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TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts (and baby stuff)

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:36 pm
by drfish
Hey all, we're nearly due for the start of the next BBQ thread but I've got something to share that I don't want it in the official thread so I'll create that later and spill what I've got to say here.

I'll start by saying definitively that the BBQ is going to happen, I don't want anyone worrying about that. Regardless of what else is going on the BBQ is always a huge net positive so we want it to happen and it will. Full stop.

That said we're facing some unknowns and they all revolve around my wife's pregnancy. I'll just go straight to the facts, baby is really, really small, has a couple holes in her heart and doesn't have hands. I bring this up now because we had one of our twice weekly appointments today and were warned to pack a bag for our next appointment in GR on Monday. Of course we have no idea when things are really going to go down (official due date is Jan 15) but things are being closely monitored and "evac" could be necessary any time for a few different reasons... So its been an interesting year and next year is practically guaranteed to be even more so with all the normal scary first baby stuff and even more terrifying things like infant heart surgery (though amazingly I'm told that's fairly routine) and discovering just what other challenges lie ahead.

So that's what's going on with us - and that's why I'll probably need a little extra help to make sure the 10th TR BBQ gets the attention it deserves. Thanks for reading.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:56 pm
by just brew it!
Wow... sorry to hear that.

I'm sure people will step up though. It's a good group.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:03 pm
by Dposcorp
We got your back and I'll say a prayer as well.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:00 pm
by notfred
Wow, really hope things go well for you guys.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:07 pm
by Captain Ned
We've all got your back, and we're all hoping for the best.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 1:54 pm
by idchafee
whatever you need dude. I can come up early and help prep or whatever needs to be done.

edit: co-worker of mine had twin preemie kids that ended up needed heart surgery multiple times. It *is* routine, as strange as that sounds.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:06 pm
by drfish
Thanks for your support guys. :)

Turns out we're checked into the hospital until this thing is over. Based on some test results from yesterday her doctor told us to come in this morning and it looks like she won't be going home until after the baby is born. Could be tomorrow or a month from now, we still don't know. :-?

Things are stable a least - its not a bad thing when you're at the hospital and the most pressing issue is how to reconfigure your VPN so that Steam traffic passes though it instead of getting blocked by the hospital's firewall (can't miss the autumn sale). :wink:

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:09 pm
by zgirl
Wow I missed all the drama while out of town. I do hope things go well for you, Mrs. Fish and little baby Fish.

With that said. I fully intend to be there again cooking this year so that part will be taken care of. Also I should have some extra vacation time this year so I might be able to come out early and help with anything else should it be needed. I'll know more after the first of the year. No matter what all you have to do is ask. We'll figure it out. You've been a spectacular host the last few years it is the least we can do as a group to show our appreciation.

Wishing you all the best.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:48 pm
by drfish
That's great to hear!

A little update on our situation, we're still chilling at the hospital, we thought Tuesday was going to be the day but it wasn't and then we thought today would be the day but its not. Now we think Saturday is practically guaranteed but baby has had her own plan until now so who knows... :-?

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:36 pm
by Dposcorp
drfish wrote:
That's great to hear!

A little update on our situation, we're still chilling at the hospital, we thought Tuesday was going to be the day but it wasn't and then we thought today would be the day but its not. Now we think Saturday is practically guaranteed but baby has had her own plan until now so who knows... :-?

You guys are in our thoughts and prayers.....thanks for the update and please keep them coming; no one really wants to bother you during this time, but know you are in our thoughts.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:55 pm
by morphine
Dposcorp wrote:
You guys are in our thoughts and prayers.....thanks for the update and please keep them coming; no one really wants to bother you during this time, but know you are in our thoughts.

Likewise.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 4:37 pm
by cynan
I've yet to go to a TR BBQ, but man, that must be difficult. A friend of mine had a son a couple of years ago now with some kind of hole (and possibly other defects?) in his heart. I'm not clear on the details, but multiple ongoing surgeries have been quite trying on them.

Hopefully your case is more routine and the first (round of) operation(s) "sticks" for you guys.

My heart and thoughts goes out to you guys.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:26 pm
by Damage
Just wanted to add my thoughts to the thread. Sorry to hear about this. We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

And seriously, don't worry about the BBQ. Last thing you need to bother with at this point.

Keep us posted when you can.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:00 pm
by drfish
Meet Ellie Jean:

Image

2lbs 13.9oz, born at 4:51 AM this morning - she's stable but will need mechanical assistance to stay that way for at least a couple days (breathing pressurized room air, no extra oxygen needed). As predicted there will be a lot of special care involved but for now we're just glad she's here. Mom is doing great, the delivery was insanely fast and she's basically fully recovered already.

