Day of Jerome

What an incredible day! August 25 at 11:20 am, Jerome Andre Lamers was born into the world. As you can imagine, words just cannot describe the fullness of the day's events and emotions. But I will try anyway.

First I must set the stage. Duquesa and I went to our scheduled appointment at Clinica Santa Familia on Wednesday the 23, reaching exactly 36 weeks of pregnancy. After undergoing the routine ultrasound and graphing the baby's heartbeat, Doctor Guissepina Chote informed us that Duquesa needed to stay at the clinic so that they could further monitor the baby's health and heartbeat. Duquesa, always prepared and organized, already had her hospital bag with her, making the transition easier. The next day they performed a series of tests on her and told us in the evening that they saw some things that made them want to push up the date of the cesarean… to the following morning. Taken a little off guard, we tried to prepare ourselves and told our parents.

Which brings me to the day of. Knowing that our baby had gastroschisis and would require immediate surgery, the doctors at the birthing clinic coordinated the delivery with the surgeons at Hospidale Bambino Gesu, who sent a special baby ambulance and a team to retrieve Jerome. They would not let me inside the operation room, so I nervously waited outside with friends Fiorella and Catherine. Thankfully, they decided to allow Duquesa to receive a local anesthetic so that she could remain awake and see the baby before he had to go with the team to Bambino Gesu. She told me a kind nurse held Jerome's face to hers so that she could kiss his little nose. He was then placed in a special incubator and transported out very quickly. Daddy was waiting outside to catch a glimpse and say hi, although I couldn't speak. Just before Jerome left, he opened his little eyes and looked calmly at me. I was the one crying like a baby. It was overwhelming in many ways, especially because he is so small. He was born at 3.7 pounds. I waited until Duquesa was wheeled out, kissed her goodbye, and raced off to the hospital so I could sign the necessary papers to authorize the surgery. Catherine stayed with Duquesa, and Fiorella accompanied me to the Bambino Gesu. \n

Before the surgery, I was allowed to spend some time with him, singing a little song that he is familiar with from his days inside mommy, and stroking his little head and face. Fiorella went and found a young priest who happened to be American, and he performed an emergency baptism. Then began a long wait and a very long surgery. The 'intervention' as they call it was performed by the head doctor, Dr. Bagnonini. There is probably no way that I spelled his name correctly. Anyhow, he is a kind man, and between his English and my Italian we were able to communicate well. After at least three hours and billion prayers, he called me into a conference along with Silvia (another friend who came and stayed with me while Fiorella went to be with Duquesa). He told me that the surgery was successful, going even better than planned. He was able to completely close the opening after fitting all of the intestines and other organs that had fallen outside. Now we just have to wait and pray that he can fight off any infections, and that his organs function correctly. He will be in the hospital for a long time, most likely a month at the very least. Duquesa is working hard to fight through the pain so she can walk and come see Jerome. She started pumping the milk that he will eat slowly in the two weeks or so once his bowels hopefully start to function, and I deliver it to the hospital for storage once a day. They let me visit Jerome a few times a day along with some other parents who have a baby in the NICU (Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit). Today he was alert enough to watch me for a while as I talked to him. He is so beautiful, so small. I call him my little toppo, mouse in Italian. I attached a picture to this email that I took before the surgery. Please say a little prayer for our little Jerome. He has a long recovery before him. I will do my best to keep everyone informed, but my Internet access is limited because we are away from our apartment. I have to go attend to my new family! God bless you