Story of our little fighter - Advay

Pronunciation: ‘Ad-vaa-Y’
Origin: Indian - Sanskrit
Meaning: Unique, The one and only, The union of the soul and god.
Introduction: I am Shiva, Poornima’s husband. I don’t blog much so using my wife’s blog. I wanted to share what I felt during my most difficult times in my life.
My wish and Prayer: I pray no baby should go through the pain my son Advay had gone in his initial months of life. He spent 70 days in Neonatal ICU and endured a surgery before he can come home.
Thank You!!!
I would like to thank following for all their professional help and support during Advay’s stay at hospital.
Dr. Prema Koujalgi – Gyn & Obs
Dr. Umesh Akki – General Physician
Dr. Anil Agarwal - Sonologist
Dr. Amar – Anaestheist
Dr. Karthik Nagesh, Dr. Arvind Shennoi, Dr. HA Venkatesh – Consultants Neonatologists
Dr. C Ramachandra – Pediatric Surgeon
Dr. Chitra Shankar – Developmental Specialist
Dr. Chandrashekar, Dr. Ravi Kiran, Dr. Shanti, Dr. Prakash, Dr. Naveen, Dr. Srinivas, Dr. Mohit, Dr. Anupam, Dr. Anushree, Dr. Harini, Dr. Ravi Kumar, Dr. Shruti, Dr. Anitha – NICU doctors
Pushpa – Patient Care coordinator
Mary and Anitha – Security NICU
And whole team of caring, patient, skilled Nurses from NICU and support staff from Manipal and Axon hospitals
And I would also like to thank the company NetApp that I work for, Business unit, management team and my team for supporting me in difficult times.

Disclaimer: I never studied or practiced medicine, any definitions, treatment, procedures and medicine names discussed in this blog are purely my understanding and not the official statements from any doctors listed above.

April 9, 2010

On 9th April 2010, we got the medical confirmation of Poornima’s pregnancy with expected delivery date as November 26th 2010. For the first time we heard Advay’s heartbeat at 164 BPM and Crown to Rump Length (CRL) at 0.7 cms. I asked if I can have the audio/video file of the scan. But Dr. Anil said it is possible only in 8th month scan. As we walked out of the room, with all smiles and sparkling eyes, I was planning in my head what to do for the next scan ;)

We wanted to celebrate this moment at the same time we’ve decided to keep this news to ourselves till 2nd trimester is complete. We walked to our regular hangout place Costa Coffee on CMH road. We love this place for its location, view and off course coffee.

Like many first time parents to-be, Poornima and I were all excited, anxious and were over planning to welcome our baby into this world. As days, weeks and months passed by we were busy finalizing what, where and when to buy things for baby. Scans were done on 18th May and 08th July but this time I have videos of those scans ;) (My plan worked)

We choose 8th July for 5th month scan because it’s our 3rd wedding anniversary and we wanted to listen to his heartbeat and movements on this day. We could see his cute little nose, fist, legs, feet and spine in the scan. Result of the scan was fine with only thing to note is his growth is lagging by 3 days. Dr. Prema said it is fine and prescribed some protein based drinks and scheduled next scan in October 1st week (8th Month)

September 27, 2010

It was a regular Monday, I was back from office finished my meetings for the day. We were watching some movie and I observed swelling on Poornima’s feet. Though swelling of feet is common during pregnancy this was little different or may be it’s our intuition telling us something is wrong. Immediately I got our home BP monitor machine and checked, readings were alarming at 165 over 95. That night we decided to visit doctor first thing in the morning, and as there was a scan pending in 1st week of October, we decided to take the scan and go to the doctor.

