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Tommy's
Preemie
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Tommy Loves to Hear from Everyone! If you came here from another Web site or from a search engine, check out the "Hallway" of the "CyberNursery Web Site" for information on the entire site. Greetings. I am a professor at Kansas State University and webmaster of The WonderWise Parent, a site for parents and parent education professionals. I would like to announce the formation of a new and exciting web search device called "The Parent Education Ring" and invite you to submit your site for membership in the Ring. "The Parent Education Ring" (PER) is a gathering of websites that have a common purpose of providing information and resources for parents and professionals who work with them. Think of it as a sort of "one-stop-shopping" for parents on the World Wide Web. At this moment, the Ring only has one site (WWParent) since it just started but with your help we can grow to become the premier search device for parents and professionals interested in children and parents. This Ring is made possible through the support of The WebRing. The success of "The Parent Education Ring" depends entirely on sites joining the Ring and agreeing to post the "Parent Education Ring" icon prominently on the page from their site they want to include in the Ring. So if you have a site you would like to nominate to join our Ring or are just curious, visit the Parent Education Ring Homepage at: http://www.ksu.edu/wwparent/parentring.htm Further explanation and instruction is provided there. This is an absolutely magnificent device for bringing all of our quality sites together in a loop. So... join the Ring! If you know of other quality sites that provide information for parents or parent educators, contact them and suggest they visit the homepage to apply for membership as well. You can also see how the Parent Education Ring (and another search device called "The Rail") are now available from the beginning page of my site: http://www.ksu.edu/wwparent/begin.html Let's find the best, most informative sites on the web and get them all together on The Parent Education Ring. Charles A. Smith, Ph.D. Kansas State University Charles A. Smith Professor, School of Family Studies and Human Resources Kansas State University Home Page: The WonderWise Parent http://www.ksu.edu/wwparent/begin.html
Hi Tommy! My name is Kim and I have two children ages 1 and 2 who were both born early. My first son, Paul, was born 12 weeks early and came home after 6 weeks in the NICU. My second son, Benjamin, was born five weeks early and doing fine. I spent my second pregnancy on partial bedrest and did much better. They cannot find a reason as to why I have my babies early. I'm so glad that there is finally a place for me to go to find resources like this one provides. If anyone would like to contact me, feel free. sincerely, Kimberly Lauer Kimberly Lauer Hi Tommy: My name is Tobias and i´m from Sweden.I was born on the 29th of November 1996. 9 weeks premature.I´m still at the hospital, but hopefully going home on Sunday this week . The CyberNursery looks very good My father Thomas is working hard on my homepage,between the visits at the hospital. address---http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9221/ TOBIAS Thomas Sundstrom Tobias Homepage Hi Tommy: I love your homepage....it's really good, you probably know that already??!! I have just made my own homepage, and it contains the story of my 2 year old preemie, Kine - she is a 24-weeker. I'll be happy to be added as a link in your cyber nursery!!! Address: http://home.sol.no/kjalbrig/heidi.htm I hope it is OK with you that I already have a link to your page??! Best regards Heidi Albrigtsen, Norway
Hi Tommy: As parents, I can tell that your parents love you very much. As the mother of a 27-weeker I know what it is like to love a preemie. It takes a special parent, an extraordinary parent. God doesn't give preemie babies to just any parents. It takes a lot of love, patience and hope. Kaj (rhymes with sky) was born 13 weeks early but thank goodness I ate well and he weighed a whopping 2lbs 10 oz! He was in NICU at ST. Lukes in Boise ID for two and a half months. He was very well taken care of. The nurses there loved and cared for him. Kaj now had problems but more than that he is alive, and he is absolutely beautiful. Preemies bring an extraordinary light to our lives. I know that my husband and I cherish his light more because it had been so close to being extinguished. We love him with all out hearts as I can see that your parents love you. To Tommy's parents - Thank you, a lot of times parents of preemies feel alone and isolated. Now we don't feel so alone. Mrs. Sara Morley
