“Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”  Psalm 46: 10, 11

Wednesday to Monday

Seraya had a good bunch of days last week.  Tuesday through Friday she seemed to be gaining some ground in her sustainability and overall condition which brought some much needed relief for Brian & Alaina.  She seemed to be responding to the antibiotics that they had her on to fight off infection and was gaining some strength.

The team at the NICU is very good at what they do, (another blessing from the Lord!), and they have been encouraging Brian and Alaina to get involved in small ways both for their benefit and Seraya’s.

Brian has even been able to change a few diapers!  She has been taking small amounts of food and the dirty diapers are an important thing to see, so Brian was not complaining.  He said it was a dirty job but he just got in there and did it like a pro;)  Alaina has also been able to hold Seraya a few more times, even for a 2 hour stretch and Seraya has been responding well to the skin to skin contact!

Then on Friday they were able to experience an exciting moment, Seraya opened both her eyes for the first time!  They eventually had to put her under the lights and cover them again but being able to have that connection for that short time was such a blessing!! 

Every day the nurses draw blood to check for infection and test whether she needs platelets.  She had a picc line put in for antibiotics and an intervenes for platelets when needed.   Saturday turned out to be a more difficult day again. Seraya had been taken off antibiotics since she seemed to have been able to fight off the infection she had.  However, when they did their routine bloodwork they noticed that there were signs of infection again and they needed to grow the blood culture to find out what it was.  They suspected pneumonia but the culture came back negative for that.  The doctors are still trying to figure out the bacteria that is causing the infection so that they can treat it more specifically. 

They also noticed that her lungs began to struggle again and her oxygen was dropping.  They had to switch her back to the more powerful ventilator and supplement oxygen when needed.  Yesterday a new breathing tube needed to be inserted through her nose as opposed to her mouth because it sends the oxygen more efficiently to her lungs.

Her blood work also showed that she had low sodium and high blood sugar so they have adjusted her IV to help with that. The staff are still encouraging them to help with changing her diaper and other care and she was still tolerating small amounts of milk every 4 hours. Brian and Alaina are very grateful for these small things that help them be able to leave everything at the feet of our Heavenly Father who is guiding the hands of the doctors and taking care of His covenant child!

Today they plan to do an echo because she does have a heart murmur, which is not uncommon in premature babies but something they have to watch very closely. 

Brian and Alaina still covet your prayers.  They have said they feel surrounded with love, care and concern from every direction.  They are overwhelmed at times with the constant ups and downs, and updates from doctors can be stressful never knowing whether they will receive a good report or a more difficult one.  They know that our Almighty Father is in control of Seraya’s care and this helps them to be able to leave her side and get some rest themselves. 

We as family also thank everyone for your prayers and concern!  We have been tested and shown that there is absolutely nothing we can do to help, except pray!  How humbling this is for us!  We feel so helpless at times and then we read God’s Word and pray to Him for patience and we realize all over again, we ARE helpless!  But what a comfort this is!  The Almighty God who knows our past and our future is, in His perfect providence, guiding Seraya’s life and forcing us to our knees in prayer!   

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6, 7

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 119:14

How magnificent is the Lord in His grace and mercy and how awesome are the works of His hands!  Looking at little Seraya we are convinced of this over and over – His sovereignty is unspeakable!

Seraya needed to have several blood transfusions through the night on Saturday and Sunday turned out to be somewhat of a ‘stable’ day. 

Sunday night they met with the doctor to receive a head to toe evaluation of her overall condition.  Since Group B Strep was contracted in-vitro this makes Seraya’s situation very serious as it is fatal to infants.  She is currently being treated with antibiotics but it is too early to tell if they are being effective.

Her lungs, as stated earlier are quite underdeveloped and the administration of steroids did little to help them develop more quickly due to the infection in her blood.

She is still currently on the ventilator but was not responding well to it because she is so small so they administered surfactant which is a compound that is intended to reduce the tension and strain on her lungs.

The bleeding that she developed in her brain is also quite serious and the doctors continue to be concerned about this and the discolouration of her stomach which is also caused by internal bleeding.  The doctors think that this is slowly draining on its own so we are thankful for this. 