September 28, 2010

We headed directly for the scan and the result was not good. Result showed a severe IUGR (Intra Uterine Growth Restriction), Oilgohydramnios (Lack of adequate Amniotic fluids) and PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension) Baby’s growth was lagging by 4 weeks. Though gestational age was 31 weeks, growth parameters showed 27 weeks old. And baby’s weight was estimated around 910 Gms.
While we were trying to understand what the implications of this are, Dr. Anil called Dr. Prema and updated the situation. At 31 weeks baby lungs are not functional, so there is a high possibility for baby wouldn’t breathe in open air and may not survive. She prescribed Betnesol (Steroid for Lung development) Injection to be administered immediately. She said to visit in the evening to weigh the options we have. Waiting for the visit felt like ages.
We went there early and waited for the doctor. Poornima’s BP is now at 172 over 94, some of it may be due what we were going through. Then it was the time to look at our options. I feel doctors are diplomatic in providing details but we felt a lot difference in Dr. Prema discussion. She is very clear in her communication, chances of baby surviving is 30%. They can try to hold baby inside as much as possible as it is safe there (At that moment). But she said prepare for the worse. We were concerned about 2 things, mortality and other is developmental challenges of baby. Poornima had to take one more dose of Betnesol Injection for baby lung development.

We had to pick one of the options:
1) Move to Hyderabad immediately and plan delivery in one of the referred hospitals
2) Stay in Bangalore and pick one hospital which has good Neonatal ICU (NICU) and deliver baby there
3) Or Deliver baby where Dr. Prema is available and have baby shift to one of the NICU hospitals

After some calls and references we got a list of hospitals both in Hyderabad and Bangalore. We closed in for Manipal for NICU as Dr. Karthik Nagesh is the India wide famous Neonatologist and has a very good track record and then there are other 2 consultant specialists Dr. Arvind Shennoi and Dr. HA Venkatesh specialized in Neonatology available. As Dr. Prema doesn’t work in Manipal we had to decide on hospital for delivery. So we started visiting hospitals that Dr. Prema would go to close on one of them.
After all this we went to Costa to finalize and communicate to Dr. Prema about our decision. This time when we sat in Costa the mood is different, our thoughts are different. Our eyes are still shining but it is due to light reflections on our watery eyes. There was much silence than usual. After sometime we decided to admit into Axon hospital on Indiranagar 80 feet road and then shift the baby to Manipal NICU. We both had put up a brave face but we both know that’s not the truth. We understood the volatility of the situation and agreed to accept the outcome. We called Dr. Prema and told our decision and she suggested to get admitted into hospital first thing in the morning.
We went back home with millions of “What If” questions in our minds. We didn’t tell this to our parents as we didn’t want more worried minds at this point in time.
[Recently Poornima told me that she cried a lot in the car when I was in the hospital enquiring about administration related process for shifting baby and insurance related queries. Seeing this our driver got scared and walked out of the car and was waiting outside, which I didn’t understand at that time]

September 29, 2010 (Day 0)

We packed and started to Axon Hospital not knowing that today we will be having a new member in our family. Initial plan is to continue monitoring baby movements and BP and delay delivery as much as possible (Maybe for 5-7 days) But BP was not going down and baby movements were becoming less by evening. Dr. Prema visited in the evening and inquired about baby’s movements.
Poornima was not that comfortable with the movements so doctor decided to get the scan done once again. As the scan was done it was clear that amniotic fluid which is critical for both baby and mother’s safety is dangerously low. Dr. Prema decided to perform C-section and deliver the baby as if not done, would compromise mothers life.
It was around 8:00 PM when I completed all formalities for the operation and Manipal NICU team has been informed about the delivery. By 8:30 PM Manipal team was there at Axon with a mobile NICU. Dr. Amar and Dr. Prema were ready for the surgery and took Poornima into Operation Theater.
I asked Dr. Amar if I can be with Poornima in the operation theater, to which he agreed but Dr. Prema didn’t :( so I had to wait outside as shown in any typical Indian movie. But my thoughts were roaming around Poornima and not about the baby. When I think about it now, it’s funny to have forgotten about the baby. My mind was occupied with Poornima that she should be fine and out of danger. As minutes passed by very very slowly and nurses moving in and out hurriedly, I couldn’t resist frowning at that situation. I have seen this in movies but not in real life.

Finally I didn’t see the time but maybe around 9:15 PM, Dr. Amar came out and congratulated me and said “IT’S A BOY”. I didn’t react but I asked 3 questions

1) Is Poornima fine?
2) Is she awake?
3) Did she see the baby?

He answered all but it didn’t register in my mind except 1st one. He said she is doing well. After hearing this I didn’t listened to other 2. Later Poornima told me that she was awake during operation and she saw the baby after delivery.

Finally Advay is out at 9:02 PM on 29th September 2010. He weighed 885 Gms with length of 34 cms and HC of 25 cms. [For people who don’t know how small these numbers are, a healthy full term baby may vary between 3 to 3.5 Kgs]

At 9:30 PM I saw a closed transparent unit with many connections and monitors to it came out. And right in the middle of that I saw my prince for the first time with connectors all over his hands, legs and chest and trying to breathe deep. And within couple of seconds Dr. Chandra Shekar said lets go to Manipal. Then it struck me that if I go with the baby to Manipal, there wouldn’t be anyone with Poornima. Dr. Prema told me they will take care of Poornima in the mean time I can go to Manipal and complete the formalities.
Meanwhile Indu (Poornima’s sister) already started from Hyderabad but would reach Bangalore only next morning.
Advay was shifted to NICU and I was not allowed to see him at that time. Doctors said they would stabilize him and allow me to look him for 10 mins. In the mean time I went and completed all admission related formalities.
At 11:25 PM I could go into NICU after sanitizing my hands elbow down and wore a sterilized green gown. I went and saw him now in detail. He was crying (which is good) but felt real bad seeing all those connections and oxygen support on that tiny body. Then I remembered that there was a camera in my pocket that I planned to use in Operation Theater during delivery. I took it out and clicked couple of pictures.

September 30, 2010 (Day 1)
12:15 AM. As my time at the baby is over, I stepped out of NICU for a debriefing about the policy and procedures of NICU.
There will be counseling for parents every day in the morning between 10:30 and 11:30 AM by one of the consultant specialist briefing about the baby and what’s planned next. Mothers can visit the baby anytime between 11:00 AM and PM but fathers are allowed only between 7:00 and 7:30 PM. I thought this was bad, fathers get only 30 mins a day to see the baby :( Other than parents no one else is allowed to see the baby. In case of emergency they would contact parents to have a brief visit and doctors would explain the details of emergency and plan of action. At that time I was just listening without much thought into it. They handed over me a rule book kind of thing which explains NICU related rules, policy and procedures. And I signed a bunch of consent forms for different procedure to be done on my baby. My next visit to Manipal would be that morning 10:30AM and NICU doctors said now the baby will be taken care by them and no need to worry.
It was at 1:30 AM I headed to Axon hospital. I saw Poornima in her room, awake and waiting for my updates. I showed her the pictures and talked about the baby health. We had tears of Joy for having a wonderful son in our life and sorrow for the pain he is going through and the uncertainty. It is strange to have these extreme opposite feelings switching rapidly in your mind. We went to sleep thinking everything will be fine.
Got up early and was at Manipal by 10:30 AM not knowing what to expect. I saw a huge crowd in front of NICU. There were around 25 other parents waiting for the counseling. I walked to the security to give my name, well not exactly my name. From now on everything will be referred by Baby of Poornima (B/O Poornima) So if they want to call me, it will be Father of B/O Poornima, for my wife it is Mother of B/O of Poornima. Funny isn’t it. I waited for my turn and after 30 mins I walked into this waiting area at the entrance of NICU. I see a team of doctors holding many files and Dr. Arvind Shennoi holding a sheet of paper with details of all babies and their critical parameters. Immediately he understood it’s my first counseling by seeing my confused face and spend good 5-6 mins explaining about the status. (Generally specialists spend less than a minute per baby in providing daily status unless there is a lot to discuss or parents have many questions) He told me my baby comes under ELBW Category (Extremely Low Baby Weight) and as of now breathing is OK but told me we should wait and watch. He explained me the risk of infections and other possible side effects of prematurity.
I was told Dr. Karthik will talk to me after counseling so I waited there. He came and first thing he said is pray to god. I got frustrated, maybe I was expecting him to say everything will be fine. But again he clarified that they are doing what all they can do in medicine, rest is on how Advay would react to it. They haven’t started any tests on him as he is too delicate for that. Though he is breathing from open air, there seems to be distress in his breathing which is worrying. He concluded next 3 days of Advay’s life is critical only after which they will start tests and medical treatment.
I came back to Axon and briefed Poornima about the counseling. By evening Poornima was drowsier and having a headache and nausea feeling. Doctors checked BP and it was high around 160 over 90. First we thought it was due to the pain from operation causing this.
It was 7:00 PM and I was already at NICU eagerly waiting to see my son after 20 Hrs. As the security allowed us inside, there was a rush leading to sanitization room. I never saw a bunch of fathers all eagerly waiting to see their son/daughters (Yes there was couple of twins in NICU). Good thing is there was no oxygen support and he was sleeping peacefully. I touched his palm with my finger and he tried to grab it, but couldn’t completely as he was having his IV connector. I held his tiny hand and looked at him and didn’t know how my 30 minutes were over. I had to leave NICU with only hope I can see him next day after 24 hrs.

