It is Getting Better.... It is Getting Better Every Day.

Yep. I just quoted the Postman. Things are looking up for Weston. Though there isn't a ton to report we have had some small successes over the last 48 hours. Weston was still intubated yesterday as most of the swelling had not gone down. Today that set of tubes was removed and Weston was breathing mostly on his own. The right upper lobe was still a little stressed and not quite fully inflated and they think they remedied that at this point in time.

With the breathing tube out there are some smaller steps in the right direction that followed that. They took the catheter out today, as well as the IV in the groin area and started taking him off some of the fluids and medications that they had been giving him.

The nurses today were wonderful! We had a great question and answer time today as he sounded really raspy and not quite the normal baby sound. In fact the comment was that he sounded like a cat. Most of this is normal. Although there are some fluid issues in the lungs still that had the nurse a little unsettled. Hopefully with the oxygen and the suctioning out of fluids he will get off of the before to long tonight.

The next step is hopefully tomorrow they will remove the chest drain tubes as well as the UVC (Or umbilical line) that has been there since day 1. They seemed rather optimistic assuming that he still clears off a bunch of the fluid still in his body. The potty dance can still be done for Weston if you are looking for something to do.

We were grateful that he looked like the baby we saw in the beginning. Ellie will most likely be staying down there from this point on and trying to get the nursing thing down again. It sort of depends on what he wants to do and how much stress he can handle.

The nice thing is that he is back in mom's arms where he belongs. This time it takes a minute to get him there rather then 25. We are glad that he is looking much more "normal" and happy that things are on the mend. In the next few days we are hoping to transition up to 5th or 6th floor and get one step closer to getting out of here. 

The other perk of the weekend was Jeremy getting to go to Confirmation at SSLC! The joy of seeing 19 young people step forward in their faith journey was awesome to be a part of! I am proud of each of them and their accomplishments! Add that on to seeing our quirky puppy helped smooth the day out! 

All in all. We are happy with the way things are going. Hopefully in the next few days/week we will get to bring Weston home to meet his big brother Rasmus! Although this is really a dream... we can wish for it correct?

We do apologize for all of you that have been trying to visit over the last week but with all of the tubes/wires/ struggles mixed in the week we really were not able to handle a lot of visitors. If you would like to come visit over the weekend let us know. We would love to have company now!

A Day of Rest...

Sunday should be restful, right? Weston took that seriously and had another laid back day of resting and recuperating. He is doing very well and is definitely slowly getting rid of all that extra fluid. We took a picture yesterday and today and once we compared the two, there is a HUGE difference in his face, which is awesome! The goal is to hopefully extubate (take out some of the tubes!!) tomorrow. We'll let you know if that actually happens or not.

Weston received a 'bath' today which both Mommy and Daddy helped the nurse with, around all the tubes. After his bath, the nurse prepped Weston to be held. Mama got to hold Weston for almost 2 hours! There are still a lot of tubes so Mama just sat while the 2-3 nurses helped place Weston in her lap and then helped pick him back up again. It felt wonderful to be able to hold him again. Hoping we get to do that cuddling again tomorrow.

Keep praying that Weston continues down this path that he has begun to get the fluids out, to get better, and to get rid of the tubes!

So much better!

Thank you to everyone who did the potty dance for Weston! It definitely helped and seems to be continuing to work. Weston still has some extra fluids in his body that he needs to pee out, so feel free to keep dancing :)

Saturday was a much better day. Weston looked a little more like himself instead of being so puffy, his chest was closed early in the morning so the doctor is happy with how he is healing, and therefore his chest is much cleaner and a smaller gauze is covering his incision.

Weston is responding appropriately to the various drugs they are giving him and starting to wean him off of. We are hoping for another day where drugs can be slowly lowered until they are taken off, and maybe even some more tubes can come out.

Thank you, again, for all the continuous support, prayers, and kind words. We know there is an army behind Weston and the two of us to help us get through this process.

