Day 13

We were given the amazing gift of another day with sweet Bella. No major changes today so far, her stats are in the 80s and 90s so that is good. They are decreasing her breast milk, only to give her body a rest so that it can try to fight this infection. Nurse Bethany worked on her skin for 2 nights straight and it looks so much better. They will be applying some new cream that hopefully helps to fight the yeast. Our prayer today is that her body remains strong enough to fight infection, her lungs continue to fill with air and develop and her kidneys get better. We are taking Big Brother Dylan for a family day so we surround her in prayer, light and love until we are by her side this evening.
Love to you all, Telisha

day 12

Miss Arabella is having another tough day. They found infection in her skin and suspect it to be in her blood. Like most of the other issues she's been battling, this is potentially a very bad thing. She's continuing to reccive antibiotics and they've started her on morphine occasionally. We need another miracle now...

Day 11

I'm at work and T is at hospital...here's the text I just received from her: "Dr Palmer called her his miracle baby. he says xrays are better, increasing her food, turned respirator down to 96.3 (Jack FM ugh. sorry cldnt help it) stats in the high 80's and 90's. The infection they detected is only some yeast in her throat, which is normal but started on some new meds to kick it. No blood work today...blood gas MUCH better. Day by day, but today is a good day and he is happy." Power of prayer! WOOOOOHOOO!

day 10 2nd update

Whew... Arabella's stats are begining to stabalize. She has been switched back to the oscillating respirator and has a new/bigger breathing tube. Her lungs are getting sicker, so we hope these changes will help her condition improve over the next 12-24 hours. She also has some elevated levels in her blood, which could be a sign of infection. As a precautionary measure, she is now receiving antibiotics. Her kidney output is also down a bit, which is a step in the wrong direction. NICU = rollercoaster.

this morning

I slept in this morning and got the call to come to hospital. Headed down now. Her lungs are doing very bad. Please pray

day 9

Not too much news to share today... Bella's blood gas was pretty ugly this morning, but has improved some during the course of the day. Her food intake was doubled, to 2ml every 3 hours. She's tolerating it well and pooped for the first time...woohoo! She has not been tolerating touch well today, which is new for her. She's been destating during hands on care; feeding, cleaning, etc. Apparently this is fairly standard, but is concerning. I'm hoping the doc can shed some light on it in the morning. No other changes to report. Come on day 10!

Day 8!!

Wow! I walked into the NICU at 8a and first saw the doc who told me yesterday that he was very worried about Bella's kidneys, that things did not look good, and that he'd only seen 1 baby her age make it out of NICU you. He saw me and said, "dad!, how are you? Arabella's kidneys are doing much better. I'm very surprised at this turnaround. They could work well for years to come." I walked to her bed and was greeted by her nurse for the day. She let me take Bella's temp and hold her for the first time. You can't believe how small she is. She then told me that she would start getting milk today. This is the first time she's eaten. She gets 1 ml of milk every 3 hours. Telisha has been pumping religiously and its awesome to see Bella get to use this milk as food. I just spoke with Telisha who tells me that so many doctors and nurses from around the hospital have come by to see her and Bella today. It seems there are more than 100 people pulling for our little girl and everyone is amazed by her progress. I'm trying not to sound too excited, because tomorrow could be a bad day, but today is an amazing one. Miracles continue to happen here. Thanks be to God.

1 week!

They told us she wldnt make it 24 hrs, but 7p today is Bell's 1 week birthday. We are so greatful. Doc gave me the gloom and doom 5% speech this morning. Its strange how hearing something can affect you even though you already know what is being said. Anyway...Bella's doing pretty good. There some some concern that her kidneys are not progressing. The good news is the kidneys are very resiliant. Basically its the best of many problems she could have right now. There is a cardiology consult sheduled for today, as they think the kidneys functio may be a result of the heart shunt, that all babies are born with, not closing off as it should. Head ultrasound came back good and she's have another blood transfusion (I think this makes 4) right now. Keep on prayin!

end of day 6

Bella is sleeping peacefully under her new blanket that Telisha picked up today. Her skin is being treated with aqua 4 ointment and she's doing great. Doc says her kidneys look a little worse today, but we don't believe him ;-). Ready for her 1 week birthday!

day 6!