October 1, 2010 (Day 2)
I came back to Axon and saw Poornima was not doing well. Her BP was on the rise even after medication and injections. It was 210 over 110 by night 1:00 AM. Dr. Prema and Dr. Umesh came down to hospital to check. Dr. Umesh prescribed NTG Drips (Nitroglycerin), the strongest medicine available to control BP. If this doesn’t control then Poornima would be at risk. They have connected a BP machine to her which measures BP for every 5 minutes. That night I was staring at that monitor waiting for that number to change and come down. My worries shifted from Advay to Poornima. That moment I thought how our priorities and problems can shift. Sometimes we reject the reality and fallback on Hope. Hope is a wonderful thing.
By early hours her BP was back to 120 over 80 so they stopped the drip. That day I went for counseling to get the same status as yesterday. Pray to god, next 2 days are critical, wait and watch. That didn’t comfort me in any sense, if I had to pray I would have taken Advay to a temple and not to hospital. Situation has taken a toll on me.
I went back to Axon to see how Poornima is doing. She looked sedated with all those medicines, I didn’t wanted to share counseling notes to her. After some time I went out to bring some lunch for Indu and I got a call from Manipal main board. Any calls from Manipal will have main board number not giving much information which department is calling, like Insurance, Admin, Billing, Corp relations and mainly NICU. By now I got used to the calls from Manipal multiple times a day so thought this is just another call.
I picked up and Dr. Mohit from NICU spoke, and what I heard I couldn’t register it immediately. I asked twice and the news he has given was heart breaking.
Advay stopped breathing and they are performing resuscitation. They wanted me to be in the hospital immediately and be with the baby. In these extreme situations our common sense won’t work, I was trying to still take in what I heard from the doctor. My mind was full of thoughts about what to tell Poornima. I picked up food and went to Axon instead of Manipal. I told Poornima that doctors wanted to talk me and started to Manipal. I didn’t want to tell all details at that time given what state she is in.
I rushed to NICU and informed security that doctors wanted to see me. There was good 2-3 minutes wait before I could see Dr. Mohit coming out of NICU. These 3 minutes my mind was thinking about what would be our life without Advay. Dr. Mohit came and told me that they had put him on Ventilator and his breathing is now assisted by controlled air. They also had taken some blood for tests. He allowed me to see the baby. I couldn’t stay there for a long time.
There were many tubes running from bulky machines into his tiny mouth and nose. Now there are many more probes measuring his statistics. I couldn’t bear that sight and left from there.
I went back to Axon and told Poornima that he had breathing problem and he is on Oxygen support. I don’t know how much she understood in that sedated state. I was waiting for 7:00 PM so that I could go back and see Advay.
It was 7:00 PM and I rushed to him and saw he is now surrounded by UV light along with other equipment. His Bilirubin level is at 9.6, in normal terms he has now Jaundice and 9.6 is fairly high. But this is nothing before what he is going through regarding breathing. Actually Jaundice didn’t bother me at all. I touched his palm and came out. Results for blood tests came negative, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

