So I know it has been awhile since the blog has been updated and so I thought I would update everyone on what has been happening in the last couple of weeks!

Seraya has been quite stable these last couple of weeks. She hasn't had any extreme incidents. Her breathing has been around the same though they continue to try and lower the pressures from the ventilator on her lungs. Current she is at a pressure of 15 which is good for her as two weeks ago she was on a pressure of 19. She is currently still on the high frequency oscillator as her lungs have a lot of growing and maturing to do yet. We had a meeting with the doctor last week and they were hoping to try and switch her to cpap this week. I don't think this will go well as she seems very dependent on the ventilator still. I am not sure if their plan of cpap will happen this week yet as she has been having a lot more desaturations lately with her oxygen etc. Overall we do see a lot of improvement in her lungs and for that we are so thankful and continue to see God's hand in her life!

She has been on a few more rounds of antibiotics over the last couple of weeks for various infections. Again they weren't able to pinpoint exactly where the infection was coming from and so each time they put her on a broad spectrum antibiotics to ensure all bases were covered. Currently she is free of any infection and not on any type of antibiotics, another reason to be thankful!

The concern of Seraya's bowels has improved immensely over the last couple of weeks. She is currently up to her full feeds which is 16 mls every 2 hours. They feed her through her gtube and it is pumped into her stomach slowly over an hour each time. She seems to be tolerating her feeds beautifully and growing!! As of last night she has doubled her birth weight and is sitting around 2 pounds 12 ounces:) The extra weight she has gained is quite visible in her cheeks and body as she is starting to look chubby and a lot more filled out:) She is pooping regularly and her stomach is no longer blue or distended. She seems to have overcome this hurdle in her life. Praise be to God for this immense blessing!!

Seraya continues to receive head ultrasounds but so far they have remained the same since her birth. Her bleeding has not become worse and has not started up again which is great news!

Seraya no longer has a picc line as they had to remove it early last week due to there being a blood clot at the end of the line not allowing it to work properly. We were not happy to see this happen as we knew it meant a lot more pokes for her with pivs. She has a lot of bruises over her small body as her veins are so tiny and so it was not easy to insert an iv line into her veins. It would often take 3 or 4 tries before they would get the needle in:( it was not easy to see her be poked continually and not be able to pick her up to comfort her. But at the same time we knew she needed to have this done. On another note she is completely iv free today as she is up to full feeding and is done antibiotics:)

They have not been able to insert a new picc line in yet as her platelets seem to keep dropping. They are not sure why this is yet as platelets  usually drop due to infection or a blood clot. She doesn't have an infection and her blood clot hasn't got any bigger. The medical team will continue to monitor her closely to see as to why they are dropping.

Another new thing that they want to start this week on Seraya is eye testing. We all have blood vessels growing in the back of our eyes behind our retina. Now these blood vessels are supposed to grow straight but often what happens in premature babies is the vessels will begin to form crooked which will cause problems with her eyesite. This is because they are born so early and they're eyes are exposed to light a lot sooner than they are supposed to be. If they see when she is examined that her blood vessels are in fact growing crooked there is a treatment they could give her. We are not sure what this treatment is yet as we have to wait and see what the results of her eye test are first.

The last thing I wanted to mention is our snuggles with Seraya. Since she is more stable the nurses are fine usually with her coming out for skin to skin once a day if she is doing good. This is our favourite part of the day! When we get to hold her it is for at least 1.5-2 hours or more as it is quite the ordeal to get her set up on our chest:) They have to work around all of her wires etc. and she still is not totally pleased when she is moved around a lot. She tends to desat when she is jostled around but then quickly settles down when she is in our arms! It is amazing to be able to hold her and give her comfort in this way!

As the weeks pass by we fall more in love with our sweet Seraya:) We are so thankful for the time we have been able to spend with her so far! We see how small and fragile she still is and know she is so completely in Gods hands at all times. We continue to put our trust in God, and take life day by day as we do not have to worry about tomorrow! We continue to be amazed and thankful for the medical team and all the equipment which God has allowed  and provided to take care of Seraya! She is a tremendous blessing in our lives and we feel so blessed that we were given such a wonderful gift!

We would like to say thank you again for all the prayers, words of encouragement and support we have received so far! We appreciate this all so much and know that we could not face this journey alone!


