The Birth Story

For those of you who don't know, last Friday morning Gretchen was having trouble feeling the baby move. She went to the doctor to be checked and he found that the baby had a very rapid heart rate (SVT).  The doctor did a quick ultrasound and then admitted her to Labor and Delivery for observation.  The high risk doctors and the cardiologists did scans and determined that the baby was in "SVT" and had developed extra fluid around his heart, lungs and in his abdomen.  They decided to try to medically Cardio-vert (slow his heart rate) down while he was still in the womb.  The hope was that he would cardio-vert and then re-absorb the fluid and grow to full term.  They started meds (digoxin) on Friday evening.  Saturday morning his SVT continued and the fluid retention was worsening so they added an additional med (Flecainide).  Sunday morning he was still in SVT and the fluid retention was even worse.  They increased the meds again and  gave an extra dose of the Flecainide.  Approximately an hour later, his heart rate began to fall into a normal rhythm for several minutes at a time . . . very promising.  By 4:00pm he'd had a run of about 40 minutes with a normal rhythm . . . again good news.  Then suddenly he began to have double beats and decelerations in his heart rate (bigeminy). The high risk doctor, Gretchen's OB, and the cardiologist decided that it was time to throw in the towel and get him delivered as quickly as possible.  

Crew Wesley Miller was delivered via emergency C-section at 5:22pm on May 26th.  He is adorable.  He is puffy from all the extra fluid that his body is holding on to.  He weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces and is 15 3/4 inches long.  He was admitted to the NICU at St.Lukes and is in very critical condition.  He is medically sedated and dependent on the High Frequency Oscillator ventilator (HFOV) and Nitric Oxide to breathe.  He has 2 chest tubes draining the extra fluid from his lungs.  He has a urine catheter and is making great urine.  His blood pressure is stable.  His temperature is stable.  He has an intra-venous line in his umbilical cord for fluids.  He has an IV catheter in one of his arteries to monitor his blood pressure an allow the nurses to obtain labs.  He is not being fed yet, but Gretchen is pumping for him.   However, his heart rate remains high.  The doctors are working diligently on this matter and trying to make the best decisions for Crew and his situation.  They need to get his heart rate into a normal sinus rhythm in order for him to recover and to stop the accumulation of extra fluid.  He is very fragile and it is going to be a long journey. Terrel and Gretchen appreciate all of your love and concern, but need this time to be alone with their baby.  They need time to bond and emotionally recover.  

We will try to post updates as often as possible.