Life at the Pollock house is great. We are loving every moment we spend together as a family. Jordan is doing great with feeding. Some nights I have to wake up to him wiggling around when he’s ready. One of the sweetest moments has been listening to Randy read to Jordan in the morning while I catch up on some zzzz’s.
A lot happened the first couple days of Jordan’s life, when he was still in Akron Children’s NICU. I was pretty anxious to be with Randy and Jordan before his back closure on June 14, the day after he was born. I wanted to be able to pray with the doctor and wait with the family to see our son when he came out of surgery. I woke up early that morning with the worst shoulder pain that I’ve ever experienced. Aubrie, my nurse, came to my rescue with pain medication, but unfortunately, it made me a little sleepy and loopy. After discussing the scenario with Randy and Aubrie, we decided it would be best for me to stay at Akron General during Jordan’s back closure.
Randy and Dr. Roger Hudgins, Jordan’s neurosurgeon at Akron Children’s, conference called me before the procedure so I had a chance to ask my questions and be reassured that our little man was going to be OK. The procedure went as planned. The lesion was located higher than we expected, but Dr. Hudgins and his team were able to pull enough skin over so they did not need a plastic surgeon to come in and graft skin.
Our family was there to support Randy and Jordan while I pushed my body to be ready to visit in the afternoon. Once everything calmed down, Randy and I took a ride to Akron Children’s in the security car for me to meet our son for the second time. I was pretty heartbroken to hear that Jordan was in pain and the nurses thought it best for him to stay in his isolette. But they allowed me to touch him and talk to him through the isolette doors. I was hoping to get to hold him on my lap, but we trusted it was in his best interest to wait.
My poor little man had 19 staples in his back, but boy, were they straight. Way to go, Dr. Hudgins! Our little Peanut’s head circumference increased from 38cm at birth to 40cm because of the fluid buildup from his back being closed. This meant that Jordan would need to have a shunt placed in his little body a couple days later on June 16.
Holly, Dr. Hudgins’ physician assistant, explained that a “c” would be cut on the right side of his head, then the shunt would be led down his body to his stomach cavity, where the fluid will absorb in his body. At the end of the shunt, it coils. And if all goes as planned, it will continue to grow with Jordan. The first 3 months are when we have to be cautiously watching for signs the shunt may not be working. After this period is over, the risk decreases for blockage or malfunction of the shunt.
Wednesday, June 15, was the big day. The day Randy and I got to hold our baby. As Jordan was placed on my chest, I couldn’t hold back my tears from the emotions of the last 9-month journey. I wanted our baby to be OK. I wanted to feed our little man. I wanted to take his pain and just prayed that God would use his journey for his purpose. I didn’t want to let him go. I would have held him for hours and hours.
Watching Jordan’s dad hold him for the first time will be forever ingrained in my memory. The love Randy has for his son is overwhelming. As Randy says, having this baby changes everything.
Jordan was allowed to try to breastfeed. However, he had to stay on his belly due to the closure on his back. Not an easy task, but he was able to turn his head enough to get some experience of feeding. The activity also allowed my body to recognize its need to supply food for our little one. I’m so thankful for the nurse who allowed us to have this time together and assisted with the positioning.
As far as Jordan’s bladder goes, he has not had excess urine in his bladder. We hope this is a good sign for the future, but the urologist said it’s hard to tell because of the changes the body goes through over time. We count it a blessing he is doing so well filling his diapers.
