Aidan's Journey.............

Party Time

Come over any time to see our beautiful baby boy!

How Aidan came to us.....

Aidan Sean Gerard Dennehy
Born: June 24th, 2001
Due Date: October 5th, 2001

June 24th (Happy Birthday Aidan)
I woke up that day at around 3:00 am with my nurse telling me the grandparents were here and that she needed to make me presentable for them. My husband was now in the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) visiting with our new angel. I was in recovery until the following day. My doctor had then told me she would get me a private room close to the NICU so that I could visit the baby with no problems. I remember feeling physically fine that day but I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster that lied ahead.

June 25th
I was still not able to see my son. I needed to be fever free for 48 hours before they would let me see him. My health was fine that day and the nurses told me that if I were up at about 1:00 am they would take me to see my son. Needless to say I wasn't up at that time so I was to see him the next day.

June 26th
Woke up really early with my husband right along side of me in a folding chair. Lord knows how he slept there for so many days. It was my big day; fever free for over 48 hours and it was time to visit my son for the first time. Well, they had snapped a picture for me to see the day before but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. The nurse wheeled me up to his Isolette and I looked in and all I could do was cry. Here was this perfectly formed little angel. He was so small and fragile. I couldn't hold him or help him in any way and all I could feel was sadness. That is truly a day I will never forget. It was really difficult the first 48 hours after Aidan was born. We weren't sure if he was strong enough to make it through or if we would talk to the doctors and they would tell us bad news.

June 28th
Well this was a very hard day for me; I was discharged from the hospital today. Although I was happy to go home I couldn't have been sadder to leave the hospital without my baby.

June 29th
There was countless phone calls throughout the evening and endless hours spent sitting and staring into my son's Isolette. He was doing ok and he was stable. At lest that is what you hear whenever you think he is doing well.

June 30th
Nothing really to report today, He is stable and that is all we can hope for. He is still under phototherapy. Hopefully his billyrubins will start to improve.

July 2nd
Aidan has been stable. Working on his vent settings. Trying to adjust all these settings to keep Aidan comfortable. He seems to be coasting on fairly low settings for his age and weight. His O2 % has been anywhere between 21% (room air) and 35%.

July 4th
Went to visit Aidan today and I must say he is not looking too bad these days, a little skinny but he'll put the weight on. They have taken off feedings for now because of some bile in the OG tube. They hope to start them up soon. He could only handle about 4cc's and hour.

July 7th
Aidan has been stable, he is at about 17 on the IMV and 20 on his pressure. He has been doing ok. The doctors are starting to feed him again, 1cc an hour to start.

July 13th
Happy, Happy, Happy day! Aidan went on CPAP at 4:00 am this morning. When we called this morning to find out how he did over night the nurse told us he extubated himself and they had put him on CPAP. I don't think my husband and I could have gotten dresses any faster. We wanted to rush to the hospital to see our son in case he needs to be reintubated that sometimes happens. We finally got to the hospital and to our surprise he was still on CPAP. Now, when the nurse asked me if I wanted to hold him, my good friend fear had found me again. I of course said yes but at the same time I was terrified. Anyway, the nurse in charge lifted him out of the Isolette and handed him to me. You could not imagine the joy I felt at that moment. I had waited 25 days to hold my baby and here I was staring into his little face and feeling his little fingers for the first time without surgical gloves. Nothing was better than those 15 minutes I was allowed to hold him. Unfortunately he had to go back into his warm shelter for today and maybe tomorrow I could hold him again. My husband and I were glowing.

July 14th
Called early that morning to get the news that Aidan was reintubated. He had gotten too tired and his blood gases were very high. Well like they say " We take two steps forward and hopefully we only take one step back " Well this was our one step back, he was on the vent again and we didn't know when we would be able to hold him again.

July 23rd
Well we showed up at the hospital today and Aidan's nurse had asked if we wanted to hold him. Of course we said yes, even though he was still on the vent. This would be the first time dad was able to hold him. Dad was like a champ and Aidan reacts so well to him. We had him out for about 30 min. this time. He has been stable and nothing really has changed. From here on we wait for him to put the weight on.

August 3rd
As we approached Aidan's little Isolette we saw a big sign saying he had finally made 2 lb.'s. What a great milestone for him. I just thought everyone would like to know.

August 11th
Called in the middle of the night and was told Aidan had a good night, they raised his vent pressure a bit, and that he made his 1000 gram milestone. He is now 1005 gr. He is now feeding 8cc's an hour. Now we are able to touch our Angel without all the sterile gloves. We are anticipating CPAP next week. The doctor told us he would give Aidan another try at it. Pray all goes well.