We don't want to have too many pictures right now since Weston is so puffy and full of tubes, but Mommy got him to hold her finger yesterday, so here is a picture :)

Pee Baby Pee

Yep. I used it. Hoping that Weston pees a lot over the 24 hours. With all of the fluid added to his system to help regulate his blood pressure there is something going on that isn't allowing the swelling to reduce. We are hoping with the combination of drugs that he has been put on that things will start flowing again and take the water out of his skin.

After a rough day/night yesterday Weston is doing well. They regulated his blood pressure to the best of their abilities but the things they put him on mess it up again. We are still hoping all works well... but that can only be known in time. the rest of his vitals and things have been to the positive.

We know that he is in there somewhere. He squirms, and moves and every once in a while opens his eyes to see. They are regulating his movements and the pain as much as possible. We hope for the best and that he will continue to improve.

Thank you for the prayers. We have both been moved by the support and the amount of people constantly showing their love for him. We see the posts on facebook and we know that we are not alone in this process. Though the road to full recovery is a long way off we are grateful that each of you are a part of his life and ours and know that you are helping to shorten that time. Thanks for helping us and for helping him.

We are contemplating and pondering the idea of trying to keep Ellie off of work until Christmas so that way she can bond and spend time with Weston as best she can. Her maternity leave will end about the time that Weston is scheduled to come out of the hospital. That makes things a lot harder for the two of us and to settle in to any sort of routine at home. We will see what things come of the future and how we can best make things happen.

We love each and every one of you. We cannot say thank you enough to our families, our church, and our friends for the honest love and support you show. Thanks for being there. Though I cannot thank every person individually I thank you all for your ongoing support and want you to know that thank you will never be enough. BUT... that being said... THANK YOU!

It's hard to put into words.

I am really not sure how to type this tonight. It is hard to put into words what is going through my head tonight as we saw Weston after surgery. It is hard to see your child in a position such as his with as many tubes and wires hanging from him. If I could give him my heart tonight and take away the pain I would.

After a 5 hour surgery Weston came back to the room for "recovery." Although the nurses assured us that things were normal, Weston began another battle. He couldn't get his blood pressure regulated. The nurses proceeded to give him platelets as well as lots of blood to get the pressures to even out. Things continued to be a struggle for a few hours. Mom and Dad went in to visit him and the nurses kept reassuring us that things were normal. They finally figured it out about 4 hours later when we called to check in again.

The second time we called they informed us that Weston woke up from his medicated sleep and had his eyes open, and was moving his arms. They re-upped his meds to make him sleep some more. The hardest part about this process is knowing that he was awake.

Weston is in a world of hurt currently. We are both struggling because as of right now we can't do anything to help. We both feel helpless and hurt for him. We know that there is nothing we can do... but we don't know what to do about it.

Your continued thoughts and prayers would be helpful if you can. It is hard to see your child with their chest open, and wires running all over their body. My heart aches for parents who have to endure this.

Surgery News

Well, Weston is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 9am. Depending upon how the surgery before his goes he will be in at 9am. We heard from the surgeon today what they plan to do, how they plan to do it and what will be coming in the days to follow.

Weston will be in surgery for somewhere around 5 hours tomorrow. Mostly to make sure that everything works like it should and that he gets back up to normal rather quickly. That is a long waiting time for mom and dad but we know we can get through it.

Once Weston is back in the room we have been warned that it may be a little disturbing. They showed us pictures of other kids and surgery things so that we can be mentally prepared for the worst. Hopefully things will be easy but we aren't holding our breath. If you want to visit him in the coming days please note that it may be a little hard to see.

Weston most likely will be sedated for a few days and then the recovery process starts. They told us today that most likely he will need to be in the hospital for about 2-3 weeks depending on how well he recovers. We are really praying that things go smoothly and are mentally preparing ourselves for being in Minneapolis for that time.

Today was a good day again however. Weston had some family come to visit and wish him all the best tomorrow. We are so incredibly grateful for good family and the blessings that come with it. Pastor Dave came to visit today to and said a prayer with us all. We both are really moved that he has been so willing to come be a part of the process for our family.

The 3 generation shots that every family should have! Again... we can't say it enough... we are blessed by our family at home as well as the church family that is surrounding all of this in prayer. We feel the out pouring of love and affection from each and every one of you! We will post tomorrow how things went with surgery... but most likely no photos.

