An archive from 2008–2010
From July 2008
In 2008 we invited other parents of preemies to share their stories on this page. These are the ones they left.
Have you had a preemie in your family who fought through those hard early times? We would love for you to share them here! Just in the first week of Brady's life we have heard numerous accounts of how little ones have made it home with their parents finally. Let this page be one of encouragement to anyone going through this type of experience.
15 comments left here
Sandy Talley ·
Nikki and family,
I remember being at Memorial Hospital............with our preemie....................
I would go in the mornings to visit our son Brian by myself and then back in the afternoons with Jerry. Everyday.......It was a trying time but everyday, he would be a little better. Somedays he had little set backs and we would pray a little harder. I will never forget the prayer chains that Rothwell Baptist Church had for us and our family. If it was a tough day someone was always there...........Just to hug, to listen or just to say I love you.
The daycame when I went to the hospital ( after many days and many nights), the nurse said,"Mrs. Talley you need to go home and pack your bags. YOu will be spending the night with Brian tonight and tomorrow you can take him home." I will never forget the day!!!!!!!!!!!!
So be patient and wait on the Lord..........
Love you,
Mrs. Sandy Talley
Ken Cook ·
Good Mornin' Erik & Nikki!
What a wonderful idea to make a blog for Brady Faith! The site is awesome.
As a parent who has been through the trama and uncertainty of having a preemie (almost 23 years ago now), know that God is good and he doesn't have to check the blog to see how Brady Faith is doing. (Love the name, BTW.) But for the rest of us, it's a great way to keep track of her progress and remind both of you that you're constantly in our prayers!
The hardest part for us was leaving Jonathan behind the day the doctors discharged Ann from the hospital. His stay was short in comparsion (only three weeks), but it was the longest three weeks in Ann's life. So Nikki, may God give you an extra helping of Grace. Know that although she's physically at Memorial, she actually in God's hands and she couldn't be more loved or in a better place! She's going to be just fine! (Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt!)
Thank you again for the excellent website. I've already added it to my favorites. Look forward to reading the updates and seeing all three of you soon!
In His Love,
Ken...
Julie ·
I know you don't know me but I saw your story on babycenter and it touched my heart. Our family had a similar experience with twin girls, Kayla and Katrina. They were born at 25 weeks, both a little over 1 LB. Katrina was only given a 10% chance of living and the dr's wouldn't even give us a percentage on Kayla as her lungs were so bad they wanted to shut the vent off which was keeping her alive at that time. Her grandma adamantly protested to shutting off her life support & today our family is so blessed to have two beautiful little 3 1/2 year olds running around.
I'll be honest, it was a long battle filled with lots of ups and downs but worth every minute of it when it was all over. I just wanted you to know that it is possible to get through this and there are happy endings. It sounds like you have a great family support system which is key to keeping it all together. Be good to one another, when one of you is weak the other will need to be strong.
I wish your family lots of love, faith, hope and patience along your journey. I look forward to hearing the progress of little Brady Faith.
God Bless,
Julie - MN
Ann Cook ·
Erik & Nikki,
God's gift of a precious, little baby is the greatest joy of this world. It is so great that even when pain & disappointment come, and they are a part of the package; there is no doubt that you would do it all again.
Hearing that Jonathan and Joshua both had life-threatening conditions created such a sense of helplessness in me. It is so difficult to release this precious life into the hands of the doctors. The only thing that made it bearable for me was the knowledge that they were both in God's hands, and I was there too.
Most moments I was able to focus on this knowledge, Ken's love & support, and the support of my family and friends. There were those private moments when my fears shook me to the core. I pray that as these moments come to you that God would send you comfort and hold you just a little tighter in his grasp.
Your little girl is goregous and showing her spunk. I know that you are so proud. I know she has already blessed your lives, and I pray that she will grow stronger every day. I look forward to the day when the news on the blog is about that trip home.
Love in Christ,
Ann Cook
Phil and Lisa Roberts ·
We had 26w6d bggb quadruplets, leaving Savannah to go be with some great high order multiple specialists in Phoenix. Because of pre-eclampsia, they came 3 months early regardless, but we were glad to be in a nicu that specialized with high-order multiple deliveries. Benjamin was born at 1 lb. 15 oz., Casey was born at 1 lb. 11 oz., and twin girls Danielle and Emily were born at 1 lb. 10 oz., and 1 lb. 7 oz. respectively. Benjamin had a fairly smooth course; Danielle had bleeding in the airways, a PDA ligation, a bilateral grade 3&4 brain bleed, and was on the ventilator for a long time; Casey had meningitis, and medical NEC; and Emily started out with the best first week, before she contracted the mrsa infection, which took her life at 19 days.
