Friday, January 25, 2008

11am Update

Gwyneth is about the same. She looks "a little" better today, according to the nurse. Thank you for your continued prayers. I may not update much today, unless something turns either way.

Tricia is doing incredibly well! She was off the vent (and on oxygen) for about 2.5 hours last night, and she's been off this morning for about 3 hours. She says that she can tell a difference in how much easier it is for her to breathe today than even last night (without the vent). This is a great thing. I would not be surprised if she's of the vent and just on oxygen pretty soon!

She hasn't been sleeping well since coming off the sedatives (even with the help of some sleeping meds), so please pray with us about that. My feeling is that it's a combination of the vent (can't do much but sleep on her back) and the ICU room/ward (which is not as comfortable or as quiet as her normal rooms/ward).

I got some good sleep last night, although I'm a little tired today. I may go get some caffeine (which I almost never drink) in a little while to help give me a boost at lest through the afternoon.

My parents and my grandmother (mom's mom) are here for a few days. Got to take Grandma in to see her first great-granddaughter last night. :)

Please, read the post below and help me if you can!

Thanks!

Nate

36 comments:

Destini said...

I am excited to hear how well Trisha is feeling. I found in reading your blog how I take for granted what I thought were the simple things in life, like the ability to take a deep cleansing breath of fresh air or holding a sweet new born in my arms. You and your family are some amazing people. You all give me such courage and strength in reading over your victories...the largest of which is just having the faith to take the good and the bad with praise and thanksgiving. I continue to pray for you 3...may God continue to bless you richly

My Diabetic Sweet Life said...

Fabulous idea! I just bought a webcam a couple of weeks ago. You need to know what spec your computer is (with respect to operating system really). I bought one that can be used on desktops or laptops (it has a long wire and a few different ways of sitting it on a surface). You can get one with a built in microphone if you want sound as well. Image quality can vary - so have a look at the number of pixels (or equivalent). Also, compare contrast ratio if you can because this also affects your image quality. Hmmm...not too sure there is anything else left to add, but I'm sure you'll get some helpful hints from other readers as well. If not, email me and I'd be glad to let you know more about them.

Chelle' said...

Great Great News about Tricia. I pray the vent is soon a distant memory to her!!

Glad to hear Gwenyth is a "little better." Waiting for the report that makes clear God divinely intervened causing her health to drasticall improve.

Good Luck on the Web Cam... I pray it is up and running soon so that Tricia can see her daughter.

Blessings.

Anonymous said...

I don't know anything about webcams. It's a great idea to help Tricia see Gwyneth, though.

My thoughts will be with Gwyneth today. I hope that things improve.

Laurie in Ca. said...

Praying continuously for Gwenyths problems to be resolved for her and that she is comfortable. Such great news about Tricia's vent weaning. Oh I hope it is soon for her. One more step to feeling comfortable and moving forward. Praying for that web cam for you guys. It would be so healing for Tricia until she can hold her little miracle. Prayers for her to get some good rest soon. I was just thinking how great it would to be able to get sound with the web cam. Tricia could get her used to her mommys voice. I am sooooooo challenged in this area, so I hope the experts can help. And as always, thank you for posting so faithfully.

Love, Laurie in Ca.

Anonymous said...

Once Tricia is on just oxygen, wouldn't she be allowed to go see Gwyneth if she wore a gown, gloves, and a mask? I'm sure the webcam will help tremendously, but when I had my baby and could not see or hold her for 3 days, I went crazy! I can only imagine how Tricia is feeling after all this time....I will pray for her to feel peace with this situation as your "tiny" Rose is healing. And hopefully she will be able to hold her soon.

Julie said...

Glad for the update on the girls - still praying for Gwyneth's belly and now for Tricia to get some good healing sleep.
Go get a Starbucks, Nate - that should keep you up for about 3 days if you don't normally drink caffeine!!! My husband's personal fave is the Java Chip Frappuccino. (No pressure...LOL)

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

I'm glad to hear that Gwyneth is a little better. I'll pray that she continues to improve.