I am so glad to have the family that we do. We will take the heartaches in stride and know that Weston is already strong enough to pull through! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

A rough day...with bright lights.

Well, we knew the day would come. We found out today that Weston will be having surgery on Wednesday. As I am writing tonight I am watching a beautiful baby boy sleeping. Man he is handsome. We knew it was going to happen, and we knew that one day he would have surgery. Sometimes the waiting game is harder than it seems.

Mom and Dad are taking it pretty hard. We know that Ellie did great through hers and that Weston will do great through his surgery. The hard part is just waiting until you know more. The doctor was not available for the last several days and after hearing that he would be today... and not seeing him we finally did something about it. They called the doctor on his vacation to find out that he had given the team an answer before he left on Thursday... they just didn't get the message to us. So we finally got the correct information and now know of the plan.

We saw pictures today of what to expect when he comes out of surgery... hard images to see but helped to take away the shock value when we get to see him after surgery. The hope is that things will go better than planned.

I hadn't realized how hard it would be to finally put the pieces together. To finally know that Weston will be having surgery, and that healing can begin sooner rather than later. I also never realized how much love you can have for something you barely know. (Jerry and Tami... you were right!)

The blessing and shining light for the day came tonight when we went to supper. We sat down to eat at a pizza place right up the road from the hospital and while eating someone came up to us and gave us some money to cover our supper. I honestly and deeply appreciate the gesture. That random stranger made the day a little better. It also took away such a lost feeling that we have both had... I don't know why... it just did. So thank you to that person... the blessings you gave..were downright amazing.

I will post more in the coming days...again..thanks for the prayers and notes. It has gone a long way in a frustrating and heartbreaking time in our lives. Thanks for keep us there.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Amy came to visit today. Even with a wounded hand!

Molly came to visit as well!

I opened my eyes just for you!

Today was a good day. It started last night with a good nights sleep. Dad got the chance to try out a little Kangaroo care action last night. Turns out I don't suck as bad at this fatherhood thing as I thought I might. Weston ate and ate until he was full and let mom sleep for a solid 4 hours last night! Combine that with some good feedings and lots of love...today was a good day! 

We had lots of good reports from the amazing nursing staff and they keep telling Weston that he is a handsome little guy. He pretty much just smiles and flirts and then falls back to sleep. 

Mom and Dad took some time to get out this morning. We were glad we could get some free time to process, talk and walk around MOA for an hour or so. It is amazing how much a good friend stopping by, or time away can make a difference. Weston got lots of love and attention all day. Including Grandparents and friends. We are grateful for the little visits and are reminded today that small things are blessings. 

Tomorrow we will might have a decision about surgery in the coming days. I have been asked by a number of people about his surgery and what things are going on. If you want to know the situation I recommend this site. It has some good info and explains the situation a little more clearly for you. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002104/ 

We are  waiting patiently to hear more and to get to the bottom of the situation and find out what the next steps hold. Weston is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday regardless of the decision to have him stay for surgery or go home. It is all dependent on 1 doctor...who is out of town until tomorrow. 

Thanks for the thoughts! If you want to come visit...let us know! We love to have company!

Hurry Up...And Wait.

Today was a great day.... but also a frustrating one.

Weston had a little bit of a rough patch last night. He wanted to be awake when mom and dad needed some rest. He mostly just wanted to scream all night. Nursing has had some successes and a few troubled spots. Mom is doing the best we know how. Finally met with some great staff at UMMC today that had expertise, wisdom and insight. I have to say that the blessing in this huge process is the Nursing staff, and Charge Nurses. My hats go off to anyone that is nurse in any hospital. YOU are the reason this experience has been manageable. Thanks to the staff at UMMC for what they have done. We are grateful for good nurses.

Mom is doing well. The only hope in all of it is that she gets some good rest. Between Weston's crying the last two nights and having to deal with "Momma" issues.... it has been a hard couple of days. The blessing today was that Grandma Ardis came by and offered lots of help while Jeremy took a HUGE mental break.