We were blessed to have amazing support from our church in Savannah, where I served on staff at that time, as well as amazing support from people in Phoenix who before this time were total strangers to us. In addition, people all over the world were praying for us and our kids.
Today, the kids are all doing well, 2 1/2 years old now--Casey and Danielle get a little bit of therapy, but for fairly minor issues, Benjamin is just ornery (in a good way) and big sister Ashley (4 years old) is an incredible little person, largely due to how the Lord used her and developed her little character while all of this was going on.
Today we go once a month to the local Ronald McDonald House in Lexington, Kentucky (where we now live) to share with families who currently have children in the NICU. This is part of a non-profit organization that we started called Project Seahorse, which provides support and encouragement to NICU families, mostly from families who have already been there.
We encourage those of you who read this, who have preemies or former preemies of your own, to visit our site, www.projectseahorse.net, to share your story there and consider giving something back to families who are currently in Erik and Nickie's shoes.
Also, we have a family website that is now three years old and details all of our personal experiences. It's www.expandingrobertses.com if you're interested.
We're praying for you, Reagan family and little Brady!
In Christ,
Phil, Lisa, Ashley, Benjamin, Casey & Danielle Roberts
(and in memory of our precious Emily, buried in Greenwich Cemetery in Savannah)
Connie Shippy ·
We had a special 1 1/2 pound little boy in 1976. He lived for 6 months but was never able to get off the oxygen. So many babies live now because of all the new things they have learned to help babies lungs. Praise the Lord for you and your little one. We'll keep praying for you.
Kathy Barefoot ·
To Brady & her family,
In 1973 I was 15 years old and my mom had my baby sister 10 weeks early. In those days the technology just wasn't there yet. There were lots of tears and worry to go around. The medical profession had a different philosophy too. Now things are so open and the staff shares and explains so much more. The best day in the world was the Thanksgiving morning when they called and said we could bring my sister home. Poor thing...she never got put down the entire day. There were so many relatives around. It was the best Thanksgiving ever! We were so blessed that she survived...and thrived! I post this as an encouragement to you when you wonder about Brady's future. In those days there was lots of talk by the medical staff of how poor the quality of life would be and what decisions for continuing life were best. My sister has recently completed her master's degree and is one of the most knowledgeable people I know. Jeremiah 29:11 has become a favorite verse as I survive the teenage years with my daughters but I also think it may bless you now. 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.' (NASB)
I have shared your site and prayer request with our homeschool group and my friends and asked them all to keep sharing it so that the prayers of God's people will surround and lift up Brady and your family.
Thomas ·
Erik & Nikki,
Wilma and I are so happy for you!
Erik, this blog is a brilliant idea, and we're checking in on Brady Faith almost daily. You may not know this, but Emet was also a preemie. He was ten weeks premature, and now at 14, he is 6'2" and is practicing kick-boxing.
You are in our prayers!
