A Tragic Day at the NICU

Caili’s been struggling since late last evening. She’s having trouble getting enough oxygen, which is hard to see. The level of oxygen in her blood drops, and because she is innately aware she begins to breath hard—120 breaths per minute or more. Both the lack of oxygen and the fast breathing cause her monitors to alarm, sounds we had gotten used to hearing infrequently The thought seems to be that she has fluid in her lungs, and they’re giving her medicine to help her get rid of it. Hopefully it will work. We’re frightened. But mostly we’re sad. And since Caili’s blog is as much about our experience as her’s, I hope you’ll indulge me as I explain why.

Christopher’s mom was the first parent we met in the NICU. She was full of energy, sweet, loving, and incredibly encouraging. Christopher was born at the exact same gestational age as Caili—24 weeks and 5 days—but roughly 3 months before Cailin. His first three months had been more difficult than Caili’s. Infections, difficulty eating, etc. But he was still fighting, and both of his parents were fighting just as hard.

Throughout our NICU journey, Christopher’s parents have been an inspiration to us. They have advocated for their son, doing all they could to ensure that he got the best care possible, and that he had the best future possible. When Christopher came off the vent for the first time, not long after Caili was born, they spent nearly 2 full days in the NICU holding Christopher’s mouth shut as he laid in his crib, ensuring the oxygen being blown into his nose didn’t escape from his mouth, hoping to keep him from faltering and returning to the vent. To stay in the NICU overnight required winning approval from the doctors, and then again from the nurses, some of whom perhaps didn’t fully appreciate their labor of love. That’s when I asked for your prayers the first time. It was an incredible labor of love.

Christopher got better. He stayed off the vent, and eventually moved to a transition room, on the path to going home. Caili’s hasn’t even taken that step yet. But it all went south recently. And today, Christopher’s fight ended. He was six months old. He had given his parents his first smile last week. It was also his last. He was a beautiful baby, and his parents are wonderful people. They don’t deserve this. No one does.

But he did touch our lives. He and his parents have been our inspiration. In Caili’s darkest hour, when we thought we might lose her, they were there, encouraging us, comforting us, giving us hope. Christopher had faced such challenges and overcome. Caili would too. It’s tragic that his last challenge was too much for him to face. But his life, and the six months his parents endured in the NICU, were not in vein. He touched us. And we hope he touched you. Please say a prayer for him, and for his family.

Rest in peace dear little Christopher, and thank you for touching our lives.