Late Sunday night Alaina was able to hold her little girl for the first time!  They said they wanted to start off with just 10 minutes which they gladly accepted and in the end were able to extend that to about an hour!  What an immense blessing!

Last night, (Monday), the doctors told Brian and Alaina that Seraya could breath the level of oxygen that the rest of us can!!  They didn’t need to add oxygen, (as they had been doing), to give her a boost when she needed it. 

When Brian and Alaina came back to the NICU this morning (Tuesday) the doctors and nurses told them that they were starting Seraya on a different ventilator which puts less pressure on her lungs and will have less adverse long term effects as the one she was on.  The ventilator is still helping her but she is partially breathing on her own!  This is being done in the hopes that she will have to work a little bit, encouraging the muscles to start taking over.  For this, Brian and Alaina are very thankful!!   

They also heard today that her stomach is looking quite a bit better and if things continue to progress they hope to start feeding her soon.

Brian and Alaina are so happy to be able to pass on some small bits of good news.  Today they felt they could relax a little bit and not be so anxious.  They realize every day will have its ups and downs but they are just thankful for the progress she was able to make today!

On Monday Brian and Alaina were able to move into the Ronald McDonald House.  They still request only immediate family for visiting and that their privacy be maintained.  Seraya is a very sick little girl and their time, energy and thoughts are consumed by her progress and prayers for her at this time. 

Updates will be posted when possible but Brian and Alaina and their families thank everyone for their thoughts, expression of concern and prayers.  They truly feel lifted up and comforted by our Father in Heaven through the outpouring of the communion of saints!

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40: 29-31

Seraya Arlene Schutten

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" - Romans 11:33

How mysterious are the ways of the Lord! And how limited we are, as human beings, that we cannot even get close to understanding His works. What a comfort we have, knowing all things are in His perfect control, even when events go so much differently than we had planned...

Last Monday, December 7^th,  Alaina, at 23 weeks gestation, went into labour.  Her mid-wife arranged to have her taken by ambulance to McMaster Hospital in Hamilton where she could be monitored more closely in Labour and Delivery.  They managed to slow contractions down for a few days while administering steroids to help develop the baby’s vital organs, specifically her lungs, more rapidly.

Then, on Thursday December 10^th, Alaina’s water broke and an ultrasound confirmed that things were progressing.  The doctors noticed a change in the baby’s heart rate and they advised that for the well-being of the baby they should deliver soon.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck so they decided it was best to deliver her by caesarian section.

At 12:34 PM on Thursday afternoon Seraya Arlene Schutten was born at 1 lb 6 oz!  Brian and Alaina were told that things went relatively well considering she was born at 23 weeks, 6 days gestation.  She was stable for the time being but they would need to take things hour by hour.

Later that day things started to change.  Seraya needed a blood transfusion and they weren’t happy with her oxygen levels.  She is on a ventilator, but the machine, although needed for her survival, is very hard on her little body.  They discovered that she had the streptococcus virus in-vitro and so pneumonia had set in.

On Friday they needed to stabilize her a few times but Brian and Alaina were able to spend a lot of time with her while the doctors kept them updated with her progress.  They were also told that she had developed a blood infection as well.

On Saturday Brian and Alaina were told that Seraya’s condition had become critical.  Her one lung had collapsed and filled with blood.

This morning they were told that they had managed to get her lung back but her stomach is visibly darker from the lung which the doctors continue to be concerned about.  They were also told that she has bleeding in her brain but that they continue to run tests to find out more and determine what can be done going forward.

Brian and Alaina covet your prayers in this trying time.  Above all we remember that little Seraya is in the palm of our heavenly Father who is good to all his covenant children.  Her path in this life has been laid from the very beginning and Brian and Alaina continue to find comfort through this trial in that fact.  They are both tired and the ups and downs are difficult to handle at times.

Right now they request that you continue to pray for them and their little girl but are unable to accept visitors or respond to emails and text messages.  They do read them and appreciate the concern relayed!