Thomas & Wilma
Z George ·
hey Nikkie and Erik. i wanted to share my experience with you guys...I was also born 12 weeks early like Brady. I weighed 1lb.11oz. My mom had to get a C-sec because of her blood pressure. My mom was really worried too but God is incredibly faithful and since hes the same forever I know hes watching over Brady. i'm praying for you guys! Take care,
Z
Tammy ·
My little neice just left the nicu at memorial a few weeks ago. Little Sierra was born at 27 weeks and weighed just over 2 lbs. It was incredible to me to see such a perfert little human being that was breathing and eating a sucking a paci that was as big as her entire head, even though it was an incredibly small pacifier. I work at Memorial so it was easy for me to see her very often. It seemed like forever before that 1st week was over and they could do an Ultrasound of her head to see if she had any bleeds, which I take is very common for this early of a premie. Anyway, Sierra did the Kangaroo holding with her mom and my brother and before you know it, she was off all of wires and tubes except for the feeding tube. When she was 6 weeks old, she was able to leave the hospital weighing just over 4 lbs and has been growing like a weed the last few weeks. My brother told me today that she weighs 6 lbs!!!It is so awesome what God can do. Why this happened, you may never know but God does, it could have been for no other reason than for someone to see your great faith and they become a christian because of your witness. I do know that Georgia will give you social security for any baby under 2 lbs and 10 ozs for one entire year, which has been really helpful to my brother and his wife. Anyway, You and your family are my prayers and sometimes we have to be still and know that God is in complete control and he loves us very much. In Christ, TAMMY
Brenda Dombrock ·
Hi, I got your webpage from my cousin Kathy Barefoot and I just wanted to say, don't give up hope. Stay strong in your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I went to a dedication yesterday for a little boy named Greyson Westfall who was born in Sept. of last year. His due date wasn't until January of 2008. He is now almost 1 year old and is doing extremely well considering. I would like to share his and his family's experience with you. You can log onto his webpage if you like. It is westfall.raquet.net and you can see just how amazing he is. Also you can see what his parents like you went through and continue to go through. They are an amazing family. I will continue to pray for Brady Faith and you her parents to stay strong and not lose hope. God does work miracles and he will choose what your precious little girl needs. She is so beautiful. Please take care of yourselves so that you can be there for her as she needs you. God Bless all of you.
Brenda Dombrock
Bennie Sue Houck ·
Hi: I was just viewing your daughter's pictures and what a beautiful daughter you have. My daughter just gave birth the 26th of July and her son was a preemie also, he weighed in at 4 lbs, he just went home last sunday, and is now up to 5 lbs. Its a miracle what God can give us to take care of. My mother weighed 1 lb 3/4 ozs and that was back in 1922, and she lived to be 74 years of age, she was 6 months old before they even did a birth certificate on her, and back then there were no incubators to put tee tiny tots in. Gini Head came to my office to show me your baby girl. Again, I wish you and your husband the best of luck with your daughter, and that every day she grows stronger and stronger. My daughter and you have experienced the same thing, Ethan, my grandson was lying on his cord and therefore, no fluid was going to him, and the drs told my daughter if he was not delivered that day, he would be stillborn, and God knew he would survive.
Again, I pray for you and your family that Brady grows everyday, and with the loving support of her mommy and daddy she will. For God brings us miracles to love and cherish everyday. Stay strong for your daughter, sing to her and read to her everyday. For one day you will look back at her pictures and wonder how she made it, but it was with the determination, and love of her mommy and daddy and friends and prayers that made her strong.
Best of luck to you and your new addition.
Sincerely,
Bennie Sue Houck
Southern Polytechnic State University
Erik ·
Mari,
I sent you an email privately. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks. Thank you for taking the time to share this. It is a hard road but there is a lot of hope and support along the way. Our inbox is open if you need to chat.
Best,
Erik, Brady's daddy
Mari ·
Thank your for your blog. Brady is beautiful. At this very moment, I'm in the hospital, laying on my left side while my blood pressure and my baby's heart beat are being monitored 2:04am in the morning. I've been diagnosed with preeclampsia and still unaware of the severity yet. The test results and blood work should come today sometime. My nurse and doctor have already explained the possibility of a premature birth. I am 27 weeks and 5 days. I'm scared to put it bluntly. I don't know what tomorrow will bring but you are right when you say prayer begets patience. I pray I'll be as blessed as your beautiful family in the days to come.
Tiana ·
i just wanted to share my story. i had my son at 36 weeks due to pre-e. he was 4lbs 12 oz we both were in the hospital for 9 days. after he was delivered (c-section) my bp would not go down. i really should have known something was wrong because i had been blacking out but i just pushed it off to i am being over dramatic and didnt want to look stupied to the people at the hospital. any ways he was on oxygen and a feeding tube for most of the time and they finally let him come home when he reached five pounds i was so happy. he was so little though and a few weeks later he started to be unresponsive and not eat i took him to the dr 3 days in a row and the doctor wouldnt do any testing. just said he was fine and dismissed it. i didnt know what to do so i took him to the one person i trust with my life, my mom. we went to the er and they addmitted him right away. turns out he had rsv and we were in intensive care agine for anthother week and a half. all because the dr didnt want to check this tiney 5lb baby who was at a higher risk of infection. but anyway he is now 2 years old and other than being a little small for his age he is smart and has no problems. and is excited to meet his baby sister aug 11 2014 <3 ( if there is no complictions)