Holy !@#$, this is getting totally out of hand

Well, we thought we were getting into a routine. We should have known better. Chris saw the hand surgeon yesterday morning and it took him all of about 30 seconds before he asked "can you have surgery today?" During the initial consultation, the doctor thought both the ulnar and radial nerves were severed in her ring finger. Chris had two deep cuts from the wreck, one where her finger attaches to her hand and one closer to one of her joints, and they needed to open her finger to determine where the nerves were cut so they could fuse them back together.

Chris had the surgery last night and, from all initial signs, it went well. The good news was the nerve and artery were only severed on one side and the nerve on the other side was just bruised. The doctors (including our good friend Joe Greene) fused the nerve back together and were optimistic about our chances for a good recovery. Nerves re-grow at about an inch per month in someone Chris' age, so she should have a good amount of feeling back in 2 - 4 months. The worst part about it right now (as you can see below) is her fingers are in a plaster splint and she will not be able to use her left hand for at least a couple of weeks. Also, for the next 48 hours she is supposed to keep her arm elevated in a foam block they gave her at the hospital. When she is sitting on the couch it looks like she has an old school boom box next to her head. Keep on rockin' Chris!

One other anecdote . . . not that anyone doubted Chris' toughness, but before the paramedics could get to her, she pulled her wedding rings off over her filleted finger so they wouldn't cut the rings while treating her. Tough. As. Nails.    



Since the purpose of the blog is to tell you about Clara and Wilson, we should probably mention them too. We've talked a lot about bowel movements on this blog because they are monitored so closely with preemies. Yesterday, Wilson had a stool that his nurse described as "the biggest I've ever seen from a baby that size!" Wilson's bowel movement weighed 32 grams . . . or 2.9 percent of his body weight!!! (Do your own calculations now and continue to be impressed). Even more unbelievable is that he had another 12 grams waiting for the nurses at his next diaper change. That's roughly 50 grams of poop (30 grams = 1 oz) over a few hours from a kid that only weighed 2 lbs 7 oz at the beginning of the day. That fortified milk must be working!!!

Good thing Wilson didn't let loose in his brand new preemie pouch!

Clara also had some bowel movements yesterday but our little lady didn't do anything worth talking about at the water cooler in the NICU. All in all, we're ok with that as long as things keep moving in the right direction. 

"What!?! You're talking about my bowel movements again?"

Yesterday was a good day but not a great day for the kids. They both had several episodes where they dropped their heart rates and/or oxygen. We hope this is nothing more than an adjustment to the increased feedings. They both have slightly low hemoglobin counts so the doctors will watch today to see if either one of them needs a blood infusion. However, they both pooped and usually self-recovered from their episodes, so we tried not to be too worried. I think they were probably just concerned about Mom and being a little fussy. Don't worry kids, Mom will be back in the NICU soon enough.  

And to show we haven't completely lost our sense of humor, we took this picture of Chris when she was pumping immediately after surgery. We call it the "intentional martyr face." We would have tried planking but it was a logistical nightmare.

The things we do . . . .