1 month in NICU

How do you do this? The warm, grandmotherly care we've had at Salem hospital has made a rough experience just a little easier. May God bless them in their stressful and sometimes thankless jobs.

We live day-to-day, trying not to contemplate the whys of being here and trying to pass off our stresses in any way we can. For myself, the ability to work in a job I love is a nice distraction. For Rebecca, she has buried herself in the love for her daughter. She makes it through, without a doubt with the power of your prayers and the knowledge that Claire is unconditionally loved by so many including many, who have not even had the opportunity to meet Claire in person.

We hope and pray that this chapter in Claire's life will soon come to a close. But as we have seen, there is a delicate balance to keeping Claire seizure free. She requires a large level of Phenobarbital in her system. Because she is an infant, and apparently metabolizes drugs quickly, it takes little to throw the balance off. We experienced this again yesterday. We introduced a new drug this week called Keppra. One of the side effects of Keppra is to increase liver metabolism. This led to regular seizures throughout the day yesterday. The good news is that the Keppra has definitely cut the effects of the seizures. Seizures were lighter, shorter, and less frightening than the monsters she endured last Sunday.

Today was a good day. There were very few seizures. She had great periods of alertness and activity. Though I dare not say when, I do hope we can be released soon. Please continue your faithful prayer. In addition, if you see a healthcare professional, please thank them for their service and care. No matter where you fall in the political spectrum, we must remember that these are people who sacrifice a great deal of time and exist in constant overwhelming circumstances. They need our encouragement and our sincere gratitude.