Yay aabout Tricia. This is such good news... :)

Rebecca

Anonymous said...

I don't know much about webcams, but I bet if you go to a Best Buy they will be able to tell you exactly what to get and how to set it up. Just be sure to take your laptop with you so they can get you the best one for your needs.

Anonymous said...

Great news about Tricia this morning! Continued prayers that she is soon off the vent completely!
Praying that Gwyneth continues to improve throughout the day.
I know NOTHING about a webcam, but there is a really cool baby monitor that is actually a TV so you and Tricia can view your daughter's every move. One end will go into the NICU and the TV monitor will go into Tricia's room. They are actually pretty inexpensive and available at Babies'r'Us, etc.
Good luck!

Rich and Lauren said...

i will be praying for Gwyneth and i'm so glad to hear the great news about tricia. i'll also pray that she can get some sleep. one of the girls has been following your blog closely as well. We are praying for y'all!

Anonymous said...

So happy to hear that Tricia is doing so well. I'll be praying that she is completely off the vent soon.

Praying for good news about sweet Gwynet today.

Thumbelina's Mom said...

Keeping you all in my prayers! I'm a mom to a former 24-weeker, who is now 8 years old and fabulous. The NICU is certainly a roller coaster ride with 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards, isn't it.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous about Tricia! Will be praying for Gwyneth's renewed strength!

Sorry, can't help you with the webcam!

terri c said...

Tricia is awesome!!!! And "a little better" is wonderful news and more prayers coming for all of you. The Java Chip Frappuccino is my fave but if one is caffeine-naive it is like rocket fuel. I believe caffeine is an important part of the food pyramid however. Wishing for good luck with the webcam, I wonder if Tricia's sleep problem is partly being separated from Gwyneth, just as it is hard for you to leave the hospital.

Anonymous said...

Still praying constantly for Gwyneth...that the inflammation will go away, that she will continue to poop at a good rate, that she is comfortable, and that the doctors will have divine wisdom. Great news about Tricia!! We're still praying for her strength, and continued recovery. And praying for peace and rest for both of you!! Love and prayers from LU SOL!!

Terry Gray Sr. said...

Nate and Tricia, I am sure that tonight will be a restfull night. I pray that each of you can rest and re-gain some much needed stamina for days to come. It must be very hard to get adjusted to life in the Hospital and I am sure it wears on you. I read your Dad's post about seeing Tricia smiling, that has to be encouragemnet for all of you.

We pray for continued health and improvments for the three of you.

Alicia said...

I'll be praying that Trisha gets some good sleep soon. The last time that I was in the hospital I couldn't sleep and it made me feel crazy. Finally I got my husband to bring me earplugs. The light and hall speakers were making me nuts! :^) Glad you got some good rest last night.

Candy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Candy said...

Fantastic that Tricia is doing so well. Prayers for her sleep and for Gwyneth continue...

Sonia said...

Just letting you know I'm still praying.

Unknown said...

YAY Tricia for having continued progress! I am continuing to pray for Gwyneth to get to feeling better soon, and for Tricia to continue with her progress.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear about both of the girls. "A little better" is better than the same, and better than worse!! Praise God! It's also exciting to hear about Tricia! Have a great visit with the proud grand parents and great grandma!!! I'm know they're thrilled to death to see that little angel! Can't wait to hear more good news.

Love and Hugs,
Bre

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your day and the upcoming weekend Nate. Rejoice!

Anonymous said...

I found you through another blog and your faith is just infectious. I know that is part of the reason you are sharing this journey with us so I wanted to post and let you know that you have definitely made an impact on me. So good to hear that Tricia is doing better today! I will continue to pray for no infections and that mom and baby can meet face to face , skin to skin very soon.

Anonymous said...

Still praying for you and your girls. God is a miracle working God and we can put our trust in Him!

