:05:13.355+02:00UpdateI have been putting off this post for a while. However, there is no denying it. B"H, Avigayil is improving! One day she was sick. All week she continued to deteriorate. Finally on that Thursday the doctor said that we had no choice but to bring her into the hospital. She was not breathing well and she had been crying or hours. I took her off her machine and put her on O2 for the trip to the ER. Immediately she stopped crying. On the way to the hospital her breathing started to improve. By the time we got to triage her saturation where normal and by the time she was in a bed she was sitting up and playing with the doctors. It was nothing short of a miracle.<br />
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We went home on only O2 and on Sunday weened her from that. Since that day 6 weeks ago, she has mostly been breathing on her own. She has needed less medications and has not gone back on the machine since that day. She only uses the oxygen a few time a week. <br />
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As soon as she got off the machine, Hashem saw fit to show us another miracle. Avigayil is eating almost all of her meals by mouth. She only uses the tube when she is too tired or is sick. Once she started doing so she started to gain weight as well. She put on an amazing half a kilo in 3 weeks!!<br />
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We still are waiting to hear back from the cardiologist about her heart study and tomorrow we will go to the orthopedic board to decide about leg braces (I hope they will say no). I will try to keep you updated more frequently. May Avigayil continue to improve and may all of klal yisroel continue to see such nissim!!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-4633039302241677252015-12-24T09:43:00.001+02:002015-12-24T09:43:12.700+02:00Heart BeatsAbout two and a half weeks ago Avigayil's nurse was here. There was a small but highly annoying problem with her monitor and she decided to send it to the lab. In it's place we were given a smaller more portable monitor.<br />
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On the first night that we had it, the monitor told us that Avigayil's heart rate was dropping into the 30's. We immediately called the doctor. He said it was most likely a technical issue as it was unlikely that she had such a cardiac change. We then called the nurse back and after a while it showed her heart rate much higher. Over the next two weeks it showed several drops like this however, the saturations it was showing were also not correct. Finally, I called the company and told them we needed to switch back.<br />
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When they brought back her old monitor the saturations were believable again but she continued to have episodes where her heart rate dropped dramatically. I called the doctor right away. "Could this actually be happening?" Since this was a good and trusted monitor and we could tell that is was reading correctly he spoke with her cardiologist. She immediately enrolled Avigayil in a program to find out what is going on. Since she had a 24 hour halter only 4 months ago and this would be a dramatic change from that they are worried. I am still holding out for technical error. The doctors' best hope is that all of the difficulty breathing that she has been having lately has put too much stress on her heart and that she has developed a severe sinus arrhythmia. All other alternatives are much worse.<br />
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We started last night with a new piece of equipment. It is basically a tiny ECG machine. When Avigayil has an episode we put it on her and it beeps and makes all kinds of noise for about 30 seconds (seriously, it sounds like something is going to blow up). Then we call the monitor company (yet another company for us to deal with) and are connected straight to a cardiologist on call. We then transmit her ECG buy phone. It sounds a lot like the old dial up modems from the 90s.<br />
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The doctor is able to give us results right away and let us know if everything is ok or if we should contact the doctor or go to the hospital. A report is also sent to her regular cardiologist at the hospital.<br />
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We are hoping for a good outcome but there is a chance of permanent damage. We will not know for a few months. Please continue to keep Avigayil in your teffilos.<br />
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PS. Check out SZ's recent facebook post about new equipment for the NICU. Be sure to like and share it. Thank you. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShaareZedekJmEnglish/photos/a.261425997242557.79253.200374983347659/1076157422436073" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">See it here</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-59388421655639081042015-11-30T09:55:00.001+02:002015-11-30T09:55:27.731+02:00<p dir="ltr">Baruch HaShem, We are going home. The cautious approach seems to be working. She spent the night in the er and is on high doses of antibiotics and steroids. She is already improving and will continue treatment at home. </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-40982957984175766382015-11-29T19:27:00.001+02:002015-11-29T19:27:41.486+02:00Emergency Room <p dir="ltr">Avigayil got a high fever today. She was also having trouble breathing. Her pulmonalogist came by and said her lungs didn't sound very good and sent us off to the emergency room. It looks like pneumonia. The problem is that she is not yet back to her baseline. If it is pneumonia the hospital will want to treat it aggressively to ensure that she doesn't become critical. We are in the ER now waiting for results. Please keep her in your prayers. </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-69359331966015526552015-11-18T08:24:00.002+02:002015-11-18T08:28:34.846+02:00The Empire State Building Lights Up for Preemies<img height="425" src="https://fbcdn-photos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/12249795_10156251831280344_4341283761028301400_n.jpg?oh=448ca09c7b6e4d15173ceaa24b86159a&oe=56B67BB9&__gda__=1458108903_7c8f3a2094c0d9203d101e63dada927a" width="640" /><br />
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All over the world last night buildings were light up purple to raise awareness for preemies.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-66615165274006985852015-11-17T08:23:00.002+02:002015-11-17T08:23:22.021+02:00World Prematurity Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before Avigayil was born, I knew very little about prematurity. The truth of the matter is that 50 years ago, Avigayil would not have survived, 5 years ago she would have been confined to a care facility. It is because the parents of preemies before me worked so hard to raise awareness and funds for research that my daughter is not only alive but at home with us. Please take a moment today to think about and to daven for Avigayil and for all babies born too soon. Today is World Prematurity Day. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-80166993167282197032015-11-13T06:00:00.000+02:002015-11-13T10:50:58.260+02:00Prematurity - The Basic FactsDefined as birth before 37 weeks, prematurity is more common than most people think. In Israel, 8% of babies are born premature. In the US the number is higher at 12%, one of the highest in the western world.<br />
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The age of viability is generally considered to be 22-23 weeks gestational age. Before this a baby cannot survive outside of the womb. There are varying degrees of prematurity that can (usually) predict the course of a child's NICU stay and the complication the child could face. (Avigayil was an exception to these guidelines.)<br />
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Babies born before 28 weeks are called extremely premature or micro preemies.<br />
Babies born between 28 - 32 weeks are considered very premature.<br />
Babies born between 32-34 weeks are moderately premature<br />
Babies born at 34-37 weeks are considered late preterm.<br />
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Prematurity and its complications is the #1 cause of death in infants world wide. According to WHO more the 1.1 million children die every year due to prematurity. Sadly more then 75% of those deaths could have been prevented.<br />
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For more information please check out <a href="http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/born_too_soon/en/" target="_blank">WHO's wesite</a> as well as <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/prematurity-campaign.aspx" target="_blank">March of Dimes</a>.<br />
.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4873142937180906075.post-27420500593917517442015-11-12T10:44:00.000+02:002015-11-12T10:44:50.282+02:00November November is Prematurity Awareness month. In the United States 12% or 1 in 9 babies are born premature. In Israel the number is lower at 9% of births. World wide, premature birth claims 1 life ever 30 seconds. I knew very little about premature birth before Avigayil was born. However, the truth is that prematurity can effect anyone at any time. While there are risk factors that make premature birth more likely, there is no genetic nor any causal link to any predictive factors. Anyone can have a premature baby. Because of this I would like to share some facts and information about premature birth over the coming weeks with you.<br />
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<img alt="Infographic for World Prematurity Day.: " src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/39/57/2a/39572a72ec6080f56b1cc732adb9b39d.jpg" /><br />
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I have added 3 new pages. You can check them out on the tabs above. Two pages are things that I have found touching, inspirational, or connected with over the last year and a half. The other page is a round up of some great preemie products.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08078225181476477105noreply@blogger.com0