"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Ps 27: 13,14

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.   Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”  Psalm 33: 20-22

Update from the last week or so….

The infection that Seraya had from the last update was not able to be located so the doctors treated her with a generic antibiotic to cover a few things that it could be.  They wanted her body to focus its energy on fighting the infection so the ventilator and supplemented oxygen remained high to help her save her strength.  This all seemed to help fight this infection off and she had a good two days which Brian and Alaina were very thankful for!

Seraya had also been tolerating her food well and they could increase the amount they were giving her by a little bit over the last few days. 

Brian and Alaina were able to attend church in Smithville on Christmas Day and have a sense of normalcy for the morning.   They felt uplifted and rejuvenated by the preaching and were comforted by the support from the Communion of Saints.  How blessed we are to be a part of the body of Christ, celebrating the birth of our Saviour and being reminded that He too has suffered and knows the fragility of life that Brian and Alaina are confronted with! 

On Boxing Day the doctors noticed that Seraya’s lungs continued to have difficulty so they replaced the nose tube that goes to her lungs with a larger one in the hopes that this would help her get more oxygen.  The results were very positive and the larger tube really seemed to help which was welcome news! 

The NICU team continued to encourage the Kangaroo care, (skin to skin contact) and that night Brian was even able to hold Seraya for the first time!  She seemed to have a good weekend and B & A were able to relax a bit again. 

Monday night Seraya’s lungs seemed to be struggling again so they did a chest x-ray to find out what was going on.  The doctor told B & A Tuesday morning that he was very concerned that she was not decreasing her use of the ventilator.   They also discovered that her heart murmur from the hole in her heart had re-opened so they scheduled her for an echocardiogram to see the extent of the hole.  They also noticed that her colour was darkening again and she was becoming very lethargic.  They drew more blood and found out she had another infection.  Pin-pointing exactly where the infection lies can be very difficult as it could be any number of things so they started her on the broad-spectrum antibiotics again to target a few things that it could be. They also did a spinal tap to make sure the infection had not reached her brain.  The doctor told them he may want to start her on a steroid to improve the condition of her lungs but this type of steroid cannot be administered until the infection has been completely cleared up.

On December 31st, Seraya’s oxygen and ventilation were somewhat stable and she started opening her eyes again and moving around.  B & A were so happy to see her becoming responsive to their voices and touch again.

That night, however, the doctors and nurses noticed that Seraya’s tummy was darkening again and distended.  Brian and Alaina stayed with her in the NICU so they could be close by with whatever transpired.  They did another x-ray and an ultrasound and discovered that she had an infection in her bowels and were worried that they may be perforated.  This would mean she would need to undergo surgery.  During the x-ray B & A were told that they had quite a scare.  Seraya’s breathing tube came out and she needed to be resuscitated.  She was without proper oxygen for a full 10 minutes while they tried to get it back in her nose and to her lungs.  The doctors said it was a miracle that shortly after this happened she was moving around normally and reacting well to their handling.  They tested her for any damage this may have had on her brain and this came back normal as well from what they can tell! Praise God for this outcome! He surely has had a purpose for this covenant child in sustaining her so far! 

Thankfully they were able to learn that her bowels had not perforated yet and that surgery would not be necessary.  The NICU team is keeping a very close eye on her until her stomach looks normal again.  She was started on antibiotics to fight this infection also. 

This morning Seraya had an x-ray and bloodwork done.  They are happy with the results so far and B & A are told that they think her tummy is starting to look a bit better again.  She gets an x-ray every 8 hours to monitor the healing process and to make sure it’s going in the right direction.

As Brian and Alaina spent the holidays at Mac and in the Ronald McDonald House we felt sad that they could not join in the festivities of Family time and the celebration of a New Year with the ones they are close with.  Yet, they did not see it this way.  Their updates, text messages and phone calls continue to be upbeat, positive, and above all faithful!  The Lord deserves all praise and honour, especially as we reflected on the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We have lifted them up in our prayers and the Lord has heard us, as He has promised in his Word!  This is very evident when we witness His working in little Seraya’s life and in her parent’s.  B & A continue to covet your prayers and thank the Lord for them and for all of you who continue to be a support in this way.

“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” Psalm 90: 16, 17