#7 NOAH

On Tuesday June 9th at 12:02pm our son Noah Lawrence was born!  As many of you know, this day was preceded by a flood of uncertainty.  There were emotions such as "Afraid To Love", which we overcame.  We knew the challenges of HLHS but we had also learned Noah had a more severe subtype of this condition, HLHS with aortic atresia and mitral stenosis.  On top of these obstacles, our family (like yours) was dealing with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some prayers were answered as we stayed the course as best as possible.  The day before Noah was to be born, the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital changed it's very strict visitor policy to allow both parents to be present during the entirety of the hospital stay.  There was a huge feeling of gratefulness with this decision as I'm able to be intricately involved in my son's medical care.  It's been about six years since I've done hospital rounds as a physician and it's fascinating and humbling to see the hospital world from a different perspective.  With the decreased threat of COVID and change of visitor policy, I've also been able to work together with Jana on her recovery from a cesarian section. 

In preparation for Noah's delivery, we arranged to be at the university hospital system a week before.  Thank God for maternal ultrasound technology which was coupled with the wisdom of medical professionals and helped us determine that an elective cesarian section would be the safest option for Jana and Noah.   I'm appreciative of our family support as Jana's mother was able to stay with her at the hospital's "MedInn" during the week leading up to the delivery date.  My very busy farming family back in North West Ohio volunteered to care for our beautiful two and a half year old daughter.  Many others pitched in as well-- which stacked up to be valuable blessings for us.

Noah's arrival came with joy.  It was an elated moment as I sat by Jana's shoulder as we both smiled at the sound of a normal newborn cry on the other side of the sterile blue drape.  He came into the world vigorously!  Despite many opinions suggesting otherwise, we were able to very briefly meet him, although not hold him. The team performed a well orchestrated rapid assessment and once Jana was comfortable, I was able to join him immediately next door in a room called the N.E.S.T. (Newborn Evaluation, Stabilization and Treatment).  Unfortunately, but somewhat expected, Noah decompensated soon after arrival and had to have an emergent placement of a breathing tube for support.  He was stabilized rapidly and I was given reassurance from the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) team, a cardiology attending physician and fellow physician in training who gave me a detailed explanation of what was going on around us.  After extensive research and preparation, Jana and I both felt comfortable knowing what to expect.  Jana is a BSN labor and delivery nurse after all.  However, one thing is having experience in medicine and another to be personally entrenched in the situation. 

Everything was geared toward optimizing him for his first open heart surgery.  Several variables were in Noah's favor to be able to withstand major surgery with cardiac bypass (stopping his beating heart while it was reconstructed).  The 10lb 9oz birth weight was a tremendous blessing.  The long (but shorter than expected) surgery day could be a blog post itself.  In short, we were blown away at the efficiency of the surgical team. 

PCTU setup

As we are prayerfully anticipating the removal of his breathing tube, we are optimistic that we will hear his cry again.  It is painful at times for us to see him tear or grimace without an audible cry.  There is an elaborate system of monitoring surrounding him in the PCTU (Pediatric Cardio Thoracic Unit) and we are alleviated by the frequent and caring communication of the doctors and nurses who are constantly present.  The treatment goals are in place and we are staying on the intended course since being At The Starting Line.

So why Noah Lawrence?  With Lawrence, he shares a strong family name and this is also my middle name.  We have been a family of "J's" since Jana and I first welcomed our daughter Juliana who was named after her great grandmothers (Julia & Anna).  We brainstormed J names and felt Jeremy was too obvious, plus we didn't want to complicate it by having a Jeremy Jr.  By January we had a short list that included the name Noah.  When we learned he would be born with a heart condition in February (also American Heart Month), Noah stood out prominently at the top of our short list of names.  

Cross attached to the baby warmer

Like the story of Noah in the Bible, we know that our Noah, and us as parents, are called to listen to what God is saying as we are guided through life's journey.  I've personally learned to be more obedient to the Lord's calling and I'm diligently working on areas of spiritual weakness which I've neglected for years.  I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I don't know the Bible as much as I should.  Despite some learning challenges at a young age, I was blessed with the gift of tenacity to condense volumes of medical textbooks and learn from the topics covered across chapters upon chapters of medical knowledge.  Why can't I do this with ONE book? I'm calling my Bible study "Cross training" and I pray that these studies will open up new perspectives with positive impacts for me, my family and others.  

Noah of the Bible is a story of resiliency.  One reason our son was named Noah was because we knew he would face turbulent waters, but through obedience,  God's promise will be realized.  I hope your family has taken the time to work on the powerful mechanism of prayer and mindfulness during the COVID-19 lockdown.  As we remember God's promise in the book of Genesis, I encourage you to take time to reflect on the past few months.  What does God have in store for us next?  

Thoughts? Have you ever felt called to go do something?  Comment and share.