We arrived at UC hospital at 8:00 pm on Monday, July 7. The mix of emotions we were feeling are hard to describe, but we were overly excited to meet Owen for the first time. We were shown to our room and got situated. The induction process began around midnight. Despite the constant noises and checking of nurses, we were able to get a little rest to be ready for the next day.
Tuesday started smoothly as the induction process continued. Michelle showed her toughness and strength early and often. Around 11 am, there was concern about Owen's heart rate during Michelle's contractions and the doctors felt that a C section would be likely. They did not want to put too much stress on little Owen and his heart. They were monitoring it closely to see how he responded and would let us know. Owen then started to show his true colors. His heart rate steadied through the contractions and the doctors slowly started to think he would be fine for the natural birth.
Around 6pm, Michelle was complete and Owen was ready for his arrival. They had Michelle sit up in hopes of gravity helping him move down as far as possible before she started pushing. It was about this time that Michelle really started to feel the contractions and started to have some pain.
I have never felt so hopeless, and yet, so proud at the same time. Michelle was clearly in pain and getting worse, but she was so strong and so tough. A little after 7, it started to get even worse. The epidural was not doing the trick, but Owen was so close, that they didn't want to increase her dosage so she would still be able to push. She started to do some preliminary pushing and was doing so well, but she was in visible pain. I wanted so bad to help her, but there wasn't much I could do. They were able to give her a different anesthesia that helped a little, but she was at the point where she had to give it her all and push Owen out.
Michelle fought and pushed and at 9:00 PM on July 8, 2014, Owen Mark Fagel entered the world at 7 pounds 12 Ounces. The beautiful little warrior came out and was immediately stabilized by the team. It was absolutely amazing to finally see him. We knew we probably wouldn't be able to spend much time with him, but just the sight of him was enough. Then our first dream came true. He was well enough that Michelle was able to hold him.
This is a moment that we will never forget. To see my warrior wife get to hold my little warrior son, when completely unexpected was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced. Owen was able to stay in his Mother's arms for a few sweet minutes before the took him away to the NICU to prep him for transfer to the cardiac NICU at Cincinnati Children's. That is when we got more good news. The transport team was going to bring Owen by before the left so we could see him and we were allowed to have our family back in the room to see him as well.
Our wonderful family had been waiting at the hospital for hours and hours. There was no guarantee that they would even get to see Owen, but they were all there supporting us. I can't explain how lucky we are to have such wonderful people in our lives who love and support us and were willing to sit through hours of boredom just to be there for us. The fact that they were all going to be able to see him, even if it was through a plastic transport unit, felt like the best gift we could give them.
They were all so excited to come back and see Michelle, and eventually Owen. We helped Michelle bounce back after her heroic effort anyway we could. I still can't believe her strength and determination through it all. Everybody jumped at the sound of doors opening even though people were coming in and out all the time. We just couldn't wait to see him again.
And then he was back ....
And if having him back in the room with all our family to see him wasn't enough, we were given another great surprise. The lead member of the transport team (who, if you read the first post will get the meaning, was wearing a little bee on her uniform), said that Owen was doing so well and was so stable, that they could take him out and let us hold him for a little while again. It was overwhelming.
Owen was so happy to be with his Mom and his family. He opened his eyes and looked at us and all his family. He was absolutely precious. I don't remember how long we were allowed to have him out, but every second felt like the greatest moment of our lives. We knew they would have to take him away, but the transport team allowed us all the time possible. It was tough to see him go, but we cherished the time we had with him.
They secured him back in his transport and took him via ambulance around 10:30/11 pm. Our little warrior was already showing how brave he is.
I stayed with Michelle as she was transferred to her recovery room around 2am. Michelle showed how tough she was when she had already started walking and telling the doctors that she would be fine to get a pass the next day to go see Owen at Children's. We would be up at Children's to see him bright and early.
It was an unbelievable experience and we feel so blessed to have Owen in our lives. I can't say enough about the strength and bravery that Michelle showed through it all. Owen is definitely a mama's boy already.
We were also so lucky to have unbelievable help and support from the nurses, doctors, and staff at the UC labor and maternity center. Everyone was so helpful and made being there as comfortable and easy as can be. We couldn't have asked for better care than we received.
I am not sure Owen's first day could have gone any better given the circumstances. He is already fighting and doing better than expected. There is a long way to go, but with all the love, support and prayers that Owen has received, he will be prepared to handle it all.
- We also wanted to say thank you to everyone who read, commented, and shared our blog. It was truly overwhelming to see how many people were interested and cared about our little warrior. It meant so much to us to receive such support. We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment