Warning! Warning! Warning! Casey's story is quite lengthy and may bring a tear to your eye!
The tale of Casey Scott Dorman starts way back in December 2004. Collin Jay had just turned 1 year old so Jason and I decided to start "trying" for baby #2. We naively thought the 2nd time around might go quicker than the 1st round (something about how we'd be more relaxed this time....yeah right!). When we didn't get pregnant right away, we didn't think too much of it. As the following October approached, I have to admit, I became more and more anxious as each month came and went. At that point my doctor gently recommended I lose a little weight; apparently there is a relation to infertility and higher BMIs. Since I wasn't happy with my appearance anyway I thought, "Why not? Maybe I'll lose 10lbs or so and will be that much better off for a pregnancy". 6 months and 60 lbs less later, and I STILL had not gotten pregnant! In the meantime, I'd also almost lost my mother to a major car accident and Jason's mom had also been in and out of the hospital too. We'd also been on a common infertility drug for a few months trying to regulate "things" and had gone through 2 failed IUIs (essentially the procedure just a step below IVF). So far nothing worked.
It was at about the 1 1/2 year point that my new doctor (who specializes in infertility) finally took my recommendation that I have a dye test done. I had been meeting with an infertility support group for a few months and several of the ladies had mentioned that this particular test (which checks to see if your fallopian tubes are open) is a common test given to women with unexplained infertility. Lo and behold -- the test revealed I had only 1 tube open, making it much harder to get pregnant. Through the wide range of emotions -- sadness, anger, grief, frustration -- we decided that I would undergo exploratory surgery to see if the doctor could open up my blocked tube. Praise the Lord -- the surgery was a success! However, it was also discovered during the surgery that I had Stage III endometriosis. It seems the odds of us getting pregnant on our own just kept getting smaller and smaller :(
Following the surgery to open my blocked tube and remove the endometriosis, our doctor said our best chance at getting pregnant would be right then. You didn't have to tell me twice -- back to the infertility clinic I went the next month for another IUI. And once again.....sadness. At this point Jay and I questioned greatly where we should go from there. We desperately wanted another child. We wanted to make Collin a big brother SOOO badly. We wanted our moms and the rest of our family to experience the joy of another child hanging around. But we also wanted to follow the plan God had for us. After much prayer we decided to try our 4th and final IUI. And wouldn't you know?? Casey was conceived!! Praise GOD!!!
As with Collin, my pregnancy went well until around the 7th month. I started having contractions even earlier than I had with Collin. This time around it was early enough that they put me on meds to help calm my uterus down and give Casey the chance to develop as he should. The last month and a half were long and stressful. I constantly felt the pain and discomfort of pretty strong contractions, except this time I had a 3 1/2 year old at home who still needed his mommy. Oh yeah. Did I mention that within a 2 month time span Jay also underwent 2 knee surgeries! Yikes!
Somewhere around the 8th month I started only working part time, as the meds were not keeping my contractions at bay. I also started having regular non stress tests to see how the little man was handling things. The answer -- not too well! One NST after the other......Casey kept failing. They'd always send me for the next test (an ultrasound); sometimes he'd pass those, sometimes he'd fail them. So then off to OB/triage we went for further testing.
December 7, 2007 -- my doctor scheduled an amniocentesis for December 10th. If Casey passed the test (i.e. that his lungs were mature enough at just under 37 weeks to be born), she would schedule me for a c-section on the 11th. The morning of the 10th came and all 3 of us made our way to Metro Hospital for the test. The test went off without a hitch, but my doc sent me up to triage for an hour of observation. Jay and Collin looked on as I once again lay in the bed, hooked up to the baby monitors. At one point a nurse stopped in and said, "Did you know you're having contractions?". I looked at her kind of like, "Duh. I've been having them for weeks now!". My doctor stopped in to "check me" to make sure these contractions weren't putting me into labor. To our great surprise -- they were! I had gone from being dilated to a 1 for the previous several weeks to a 3! An hour later I was a 4 and the doc said, "I guess we aren't going to have a chance to wait for the amnio results....you're in labor now! Let's get you to the OR.".
As ready as I thought I had been to finally meet my little man, NOTHING could have prepared me for what was about to take place. At a little after 4:00 pm on Monday, December 10 Casey Scott Dorman entered the world at 6lbs 9oz! Tears of joy flowed down our faces, but it wasn't long before fear quickly replaced them.
I will never forget the look of apprehension on Jason's face as he walked into the recovery area a little while later. His words tore me apart. "Honey, it looks like you won't be able to see Casey tonight. He's having a hard time breathing and needs to be closely monitored". Since I still had no feeling below my waist, I would have to wait until the next morning to finally get a good look at the little wonder that I had been waiting 3 years for! Heartache. Simply heartache.
Over the next day and a half, Casey's respiratory problems went back & forth. For awhile it appeared he was doing better and that the nasal cannula (of oxygen) was helping out. But an early morning call to my room Wednesday morning revealed he had taken a turn for the worse. A team from Spectrum NICU was rushing over to take Casey by ambulance and get him set up on C-Pap (continuing positive air pressure) ASAP. Much to the dismay of my family (yes Cam, I'm talking about you!!!), I convince my doc to release me early so I could follow the ambulance to Spectrum Health. Heartache. More heartache.
Casey spent the next 10 days of his life hanging out at Spectrum's NICU then NIM center. He impressed a team of excellent doctors and flirted his way into the hearts of many kind, generous nurses. I firmly believe that because of their care, the support of all of our family & friends, and the many prayers that were said for Casey was he able to join us at home for Christmas 2007! Praise God (again!!).
We're pretty sure that Casey must have gotten too used to life at Spectrum, because a short 2 1/2 weeks later he was back. Fortunately for us, Collin Jay simply adored his little brother from the start! Unfortunately for us, when that meant he got a cold he was unable to keep his germy little mouth away from Casey and his weak immune system. Tests done at Casey's peds office on January 9 revealed he had RSV and his oxygen saturation was way down. Maybe he had a thing for ambulances, because the little squirt got another ride to Spectrum that night!
If I thought I had been scared the first couple weeks of Casey's life, I don't know what I would call the fear that suffocated Jay and I over the next 3 weeks. Casey went from bad to worse in a few short days. On his 4th day back at Spectrum tests showed he now had pneumonia, a heart murmur that needed to be checked out, blood work that indicated his kidneys could be under distress, and possibly meningitis. I will never forget watching a doctor and a nurse essentially fold my tiny little baby into a ball as they performed the spinal tap. I guess I don't know what was worse -- watching them insert that impossibly long needle into his back, or the fact that he was so sick that he didn't even flinch or make a sound. Heartache. And fear. Lots of it.
Praise God to whom all blessings flow! Casey did NOT have meningitis, his heart murmur is nothing to worry about, his kidney functions turned around, and he eventually started to overcome his respiratory problems! After a full 21 days at Spectrum Casey was finally well enough to come home (again!). This time we left with more than just the little man -- we also brought home oxygen tanks, an apnea monitor, a nebulizer, tons of meds (mostly for a major case of reflux), and a diagnosis of chronic lung disease. Life was certainly different at home than we ever could have imagined, but we tried hard to make the best of it.
A part from one more 3-day hospital stay very shortly after we brought Casey home (from the 21 -day stay), Casey has done fantastic! He quickly overcame the need for all of his equipment and even started making his way up on the growth chart! In fact, we just had his 2 year check-up this week and Casey's peds doc said he is thoroughly impressed with how far he has come and expects him to have no further respiratory or growth delays. Awesome job little man!!
Everyday we grow deeper and deeper in love with our little miracle. He is spunky, vivacious, intelligent, sweet, crazy, and has the most amazing giggle (especially when Daddy & Collin tickle him!). He is independent and not afraid to tell you what he wants..loudly...and usually with a few major gestures for added emphasis! LOL He is obsessed with Veggie Tales and can almost always be seen carrying around Bob & Larry. If you're ever around him, ask him for a huggie (a hug of course) and you won't be disappointed. Just like he knew how to flirt his way into the nurses hearts from the day he was born, he continues to make himself firmly at home in the hearts of all us who are so blessed to be a part of his life.
Thank you God for Casey Scott Dorman.