August 14th
Went to see little Aidan today, I was told he extubated ( pulled his vent tube out ) himself last night at around 10:00pm. They did try him on CPAP but no luck, he was tooo tired and obviously not ready so in the tube went. He is however 1045 grams. A little shy of 2lb 5oz. He is at 9cc's an hour now.Maybe in another week or two they will try him on CPAP again.


August 20th
Aidan is doing well, not too many things happening. He extubated himself on Thursday night and he was put on CPAP and failed. He was reintubated fairly quickly. He was however very stressed and had to be taken off the food for a few days. To much of our surprise though he has gained some weight. He is now 2lb 8oz. The doctors had just started him back on feeds. 3cc's an hour.He seems to be handling that just fine.He did come out to play today. Both me and Aidan needed a little QT time together. I held him for about 40 min and he did wonderfully. He had his third eye exam tonight and everything is still on track. That was good news. He is on a rotation now of 1 hour on CPAP and 2 hours on IMV and he seems to be handling it just fine. Hopefully we can wean him off the vent. His breath rate is now set at 5. That is the lowest setting possible. His blood gases are great, he is however fighting an infection in the lungs right now, so he is on antibiotic for the next few days. I will update you in a few days.


August 31st
I thought I would just put in a quick update on Aidan. He is doing fine, he is 2lb. 14oz. he is feeding continuous 4cc's an hour but I expect them to increase it over the next few days or so. He is still on the vent, although on very low settings. He is at room air 21% and is having no episodes. The doctors would like him to just grow now. He is still on the antibiotics but the infection seems to be improving. I will update as he progresses.


September 3rd
Aidan made his 3lb's Horray!!!! He is now 3lb's 2.4oz. He is still on the vent but is now doing rotations of CPAP and IMV. He seems to be doing very well. He is feeding 12cc's and hour now, so I am sure he will gain weight quickly. Nothing else to really report so I will update in a few days.


September 7,2001
Another milestone for Aidan, he is off his temp probe. That means we can dress him ! It is so nice to see him in clothes. He is now weighing in at 3lb's 6oz. He is getting to be a big boy now. He is still on the vent at minimal settings and rotating CPAP every 2 hours. The doctors would like to extubate him next week and see if he can sustain breating with CPAP. Say your prayers. I will update then.


September 16,2001
Well Aidan is now 4lb's 1.4oz. He is too cute. He is filling out everywhere. I am able to hold him alot more now. Unfortunately he is still intubated but he does very well on CPAP through the ET tube. There was a little change of plans and he is scheduled to be extubated at the end of the week. I will update as he passes his milestones.


September 25,2001
Well there is just sooooo much news. Aidan extubated himself Sunday evening and was doing so well they decided to try him on CPAP. He did wonderfully. We were so excited to see him doing so well. I think everyone was shocked. He lasted a beautiful 24 hours and was sating so well on CPAP with 21% O2 they decided to try him on Nasal Cannulla. Well my little man is now a big boy, hanging out on nasal cannula. Still sating wonderfully on 21% O2. A miracle surely did happen this weekend and for that I am beyond grateful. He is just too cute with out all the tape and tubes. Make sure to check out his new pics. God Bless.


Septembr 27th
Big Big Day for Aidan. He has moved out of the ICU and into the Intermediate Room ( Step Down). After his fist day in his new room I walked in to be wonderfully surprised he was off his nasal cannula. He is no longer on any oxygen and he is feeding 20 cc's every 3 hours. He is weighing in at 4lb's 6.8oz. He is such a big boy now. He attempted his first bottle on Friday. Words can not express the joy and happiness we feel right now. I can not even attempt to put it into writting. All I can say is that God is good to us. Hopefully if Aidan continues to do well he will be comming home soon. I will keep everyone posted.
God Bless.......


October 9th
Well Aidan is doing just fine. He is getting stronger every day. He is breathing room air and on his bottle every other feed. He now weighs 5lb's.He is such a cutie. It wont be long now till he comes home. I will update you as we get closer to his coming home.


October 17th
Aidan is finally coming home. After a really long 117 days in the NICU my little angel is coming home. We will be welcoming him on Friday- October 19,2001. He is now weighing 5lbs. 8oz. I wanted to thank everyone who has been following his progression throughout these last 4 months and let everyone know that I really believe miracles do happen here on earth. I am reminded of that every time I look at my son.

Love Sharles, Danny & Aidan.................