Hi, Congratulations on having such a beautiful boy as Tommy. We now have a beautiful baby girl, Mary, in Beaumont's NICU. She was born Feb. 4th at 28 3/7 weeks. She is doing very well so far and we're obviously hoping that will continue. She has breathed room air since birth. She is currently 2 lb. 10 oz. She has jaundice and has occasional bradycardia, which she usually pulls herself out of. My wife and I have a lot to learn about caring for a preemie in the NICU. I think we would benefit from yours and Tommy's story. I tried to download it from your web page (which is great, by the way), but after indicating it had loaded all 199K, I got an error message (which I can't remember). We do have Windows 95 and MS Word, but do we need a program to "unzip" the file. If so, do you know if we can download one somewhere? Until then, I will go back to view his story from the web. Thanks for your efforts to provide others with much needed information. We are finding the staff at Beaumont wonderful. Do you agree? Thank you, Pete Spencer
Hi Tommy and Gang!! I am new to this Internet thing, but your website was fantastic!!! It was the best preemie info yet! I am enclosing an article I recently wrote for the TWINS magazine (if they print it). It tells of my preemie twin daughters and their roller coaster ride in the NICU. Note: this is my first attempt at "Attaching", bear with me! But congrats again on a job well done! Kim Rowley, Pierce, Nebraska
Hi Tommy: About two weeks ago, my wife and I had a baby nearly 11 weeks premature. His name is Blake. So far everything seems to be going like the doctors and nurses had predicted: good days and bad days. We think and hope everything will be alright. But I am worried about long-term consequences of prematurity. I know no one can predict the future; but I would sure appreciate some comments. Andy Nelson
Clark, Thank you. *smile* Actually I have just come from your page. *laugh* Small world. It is wonderful! Tommy is absolutely adorable! And congrats on the baby to come! *hugs* I'm sure Tommy is excited with the prospect of having a baby brother or sister. :) Thanks for the book suggestions. I will be looking for them. Leslie
Hi Tommy: In June 1996 we found out that I was pregnant. I went to the doctor right away to begin my prenatal care. Everything was going great until November 14, 1996. I had started swelling rather quickly in my face, hands, and feet. My bloodpressure had gotten very high too. My MD placed me on bedrest at home for 1 week. At this time I was 27 weeks. After that week I was placed on strict bedrest in the hospital diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. For people who have to be on bedrest longer, I can't even imagine. My kidneys started failing after a couple of days, and the MD decided that I needed to deliver the baby. At delivery (C-section) I delivered a 2lb 5.5oz, 15 inch little(29 week) girl. It was the most scary and wonderful experience of our lives. She spent 7 weeks in NICU at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. We were not allowed to even touch her for 24 hours and even then it was only her feet until she was more stable. The risk of a brain hemorrhage is fairly high in severely premature babies. If overstimulated it could cause a hemorrhage. She was on the ventilator for about 3 days then place on a oxygen hood. After 1 week they finally let us hold her. She was so tiny. It seemed that she had more tubes and wires than she had body. The nurses and doctors in NICU were wonderful. They all were so helpful and understanding. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to take care of our girl. She flew through with flying colors. Never really had any serious problem. Just the typical preemie problems. Digestion was her biggie. Victoria came home 4 weeks before her due date. She is up to 6lbs now and 19 inches long. She has to be on an Apnea Monitor for now. Hopefully not long. She is a precious baby. It is really nice to have these letters to read and see that other people have been through similar situations. We are just happy things went as well as they did. After reading a lot of these letters, It is proof that even with the earliest and best prenatal care that things can go wrong. Victoria Aerin Born:11/26/96 due:02/09/97 2lbs 5.5oz Jenefer Bruce
Hi Tommy: I really like your home page. I have a 2 year old granddaughter who like you, was very premature. I am hoping to find some information on nutrition for a 2 year old toddler. She weighs 18 pounds and is awfully cute. If your Mommy or daddy have any ideas where I can look for nutritional needs for preemie toddlers, I would love to hear. Thanks---Ellen
Hi Tommy: Thank you for sharing your story with me. I was born on 12/13/95, at 28 weeks weighing a huge 3lb 2oz. I had been one of twins, but my little sister Bridie Jean was born at 20 weeks and was too little to live. A bit of miracle medicine and sheer determination on Mum and Dad's behalf meant that I stayed where I was for 8 more weeks until I too decided that it was time to come on out. I spent 8 weeks in hospital, 4 in an ICU and 4 in a special baby ward. And finally went home on 02/09/96 weighing 5lbs. I too spent time on CPAP, but because Mum had been having steroid injections, my lungs were in pretty good shape, all things considered. I know that Mum and Dad both found the staff of the Neo-natal ward amazing, helpful;, kind, sympathetic, supportive...... It is not an experience that they would want to ever go through again, but I think when they look at me now, they know that it was all worth it. I am now 14 months old, and at 12 months I weighed 19 lbs 2oz. People who! don't "know", still look at me and call me small, but people who do "know" look at me and think how HUGE!!! I have just started talking with "doggy" being my very first word, and have started walking around the furniture, I can't wait to be off. I live in NZ, but my Mum was in Seattle, when Bridie was born, lucky really, they took the chance to try something new to keep me where I was until I needed to be born. I was born in Wellington, NZ, and can recommend the Neo-natal care there to anyone. Well, I had better go. Thank-you for letting me tell my story. I know that Mum would like to hear from anyone anywhere who wants to share with her too. Liam Sean Sullivan