We'll learn a lot more in the next couple days so I'll keep this thread updated. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:57 pm
by ludi
Congrats!

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 6:03 pm
by FireGryphon
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! My prayers for her health and recovery.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 6:22 pm
by Thatguy
Congrats!

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 6:29 pm
by JdL
Oooohhh huge congrats! I'm late to the thread but this brings a tear to my eye - you have our thoughts and prayers as well. She looks so precious in that photo!

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:52 pm
by Dposcorp
Congrats and thank you Lord............looks like a wonderful early Christmas present.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:57 am
by drfish
Holding her for the first time last night. Masks are because Stacy started getting cold just before delivery...

Image

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:22 am
by DancinJack
Awesome man, congratulations!

Nice shirt too.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:37 am
by drfish
I knew it wouldn't take long for a shirt comment. Purely a matter of statistics, I'd been wearing the same one for about 48 hours at that point and TR shirts make up about 1/3 of my t-shirt wardrobe. :wink:

Saw her this morning, looking really good - just generally "healthier" than she looked yesterday. :D

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 11:34 am
by notfred
Congrats, glad to hear stage 1 of this journey went well, hope things go just as well for the rest!

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:09 pm
by Inkling
Wow, she's gorgeous, drfish. Glad that she's on the outside, you can hold and cuddle her, and start to solve the challenges she has. Thank God for today's technology; we'll be praying and thinking of all of you over the next few days/weeks.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:37 pm
by morphine
Congratulations, drfish. I'm glad all of you are okay.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:49 am
by Darkmage
Congratulations!

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:48 am
by drfish
Why does this thread feel like feel like a build log? ;)

Hmmm, well anyway I've got a quick update to share, Ellie has been making a lot of progress in the last week. She's is off her CPAP machine and breathing well on her own AND they took all of her IVs out yesterday - all told she's doing extremely well! :D

Image

Also, I sent the picture below to my mom and dad a few days ago and they has a major case of déjà vu. They dug out a strikingly similar picture of dad holding me when I was born so I had to resize/crop and share.

Image

Lastly, I just have to mention that the camera on my Lumia 920 has been AMAZING for documenting Ellie's first week - I got it a few days before she was born so all the pictures we have were taken on it and for the most part they look great. The biggest thing is the low light stuff though, I have had my flash turned off for nearly every picture and the photos turn out better than what I can see with my eyes. It is really remarkable. :o

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts (and baby stuff)

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:28 am
by Captain Ned
Wow. Looking at that side-by-side makes me wonder if you were at a 4th of July party in a grand mountain hotel in Colorado back in 1921 or so.

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts (and baby stuff)

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:02 am
by drfish
Has it been over 2 weeks since I updated this thread? That just seems crazy to me. :o

Ellie is doing well - its been a little bumpy with an infection that while ultimately harmless was a little bit of a setback for getting her respiratory and digestive issues where they need to be. She was on a ventilator for about a week but is now just back on CPAP and that should be able to come off soon as she is breathing better than ever. She has been gaining weight and finally surpassed her birth weight last Thursday or so. Grams never meant so much to me before.

We do have a new concern that popped up last week - the eye doctor thinks there is a significant chance that on top of everything else she is potentially blind as well. That was a bit of a blow but we've made peace with the idea and are trying to retool our long term plan (ha!) based on that possibility. We don't expect to have that information confirmed for quite a while - I swear she has looked right at me when she's opened her eyes though. We'll just have to wait that one out.

Also, I thought I posted a link in this thread already but I have a gallery of pictures I've been maintaining better than this thread - its not super private or anything but I'm going to spell out the URL all the same: dr_fish dot speedymail dot org slash ellie (as a proper noun "Ellie" should be capitalized in the URL).

Lastly I wanted to share the name of the particular syndrome that Ellie is diagnosed with, its called Cornelia de Lange and there's a lot of info about it online if you are interested on brushing up on it - I had never heard of it until Stacy's doctor mentioned it as one possibility a few months ago. If the first thing you do is check Wikipedia and see the list of characteristics for the syndrome I can tell you that she exhibits about half of them already so even though she hasn't had the blood to spare to confirm it genetically its all but certain.

She's tough though! A real fighter - kicked that infection's butt like it was no big deal and very feisty if she is awake/uncomfortable or if you mess with her to change a diaper. We've said since before she was born that she just wanted extra attention and so far that continues to be the case. :)

Re: TR BBQ ~X~ Opening Thoughts (and baby stuff)

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 6:28 pm
by notfred
Thanks for the update, I'm sure there's a lot of us here on TR watching you and thinking good thoughts for you guys. Here's to the New Year and may it bring joy to you all.