My dear family,
I haven't met most of you yet, but you've kept me alive. Your prayers have given me strength and determination to keep fighting. And I know your prayers have helped my parents too (they've got all sorts of emotions going, but they're hanging in there).
I guess I better fill you in on my little world. For such a lightweight, there sure are a lot of people fussing over me. I've got a couple doctors and a team of angels in scrubs that spend twelve hours at a time watching over me. I guess that makes me feel pretty special, but I'm trying to stay humble.
I've been pretty stable these last couple of days. I recently moved to an oscillating ventilator which helps me take 12 breaths a second (try doing that without hyperventilating!). It is a bit more gentle on my little lungs and helps exchange the oxygen and carbon dioxide. I've gained about two ounces since my birth, which is mostly water and makes my hands and feet all puffy. The doctors say I'll start losing weight soon, and that's normal.
Here's a picture of me from today. I usually like to keep my head and eyes covered to protect me from the bright blue UV lights (they don't make sunglasses in my size evidently), but I was cleaning up at the time and posed for dad's camera.
Although I've been doing pretty well, it hasn't been easy. Early on my left lung was hurting and got a bit deflated from lying on my side. They've switched me to my other side now and it's helped. I also admit I'm a bit picky when it comes to my electrolytes. So although your prayers have produced miracles, I am still many miracles away from crossing the finish line. And I hope that you'll keep my beautiful mommy in your prayers as well. She has sacrificed so much so that I can be a part of my new family. She's pretty sick right now and needs all the help she can get. I think she's being sick so that I don't have to. I hope she gets better soon though - I miss seeing her!
Love,
Marshall Jonathan Stout
I haven't met most of you yet, but you've kept me alive. Your prayers have given me strength and determination to keep fighting. And I know your prayers have helped my parents too (they've got all sorts of emotions going, but they're hanging in there).
I guess I better fill you in on my little world. For such a lightweight, there sure are a lot of people fussing over me. I've got a couple doctors and a team of angels in scrubs that spend twelve hours at a time watching over me. I guess that makes me feel pretty special, but I'm trying to stay humble.
I've been pretty stable these last couple of days. I recently moved to an oscillating ventilator which helps me take 12 breaths a second (try doing that without hyperventilating!). It is a bit more gentle on my little lungs and helps exchange the oxygen and carbon dioxide. I've gained about two ounces since my birth, which is mostly water and makes my hands and feet all puffy. The doctors say I'll start losing weight soon, and that's normal.
Here's a picture of me from today. I usually like to keep my head and eyes covered to protect me from the bright blue UV lights (they don't make sunglasses in my size evidently), but I was cleaning up at the time and posed for dad's camera.
Although I've been doing pretty well, it hasn't been easy. Early on my left lung was hurting and got a bit deflated from lying on my side. They've switched me to my other side now and it's helped. I also admit I'm a bit picky when it comes to my electrolytes. So although your prayers have produced miracles, I am still many miracles away from crossing the finish line. And I hope that you'll keep my beautiful mommy in your prayers as well. She has sacrificed so much so that I can be a part of my new family. She's pretty sick right now and needs all the help she can get. I think she's being sick so that I don't have to. I hope she gets better soon though - I miss seeing her!
Love,
Marshall Jonathan Stout
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