We've been blessed with Bella's presence for another day that we statstically are not supposed to have. She's doing well right now. Her lung function has not really chaged since yesterday and blood gases are back in the normal range, as is kidney function. Her skin is still in bad shape and her phototherapy light, which prevents jaundis, may have to go back on soon, which puts additional strain on her skin. Tomorrow is her 1 week birthday!

end of day 5

We were off to a good start today, but had an eventfull afternoon.
Bella's blood gas numbers were off and when they we're taking a look, her breathing tube slipped out. Turns out she's not quite ready to breath on her own. They were able to intabate her quickly and everything was fine, but it was definitely scary and a reminder of how quickly things can change here. She's also having some breakdown in her skin. At 23 weeks, the skin is just starting to form and is extremely delicate. She had to lay on her back until her chest tube came out this morning, and the 4 days took their tole on her skin. She is bleeding just a bit which has increased her already high risk for infection. At her age, she's not ready to fight anything off, so at the first sign of infection, antibiotics will be added to her iv. On the bright side, her kidneys seem to be getting better and her blood gas looks better since the new tube was put in. We had a birthday party for Bella at the house tonight, as a way to tell Dylan about her. We explained that she is too small to come home right now as he ate all the icing off his piece of cake. Each day feels like.a huge victory and I'm extremely thankful to have been blessed with another.

Day 5

Arabella is doing great this Sunday morning. Her chest tube came out yesterday. It was used to drain air and fluids from her chest cavity that were building up due to her collapsed lung. All better now! This means she can sleep on her tummy for the first time ever. All numbers on the respirator are lower, which means she is breathing more on her own. Her blood sugar has leveled out and all other stats look good. This is also the first day her phototherapy light is off, so hopefully she'll get some good rest today.

Initial Post

Arabella Ann Cobb was born at 7pm Tuesday May 18. Telisha had been at Centennial Womens Hospital for 10 days undergoing preventative labor treatment, but we were still very surprised by Bella's arrival. T had a series of good days and Bella gave no warning, but all of a sudden she was here. She was born at 22 weeks and 4 days and weighs just 1 lbs. Babies born at 23 weeks are given a 5% chance of survival and when I first saw Bella, Tuesday night, her chances seemed to be less than that. Since then, she has made vast improvements, and is, for the most part, stable. She is still in critical condition, but she is stable. The doctors tell us her chances of living have not really increased, but they were telling us that 4 days ago, and she is still here. The word miracle has been used more than once in reference to Bella, by some of the most skilled neonatal intensive-care unit specialists in the country, and that is exactly what she is. Before this week, I wasnt sure if miracles still happened, but now I'm living one. Thanks be to God. I cannot express how thankful we are for all the prayers, positive energy, and kindness that we have been blessed with over the past few days. We have some amazing people in our lives - you know who you are. Please keep it coming, as Arabella needs every bit she can get. I've set up a blog, here: http://arabellacobb.blogspot.com/ as a means to keep interested parties updated. There is less there now than in this message, but go ahead and follow, as I'll be updated at least once daily, from this point forward. Please keep our daughter in your thoughts and prayers.

Truly,
Chris Cobb

Arabella Ann Cobb - Day 4

Arabella was born 4 days and 3 hours ago. We didnt think she'd make it this far, but she has and continues to improve. Telisha has gone to the hospital and just text to tell me her chest tube was removed this evening. This is great news. This is the first night I have not gone to the hospital, but after Telisha's 10 day stay and the last 4 with Arabella, I need a night home. I'm setting up this blog so family and friends can stay informed on Arabella's progress. I'm going to go send out the mass email now...