The Kinley Family: July 2009

Update on Tyce

I don't know where to start with this post. As of right now, Tyce is still in the hospital but is doing better and I hope he is able to come home tomorrow. It has definitely been a roller coaster of emotions the past few days. As I write this, I am at home and Tyce is alone in the hospital which tears at my heart. I hate that I cannot be with him, but I also have Kennedy at home now and have her to watch after. A lot has happened, even since my last post. I must say, I don't know how parents deal with things without the faith that God is in control of everything. From the get go, I prayed and felt God always told me that this was just a viral infection that Tyce had. Today I was told at different times, that perhaps he might need a bone marrow biopsy and that something else might be causing his symptoms. I had to wait numerous times for answers and still felt that nothing too serious was the cause of his illness. So, after the hematologist told me that he ended up not needing the bone marrow biopsy, all that was left to look after was his oxygen saturation and to make sure he was able to breathe on his own without additional oxygen. So far, as soon as they stopped the oxygen, he was breathing on his own and his status hasn't changed. What a miracle and blessing! I just hope his status continues to improve and we are able to bring our little guy home tomorrow. It is crazy how a little infant at 4 weeks could have a viral infection and get so sick so fast. I will never judge another mother in the future when they seem too cautious taking their newborn out and about too soon because it is true when they say that newborns are very susceptable to illness. Thank you lord for protecting Tyce and for allowing us to not worry too much about the worst case scenarios. Now it is time for some much needed rest for the night because Lord knows I need it! Thank you for all your prayers and support through all of this!

Back to the hospital

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post, but life has been super busy with a newborn and toddler! Life has definitely been crazy lately. So for those of you that need an update, Tyce is still in the hospital and has been since this past Monday. I will try to give the best update although I must admit that I am exhausted and a little delirious at this point.

So we are back in the hospital...again! I am having de ja vu since we were just here 4 weeks ago to the date! Monday morning I noticed that Tyce felt hot, called the doc because he had a temp of 103 and they told us to go straight to the ER. What? I forgot that when it comes to a newborn, temps are taken very seriously and little ones can get really sick really fast. So, with my el camino aka double stroller, I towed Kennedy along and ended up in the ER for a couple hours with both kids on one of the most beautiful days all summer long! After getting Kennedy situated with family, Taylor and my mom have watched her (thankfully, and I don't know what we would do without them!), Tyce got checked in and has been up and down now for a couple days. They did a spinal tap and ran a bunch of lab tests to determine whether he had a viral infection or a bacterial infection. Obviously, a fever shows there is something wrong and they wanted to start treating him with antibiotics while they waited for the bacterial tests to come back which takes up to 48 hours. Well, as you can probably count, 48 hours is up and he is STILL here in the hospital! Every test came back negative so that is good. It looks like it is a viral infection but we are still waiting. The greatest bonus is that on the hottest day ever, we got to relax in an air conditioned room! At least he is able to lounge in what I call his baby king size crib. It is high tech, let me tell you. And then there is my luxury bed that has this plastic that feels so great when it sticks to my legs. I also am able to get a tan through the window at 5 in the morning when it blinds straight into Tyce's room! It is great! The sounds of the constant music (aka beeping from the monitors) and visitors every 10 minutes (aka doctors) make me feel like I am about to lose my mind. I swear it feels like I am in a Grey's anatomy episode with all these interns making the rounds and looking over Tyce. So, to make things short after this long blog, Tyce's red and white cell counts are low and they want to see them go up before releasing him. His temp is still up and down as well and his breathing is somewhat erratic at times. They call it his oxygen saturation. All these terms, all these things I am trying to remember. All I know is that this little man has caused me more stress in 4 weeks than I have had in years! He better have this out of his system soon because if this is a sign of stress that is to come in his later years, I will have to seriously invest in some heavy duty hair dye to bleach all my future gray hairs! Please keep Tyce in your prayers! Sorry if I haven't returned many calls. I am just exhausted and trying to keep it together through everything! Hopefully this helps let everyone know how Tyce is doing!

Happy 4th of July!

Dad and his kids--Tyce looks so small compared to Kennedy!

Kisses for little brother--not the most photogenic pic of tyce!

Happy 4th!

The 4th of July came and went by super fast this year! We didn't do anything special since I was still recuperating from surgery. It was such a nice day though and I was totally bummed that I wasn't feeling too hot. I have never been a 4th of July super fan and am especially not this year! It gives you a totally new perspective when you have 2 little ones and fireworks are going off until the early morning! I am sure I will be a little more festive come next year. Kennedy is smitten with her brother. It is really adorable. She loves to come up to Tyce and touch is face and hair. She hasn't shown any jealousy so far so that is a blessing. I thought she would be a great big sis, but am amazed at how well she is adjusting. It has helped a lot that visitors have stopped by and given her extra attention. I hope it continues to be like this!