Thank you for sharing Tommy's story with us. I enjoyed reading about your NICU experiences and seeing the photos. My husband and I had a preemie this past September 3rd. His name was Ethan, and he was born at 2 lbs., 7 ounces, approximately 8 weeks early. He spent his whole life in the NICU: he lived to be 4 and a half months old, and had a joyful little personality and sweet temperament. Our baby Ethan died last month from complications of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and Marfan's syndrome. We miss him but are grateful for the time we had to spend with Ethan. Please give our love to your little one! Sabrina Rood-Sinker Hi Tommy: Just wanted to say I love this site!! I am a senior nursing student and was having a really hard time finding info about NICU babies and their personal experiences. Thanks a lot and good luck to you and your family! Jennifer Herlan
Hi Tommy: I loved your inspiring and encouraging story. I am the mother of 8 month old twins that I spent 10 weeks in bed to prevent a premature birth. Our godson was born at 27 weeks from the same placenta condition. He is now 31/2 and doing great. I admire your courage. Melanie Mikkelsen
Hi Tommy: I am a nurse from New Hampshire who is now in graduate school in Minnesota studying nurse midwifery. I have a lot of experience dealing with preemie babies, bust mostly with the Parents of preemies at the time of delivery and after. I found your Web site recently, and I think it is a wonderful chronicle of a family's journey through premature delivery and a hopeful example of what is possible thanks to the wonders of medical technology. You are truly blessed Tommy, and I hope you enjoy being a big brother in July. My partner and I were expecting our first baby in July of this year, and unfortunately that baby was not as lucky as you and did not make it to 25 weeks before prematurely delivering. Be thankful everyday and tell your parents that they did a wonderful job nurturing you and caring for you inside the womb and inside the NICU! with great affection, Kimberly Kimberly Cuetara
Hi Tommy: Just wanted to let you know that I love your Web page! My name is Sue and my son Matthew was born on 3/13/95 - 10 weeks early and weighing only 2 1/2 pounds! He was in the NICU for 7 VERY LONG weeks before he came home on a heart/respiration monitor (he weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. when he came home). He did have some delays in his gross motor skills for a while but now - on the brink of his second birthday - he is almost 29 lbs., walking, running, climbing, talking (in 2 and 3 word sentences) with no indication whatsoever that he was born so early. I have a question for other moms of preemies who had pre-eclampsia: my doctor tells me that I have a 30-50% chance of it repeating if I were to get pregnant again. Has anyone who had a preemie due to pre-eclampsia had a second baby? Any problems? Congratulations to you Tommy on your wonderful progress! Keep it up! Sue Anderson Hi Tommy: As both a preemie parent (she is now 15 and a terrific teen!) as well as a psychologist specializing in preemies and families, I enjoyed you site very much, found the links very useful, and put in on my Bookmarks! I will share it with the preemie parents I work with. Thanks for your hard work! Melissa Johnson
Hi Tommy: My name is Rachel, I am the mother of a 30 weeker who is doing just wonderful. I am so glad to see you are doing so well. Having a baby is an absolutely incredible experience, but having one early and actually getting to see the daily changes that usually cannot be seen in the womb is nothing short of miraculous. Take care little one, (though from your pictures I see you are not so little anymore). Congratulations to your parents on their adorable son and their courage through a trying ordeal. God Bless you all! Rachel Herring Mommy of: Christian Thomas Herring Born: Sept. 28, 1996 3lbs. O oz. Rachel Eve Herring Hi Tommy: I have a web page with 10 helpful hints for baby naming that I would like to suggest to your parenting/pregnancy links page. Check it out and let me know. Meta Davidson Baby Naming Hints Good Morning Mr. King. It is wonderful to see a web page like this. As an Respiratory Therapist (now in Nursing school) and former Beaumont employee I have to commend you on a job well done. That you had the inner strength to endure months of stress and uncertainty and then have the insight and compassion for others to tell your story on the web is incredible. I hope the Beaumont NICU staff has made this site known to other preemies' families. The information about Tommy's NICU journey can only help and support other families that are faced with a similar situation. MY best wishes to Tommy and the rest of your family. Sincerely, Paul Lesny RRT
