December 30, 2008
Happy New Year!
It was a tough year, but in the end we had these two precious gifts to be thankful for. And then there’s this girl too! A miracle in her own right. – Chad (more pics of the whole gang HERE)
November 24, 2008
new pics!
Sorry it’s been so long, gang; we’ve had our hands full! Max and Kate came home about a couple of weeks ago and are doing great. Max is now over 5lbs and Kate isn’t far behind. Here are some new pics:
October 31, 2008
Sorry it’s been awhile…quick update
Sorry folks, we’ve been swamped. Here’s a quick update. Blue Cross Blue Shield decided that Karen no longer needed to be at Baptist a few days ago…despite the doctors feeling otherwise. They sent her home to be cared for by a home health care nurse. We assumed that meant that a nurse would come daily and hook up her IV antibiotics. We were shocked to find two moving box sized boxes of antibiotics, parts and pieces, and a pump on our porch when we got her home. We were even more shocked to learn that we would be responsible ourselves for mixing the “dangerous” antibiotics and administering them ourselves. I was more than shocked…I was furious. I made lots of contacts with various health care professionals, all of whom said it was not only dangerous, but also irresponsible of BCBS to expect us to do that on our own. RNs aren’t even allowed to mix drugs in a hospital setting. Insurance thought it was ok for us to mix them on our kitchen table because they are too cheap to pay for a nurse to come and do it. Fact is, a nurse shouldn’t even be doing it in the home. I did my best to keep my cool and eventually met with our infectious disease doctor at Baptist. He thought it was unacceptable as well, so he prescribed an oral dose of the more involved antibiotic and told us to continue the more simple IV drug on our own. I’ve enlisted some folks to bark up BCBS tree. They’ll hear more from the Nikazy’s. Karen was very ill with a life threatening infection and they had us take her life into our own hands here in our home because they were finished paying for her. Believe me, I would have gladly paid out of pocket for Karen’s life had I known what the deal was.
Max and Kate are doing awesome! Max is completely unattached at this point except for basic monitoring devices. He’s gotten very strong and is allowed to come out of his incubator now whenever we want him. Kate still has her vapotherm, but is getting much better. She has fewer apnea “spells” each day. We’ve been able to hold her a few times. A few days ago nurse Bernie wrapped Max and Kate in the same blanket, skin to skin, and let us hold them together. They were so content to be side by side again.
I’ve never Izzy happier than she is now. She’s very content being back at her house with her daddy … AND HER MOMMY.
Tons more pictures very soon. Keep checking back.
October 23, 2008
Max and Kate born October 22!
first picture of them together, moments after delivery. This pic was taken right outside the operating room doors just prior to the high speed trip down the hall to the NICU.
Chad: Hi ya’ll, this post won’t be as eloquent as perhaps it should it be, but you’ll have to forgive me…I’m a little whipped. Max and Kate were born in that order at 3:27 and 3:28 respectively today. Max weighed 4.1 pounds and Kate weighed 3.11 and 3/4 pounds. We were thrilled with how big they are. Both are resting in the NICU now under the constant supervision of the staff nurses and doctors. We’re very impressed with the treatment they are receiving. Both are breathing on their own as best as can be expected of 31 week old babies. Kate is doing a little better than Max. That was to be expected as well due the “wimpy white boy” syndrome we kept hearing about. White males tend to struggle a little more early on. No cause for alarm though…both are right where they should be.
Karen is a machine. She did great! So many of the nurses were beside themselves with excitement for their favorite patient. Karen is recovering well. In fact, they’ve already transferred her back to her home here in 3206.
What an experience today was! During delivery I counted 16 people in the room performing different tasks. Everyone took part in the miracle of Max and Kate’s birth.
More when we’re not so exhaused. For all you facebook people…there are some pics on Karen’s facebook page. I’ll post some pics on this site when I’m able.
The Nikazy Twins 