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Victor and Clarence Joseph (C.J.)
Born at 36 weeks was firstborn Victor Omari (Praise Victory) at 4 pounds and 7 ounces named after the late Victoria Mary (their grandmother) and then 2 minutes later we were blessed with Clarence Joseph (Clearly God will Increase) at 3 pounds 11 ounces named after the late Clarence Isaiah and Joseph Barnes (their great grandfathers). Victor cried immediately but it took some work for C.J. he was not breathing. Both of the boys were placed in incubators and later under "bilirubin lights". Victor was the strongest and he was progressing quickly. CJ was a little slower and after a few days, he was having difficulty feeding by mouth. Because of the low birth weights of the babies I knew that I would be going home before the twins from the hospital.
CJ's first emergency surgery
After about seven days, the boys were progressing well. CJ was being watched very closely because he was refusing his milk. Only five days after their births (I was back in the hospital for CHF) Maurice came rushing into my hospital room with more terrible news. CJ was in trouble. CJ had been grumpy all night and his bellyhad beome red and distended. We spoke with a Neonatologist and he told us that after an x-ray CJ had rapid onset of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). A section of his intestines was dying and it was in danger of rupturing. After this shock set in, he told us that they would watch him and pray that there would be no rupture.
Maurice stayed overnight in the hospital with all of us and in the morning we found out that a rupture had occurred. CJ needed emergency surgery and highly specialized care and he was rushed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. When we saw CJ before they transported him, he looked so ill. His breathing was labored and his skin was mottled and gray. CJ was at deaths door just in a matter of days. We touched his little hand and his eyes opened up and he looked right at us as if to say "Mommy , Daddy and I going to be ok?" We prayed over him and off he went to the ambulance. I was released from the hospital that night and we followed the ambulance to Egleston Hospital. When we arrived at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston the staff informed Maurice and I that CJ was rushed into surgery. We spoke to the surgeonDr. Paul Parker, and he explained that they were going to have to remove the dead portion of intestine and see how much of the tissue had died. CJ was given a poor chance of survival and we were told that there may not be any intestines to be saved. After the 3 hour surgery and a nonstop prayer session. We were told that the surgery was successful and that there were 6 areas of gangrene tissue. A fairly large area was removed and they would wait for 2 days and go back in to see if the treatment of the areas was successful and if they could create ostomies. We were so thankful CJ was alive. The very next day mom began to have problems breathing again and she was taken back to the hospital. Click Here for more on mom
CJ had his second major surgery one week after his first one to check for infection.. During this 3 hour surgery they had to tie off and bring his intestines to the surface of his stomach to create stomas. CJ had 3 holes in his body where they put in his nutrients and refed it back into his body to collect the waste in a colostomy bag. CJ was not even 1 month old! Maurice was visiting all three of us in three different hospitals everyday for almost 3 weeks. I was restricted to only see CJ in the hospital once a week until my heart condition was better. CJ was doing pretty well after a few weeks and I was able to start seeing him a few times a week. Maurice went to visit CJ everyday after work to take pictures of CJ for me and to give me the updates on his health.
Victor Home at last
When I was released from the hospital the next morning we picked up our son Victor from Crawford Long Hospital. Once Victor arrived home, we were happy and sad at the same time. Happy to have one of our babies home and sad that CJ was still in the NICU. Victor was extremely colicky and he had a terrible case of thrush in the mouth and we eventually had to rush him to the hospital to find out that he also had acid reflux. After zantac and the wonderful Dr. Browns bottles we were in the right direction for some long awaited sleep. CJ was doing pretty well by now and I was able to visit him after a few weeks of recovery for my heart. Daddy went to visit CJ after work to take pictures for me and to come home and give me updates.
CJ's third operation within 1 month of birth
After a few days, the Drs recommended that little CJ get a central line. This was yet another operation before he was even 1 month old. We agreed because CJ had become a hard stick. It was hard to find a vein in his body. The last time we saw him, they had an IV in his head. This was something that I could not take. (I had been a hard stick during my cancer treatment and had two ports so I knew what he was going through.)
CJ was on TPN for a while now and his eyes had become as yellow as the sun. The TPN was great nutrients but it came at a cost. One of the downsides is that it causes liver damage and sometimes will have the patient needing a liver transplant. Maurice and I would have to deal with that if it came later. At first CJ was on TPN at least 22 hours of the day. After lots of infections and over eight blood transfusions later, CJ was down to 18 hours of TPN a day.