Hi Tommy: My name is Rich Loney. My wife and I were blessed (and surprised) by the early arrival of our 2nd child a daughter, Alexia Marie on Sunday, March 2. She will be 24 weeks old today. Going through your site, I feel as though I am reading my experience as it is happening. I Have only read the first installment of Tommy's story but look forward to more as the days go on. It is early here in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and we are about to leave for Akron Childrens Hospital to see our angel. I will try to check in often. Thanks for your experience. Rich Loney Richard A. Loney
Hi Tommy: I have five preemie(5 to 8 weeks early). Only one required the NICU and one probably should have had intensive care but the rural hospital she was born in didn't recognize how premature she was. We had to learn to take care of a hypersensitive baby all on our own<pained grin>. It was worth it. She and all the kids are terrific!! I want your mom and dad to know that things just get better and better My five are ages 3 to 13. Liz 13, is a straight A student who plays flute and piano, she's in the band, on the track team and is a very gifted writer. She was 8 weeks early. Will, at 12, was my closest to full term. He is a straight A student. He plays violin and basketball, is on several academic competitive teams and is one mean rollerblader. Mike was 6 wks early but healthy. He's a 10yr old rocking guitar player, a straight A student. He plays basketball, is on 3 academic competition teams, and he's the nicest guy you could ever meet. He has a gift with animals and little kids. John was at least 8 wks early and he had RDS. He's 9 now, in 3rd grade, a straight B student (well they cant ALL have straight As), who wants to play piano starting this summer. He's heck on wheels (bike and rollerblades) a good Cub Scout, and politically aware. He's also got the wryest sense of humor you ever saw. Bridgit is 3, knows her letters, colors, numbers and shapes. She sings and plays and is an absolute beauty. She's announced she's going to preschool next year. She was 5 weeks early. You are gonna love to watch that kid grow! I noticed that you seemed very enamored of the neonatal nurses. I found that I resented them very much. They pooh poohed the connection my son John and I had and seemed to think only drug addicts and idiots had preemies (at least from the questions they asked). I just wanted them out of the way so I could take care of my baby. Of course he was my fourth so I had some idea what I was doing.<grin> Dorothy O'Connell
Hi Tommy: I am a proud mother of a five year old daughter who was 16 weeks premature in June of 1991. I was 24 weeks pregnant for the second time around, I lost my first daughter, Natosha at 24 weeks gestation in December of 1987. Fortunately, Lisa my surviving daughter has miraculously pulled through. she endured heart surgery, threatening of blindness, congenital lung disease, etc... but she has no signs of any ailment due to her prematurity. I hope that all parents are as lucky as myself to have such a special child. Three years later in July of 1994, I gave birth to a full term baby boy after six months of bedrest, I thank god for him as well. On a negative note to premature children, Lisa's natural father only saw her twice in the NICU and decided he did not want to be a part of her life. I left him. Fortunately she now has a wonderful father figure who adores her. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Paula Renault
Hi Tommy: Good news about my daughter, Alexa Loney (to refresh; born Sunday, 23 weeks and 5 days old). The ultrasound test results of Alexa’s head came back this morning with a grade 3 bleed. We were obviously very concerned but Mom just called from Akron Children’s Hospital with good news. Alexa’s red blood count has remained stable giving the doctors reason to believe that the bleed has stopped. Yee Haw! Her blood tests also came back negative for signs of infection. Very good news. But wait, there is more, her body temperature has risen to 36.7 (highest yet). All and all it was a very good day. Best regards, Rich Loney (hoping for more good days!) Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Richard A. Loney Bark at the Moon Graphics Studio Hi Tommy: Good to know that everything is going well for you. Being the mother of a preemie myself I know how hard it was and all of the struggles you had to go through. I really think that God has his angels looking after all of his precious preemies. Good luck in the future. DeAnna McCarson Hi Tommy: Could you please add this site's URL to your links for parents? I would cross-link back to your site, also. These tapes are used in hospitals around the country and have wondrous results, on newborns, on preemies...even on patients with Alzheimer's and cardiac trouble. Below is all the information on it. I believe many parents having trouble getting their children to sleep would bless you for this information. I could send you lots of magazine/newspaper articles on Baby Go To Sleep Tapes, also. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Cathy Pedigo winedge@juno.com How to Quiet a Crying Baby...Baby Go To Sleep Tapes http://www.concentric.net/~Winedge/baby.shtml Statistics show that 40% of children under age 5 keep their parents up at night, and 1 out of 3 babies is colicky. Baby Go To Sleep tapes might be just what you need to soothe your child. They give help to parents of newborn babies, young children (up to six years of age), and expectant parents. They've even been used successfully on Alzheimer's and cardiac patients. You don't have to let them cry...Sleep is just a heartbeat away! Catherine R. Pedigo