Anonymous said...

I see someone has already suggested the baby monitor with the camera. It will also come in handy once the "girls" come home. Still praying for you all in Texas, praying for Gwyneth's well being and Tricia's continued progress. Isn't it amazing how quickly your tracking map has covered the U.S.? Good news travels fast...prayer even faster.

Godspeed,
Candi in Texas

Jane said...

always praying!

I have allergy induced asthma and when my breathing is not good, my sleep is not good either. Interesting enough, my breathing and sleep were not good last night either. I'll make sure to pray for you, especially if I wake in the middle of the night... pray that you are able to sleep so that your body continues to heal and prepare for your new lungs!

Anonymous said...

Hey Nate, Patrica, and Gwenyth, this is Paul J. Gorzkowski from the Outer Banks Sentinel. I am sorry for not commenting before now.

I just wanted to let all of you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. I was in shock after Pastor Rick emailed to me the link to this blog a few weeks ago and after a few minutes of reading, I was shocked to learn that there was a little girl named Gwenyth onboard the Lawrenson family. I am happy for you guys. I saw the pictures of her and she is beautiful.

Since I last spoke with Patricia at the Trick or Treat party at Nags Head Church, I have been thinking about you guys and wondering how everything has been going. I wish yall the best and please stay strong.

It sounds as though you three have been down a long hard road. But it will get easier as times goes on. So keep the faith in God on your end and we will keep the prayers for yall going strong on this end.

Take care Lawrenson family and God Bless!!

Sincerely,

Paul J. Gorzkowski
(Your favorite Newspaper reporter)

Anonymous said...

Hi Nate, I just wanted to let you know that I´m still following your blog and praying for you, and Tricia and Gwyneth. Thank you so much for your triumphant testimony to God´s goodness and grace!! May you feel His sustaining power as you continue to support your wife and baby daughter. I´m so glad to hear of the progress Tricia has been able to have, and I pray that Gwyneth will soon be back to her astounding good health.

In Christ,
Dionne

Andy Lawrenson said...

Still praying for baby G's tummy.

That is great news about Tricia!

Gwyneth's Great Uncle Andy

Anonymous said...

I heard about your situation from a Duke ICN friend (there's a network of us out there!) and have been touched to read your posts. I am a mom of a 25 weeker who was at Duke for 4 months. (Morgan just turned 3 and is doing very well.) We faced PDA, brain-bleed, ostomy bag, eye surgeries, 2 months of ventilators, and so forth. We did not hold her until she was 2 months old (which seemed like an eternity), but I am sorry to read that your wife cannot even be at the bedside. I hope the webcam idea works! I will not offer unsolicited advice, as I totally understand where you are coming from with all the comments and advice coming at you constantly. I just wanted to let you know that there are people out there that you've never met praying for your family. I can't imagine having a child and a spouse struggling at the same time, so I have to say that I am amazed by your strength! Just remember that God never gives us anything beyond what we can handle...and remember that on both good days and bad because there will be MANY ups and downs along the way. I hope you and your wife can find a purpose to your struggles as we did with ours. Take care!

Emily said...

Prayers, as always, for all of you...
I can relate to Tricia not sleeping--it is really rough. I had a hard time with the sleeping meds, too, so that's not unusual either. It really helped once I was on a "regular" floor. I hope they find something to help her sleep soon!!!!!

Sylvie said...

Juliet took my hand today and prayed for little Gwyneth, she prayed that she could see her mommy very soon...
Dear Tricia, you are so much on our minds and in our prayers, may God watch over you and give you a restful night,
Nathan, you are doing a great job!

Sylvie for the 5 of us

Anonymous said...

They make great video baby monitors. Would that work??? Just a thought!

Anonymous said...

We are sending prayers from California, I am glad Gwenyth is doing a little better - I hope that this issue resolves quickly. My son spent a month in the NICU and I know it is not easy, you are all in my thoughts.