We are grateful for good Grandparents tonight. Lee took us out for "Breakfast" or as some might call it lunch with the old people. We are grateful for the love and support we have been given through the family we have. I can't imagine where we would be without them.

Weston's surgeon is out of town or on vacation. So while they told us last night we would have an option to make a decision if he should have surgery asap, or wait a few months...the final call is up to the Surgeon.... so we wait until Monday or Tuesday. The way things are looking right now if he has surgery it will be on Wednesday as he is booked on the calendar already. If he doesn't...we don't know when that will be.

I hopefully will have more pictures in the coming days... but most of the ones are the same. He pretty much eats, poops, and squawks all day long. If you would like to visit you most certainly can... we just ask that you call first to let us know you are interested in coming.

Dad is doing ok. After having the realization today that there is a reason I don't carry a hand gun... I figured it would be best if I went home. So I did. Took a few hours, did some laundry and just took care of me for a few minutes... was enough of a break and a life saver. Now I am back with a new attitude.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support. Though my patience is wearing out... I know I can make it because I am not in it alone. I am so very blessed by my family, church family and friends. Thanks for helping us get through this.

A New Day

Well, today is a new day. Weston is still making great progress. We are incredibly happy that he is doing as well as he is. Your prayers are still appreciated. He has been nursing... very slowly... but it seems to get some food in his tummy. The surgeon today was a little frustrating to be around as he still hadn't look at the results at morning rounds today.

There are a few things rolling around with the surgical staff here. 1. That Weston and mom would be going home sometime soon so that way Weston can grown, recover, and hopefully get bigger before surgery in a few months. 2. That Weston would need surgery which is scheduled for Wednesday. Both of these options carry with them risks and challenges. We are hopful for the first option as Ellie would be home with him for almost all of her maternity leave.

Right now the veins are unobstructed. Meaning that everything is registering well... its hard for him to nurse and just be alive at the same time because of their position though. So, they are taking things in stride. The nursing staff has said repeatedly that he is one of the healthier kids on the floor. YAY for that!

Mom is doing well. She was discharged today and seems to be doing quite wondefully well considering. Spending another night in a hospital bed..this time in Weston's room! We are grateful for all of you in this process! Keep the prayers coming!

Little Feet

Thanks for the amazing prayers, encouragement and support. We couldn't do this without knowing that lots of you are supporting us. Thanks for the wonderful blessings and for helping us get through this process. We are grateful for each and every one of you. Thanks for what you have done and continue to do.

Weston has improved greatly throughout the day. We had lots of great family visits today to keep us company and help lift our spirits today. We have made HUGE positive strides and today actually took a bottle and nursing rather than just food through an IV.... which is HUGE gains for us! Sometimes its the little things that help get us through!

Mom is a champion! I am proud of this beautiful mom and she has been doing so well throughout the entire process.

We wait with baited breath as the days progress and are excited to see what may come for the future. Thanks for continuing to pray for all in this process. We couldn't do it without you!

Introducing...

Weston Michael Hallquist
Born Tuesday, October 16, 2012
12:56 pm
7 lb 3.7 oz
21 inches

We were given immediate tubes on our face and already by the time Mama and Daddy went to bed last night, some of those were gone (as seen in the picture..don't you like my hat, too? The hospital gave it to me)! Lots of tests were done right away within the first few hours of his life yesterday and another CT scan is being done this morning. We don't know details about the next step yet but will try to keep everyone informed once we do.

Thanks for the continued good thoughts, prayers, and kind words.

5 Days!

We had another doctor appointment this morning down at the U of M. Everything still looks great...baby is 6 lbs 10 oz so is a good "average" size. He or She will continue to grow for only approximately 5 more days until I am induced on Monday morning. The goal is just to break my water and see what happens :) Hoping my body continues to help the process along :) The doctor said it's doing well so far.

Monday will be an early morning. We are to report to the U by 7 am to get the process started. I have accepted the fact that whatever happens is what will happen, as long as I have a baby at the end :) (which we all know I will).

Lots to finish up in the next 5 days to be as "prepared" as you can be for a baby to arrive!