CVICU

While we were at UAMS waiting for Evan's arrival a neonatalist (I am sure I butchered the spelling) came in and told us what to expect after Evan's birth. He told us that he would be taken straight to a stabilization room and what all would happen there and then the transport team from Childrens would take him to the NICU at childrens. We told him that we had been told he would go to the CVICU (cardiovascular ICU). He said he would call and find out, but they usually went to NICU. He came back and said the cardiologist wanted him in CVICU. After Evan was born and they suspected the other issues and pretty much told us the heart defect was the least of his worries he told us Evan would be going to the NICU after all. Then he came back and said the cardiologist still wanted him in the CVICU.
This is the part we look back on and see God's hand. I am sure the NICU at childrens is a wonderful place with amazing nurses. They would have to be to do what they do, but the care we received in the CVICU was exactly what Evan needed (and Sean and I for that matter). The first night Evan was there the nurse took care of Evan and Sean. I had to stay in the hospital at UAMS, but Sean went with Evan. Evan had to have labs drawn every 15 minutes and docs were everywhere and from what I understand it was pretty crazy for a while. Sean was sleep deprived and scared. Jennifer took care of both of them. She took care of all of Evan's needs and even brought Sean hot chocolate. Sean thought she hung the moon so she had to have been pretty amazing. She was also there the night we let Evan go and she took care of both of us then.
Haley was his nurse for the next three nights. She was very patient with us while we figured everything out and keep Evan's room quiet and created an enviroment where he could rest and relax. She gave him baths and changed out the tape on his face to make him more comfortable. He was always so relaxed the next morning.
Andrew was one of the day nurses. He was there when we got to hold him the first time. I will always be so grateful for the nurses working around our desire to hold him as much as possible. There would always we a huge mess of tangled wires and lines and the vent was not easy to move around, but they did whatever was necessary for us to be able to hold Evan.
Mekka was our weekend nurse. She was there when we took Evan off the vent and he coded. We will be forever grateful to her for how quickly she worked and got everyone in there. She also bathed him and let me put the lotion on him. Little things like changing his diaper and putting lotion on him just became so precious to us. She also had to answer questions and explain all sorts of new stuff to us after he came off the vent.
Tonja was our weekend night nurse. She had the hard job of trying to balance suctioning him to get the stuff out of his lungs he could not and suctioning too much and causing more swelling. Both nights she was in there he had tough nights and she worked hard to make him comfortable.
Keri was the nurse who was there when I was given the phone number and password to get information. When I called her she answered all of my questions and explained things I didn't even know to ask about. She was there when I got there later that morning and she was there when we let Evan go. She probably spent the most time with Evan, Sean, and I. She patiently answered questions as Sean followed her around and asked them. She took the favorite pictures I have of Evan (the picture above is one of them). She cried with us as we let him go. She went above and beyond and I will be forever grateful to her.
Even though Evan's cardiac issues were never really dealt with after we received the diagnosis of Trisomy 13 the cariologist and the nurses took care of our little man. They showed mercy and compassion. They were truthful with us and we knew what we were getting into, and they were there for us when we needed it. This is when I can look back and see God's hand. The doctor talked about prayer, and Keri told us she was praying for us. At this point prayer was the only thing getting us through this. God made sure we were where we needed to be.