Aha! Now I know why I couldn't find you! It's Mara, wandering about the net, wondering if anybody who has these wonderful preemie pages wants to put my questionnaire in it as a link... I don't know whether it will actually drum up more responses, but it couldn't hurt. If you are willing to have it as a link from your page, please let me know. I have no clue how to set that sort of thing up as Anne was kind enough to do the html of the questionnaire and put it up as a link on the preemie-l page. Thanks in advance. I'm off to check out your new page! Mara (mom to Gavriella and Layla; aspiring author of book on the emotional aspects of birth crisis and premature birth)
Hi Tommy: My name is Kym and I am the very proud Mommy to Elisabeth Anne and Anthony Jerome both 2 years old(yep they are twins) Beth and Aj were born at exactly 24 weeks gestation and had only a few minor problems such as ROP, PDA, and immature lungs after 4 months in the NICU both came home to be with Mommy and daddy neither one was on any medications or monitors. I consider my self very lucky. As I know I should many parents don't get so lucky. Beth and AJ weighed 1 pound 3 ozs and 1 pound 8 ozs at birth and now weigh in at 20 pounds 2 ozs and 34 pounds 5 ozs. thank you for this wonderful opportunity to share the story of my children with you. Kym Phares Kymstwins homepage Hi Tommy: It's been a while since I've been to your nursery. It's wonderful to see you doing so well. I'm sure your Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you. I was a preemie too and now I'm a Mommy myself. My little boy Arthur is 2 mos. old and was only 3 weeks early, even though I had pre-eclampsia. The Drs and everybody at U of Mich. hosp. took very good care of us! Congratulations on becoming a big brother. I'm sure you will be a good one and love your little brother or sister. I will cross my fingers and pray that all goes well and that this baby is very healthy and full term! Love and Hugs, Kiley, Ed and Arthur (12/29/97) Kiley Ed, Kiley, Arthur and Frankie's Living Room Hi I'm Michelle and I am the proud mum of a 25 weeker in England, UK who is now almost 5 months old. His name is Cameron and he was 670 g at birth. Now he is over 2.3 kg and is still in hospital! (but due to come home in about 4 weeks - all being well!) Thank you for Tommy's CyberNursery, it really helped myself and Camerons daddy (Scott) get through the first few months of Camerons traumatic life. He seemed to have the same up and downs as Tommy. He will also be coming home oxygen dependent, although we have one additional issue to deal with - due to ROP he is blind. This has been rather a difficult issue to deal with - particularly as the NICU staff never once mentioned that blindness would be a possibility, although we were prepared for him to wear spectacles after his cryosurgery. Nonetheless, it is something that we have to come to terms with and just be thankful that we have a beautiful little boy. We read Tommy's story for the first time when Cameron was only 2 days old and we cried and cried. Still, after all this time whenever we read it we still cry! There are many similarities and we just hope and pray that Cameron makes the same remarkable progress as Tommy. Congratulations on the news of your pregnancy. We hope all goes well. Cameron says a big loud HELLO to Tommy across the Atlantic. Lets hope that his lungs get big and strong so he can shout it one day! Love Michelle, Scott and Cameron
We have a 28 weeker, though I did not give birth to him. He came home six weeks after being born, a full six weeks before his due date and to our home, just six days after leaving the hospital. I carried him in a snuggly over my heart longer than his birth Mommy carried him in her tummy. We adore him and he makes the eighth child for us. His Mommy allowed him to live with us knowing he would get the "Mommy and daddy love" he so needed. We have known "Mommy" since she was a little girl herself and she was having a very difficult time at that point in her life. He will be two years old on June 18 and we pray that his birth Mommy and the Lord will one day make it possible for us to adopt him. He is such a gift from God. It's wonderful having this resource although I have just begun using it. I have only been online for a few days but had hoped I could find something on preemies I would find valuable. <smile> And so enjoyable! God bless you! Phyllis Gray |
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