I went back to Poornima, she was doing much better than what she was in last 24 hrs. Dr. Prema said she can be discharged by tomorrow afternoon if her BP is under control with tablets.
October 2, 2010 (Day 3)
I was at NICU for counseling waiting for specialist comments on yesterday’s episode. Dr. Karthik had spent good amount of time explaining what happened and why it happens. Yesterday Advay had Apnea event. It is termed as AOP (Apnea of Prematurity). In this baby stops breathing due to which oxygen levels in the body drops. This results in drop in heart rate to preserve remaining oxygen in the body. Later oxygen will be supplied only to vital organs and tissue will start to die and once oxygen level in brain falls below threshold, various parts will cease functioning. While this is very common in babies and in some cases for adults, there is a failsafe mechanism in our brains. Once we stop breathing for more than 20 seconds in our sleep and our oxygen level drop, a part in the brain which controls our reflexes and alert mechanisms will kick in and wakes us up. In babies it will trigger to cry and gasp for air. But in case of Preemies, this part of brain is not yet fully functional. So if Apnea occurs there is no way for them to wake up and cry for air.
To track Apnea, baby is connected to AB Monitor (Apnea and Bradycardia) which measures SpO2 (Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen). This monitors HR (Heart Rate), RR (Respiratory Rate) and SpO2. Anything recorded out of threshold will trigger an alarm so that doctor can attend to the baby immediately.
Good news is he was taken out of ventilator as he showed positive signs of breathing on his own. His bilirubin level is also down to 7.4. Dr. Karthik suggested starting feed from tomorrow as that is the only medicine for the baby to develop. Also Caffeine Citrate is given for his brain to develop to avoid Apnea.
I rushed back to Axon and was happy for 2 reasons, for Advay off the ventilator and Poornima will be discharged today. I completed all billing and insurance formalities at Axon.
Poornima insisted to see the baby before we go home, so we went to Manipal. She touched him for the first time and rubbed his little hands and feet. She touched his tummy and chest. I don’t have the ability to convert those feelings and emotions she has gone through at that time in words here.
We left from Manipal and Poornima came back home after 4 long and tiring days.
October 3, 2010 (Day 4)
They started feeding baby 1ml of mother’s milk for every 6Hrs. That turns out to be 4 ml for a day. I never thought 4ml of milk is all you need to keep a baby healthy and develop.
October 5, 2010 (Day 6)
His Jaundice has come down and UV Light is removed. Feed is at 24 ml per day. Things looked good.


October 7, 2010 (Day 8)
Dr. Chitra our developmental specialist counseled us about baby brain stimulation by mother’s touch. This procedure is called KMC (Kangaroo Mother Care) I wanted to ask why not KFC ;) (Kangaroo Father Care) but didn’t. Nurses trained Poornima on KMC.
October 8, 2010 (Day 9)
Advay reached full feed capacity of 180ml of milk for 24 hrs. But he started having new problems. He started vomiting and his abdomen was distended.
October 9, 2010 (Day 10)
Dr. HA Venkatesh did the counseling and told Advay is diagnosed with NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) the most dangerous Preemie disease having highest mortality rate. In simple terms Intestine Infection. They suggested to stop feed and increase IV based nutrition and other fluids. More tests to be done to ascertain the level of infection.
October 10, 2010 (Day 11)
Tests done for NEC were negative, so they started to increase the feed again. I took this picture as I felt his eyes are telling me to take him home. But we didn’t know it’s a long way to go.

October 12, 2010 (Day 13)
We were on our way to NICU for the evening visit and Dr. Ravi Kiran called us to report 4 Apnea events since afternoon. So they had put him back on ventilator. This time there is not much reaction, as we have undergone this situation already. They suspect some infection in blood so sent some blood samples for CRP (C-Reactive Protein) test.
October 13, 2010 (Day 14)
Dr. Venkatesh confirmed that baby is having Sepsis. CRP value is at 102.9, anything above 45 have a 92% mortality. They were worried if this infection has reached his brain. If this happens, there could be permanent brain damage. To check if infection reached the brain they had to do CSF (Cerebrospinal fluid) analysis. But results for this test will take 3 days, due to severity of the disease, doctors started medication for this regardless of the results. All hopes we built were shattered and we were back to initial days not knowing what will happen next.
October 14, 2010 (Day 15)
To perform CSF analysis they had to put spinal tap. This procedure is painful, a thick needle is pushed through lower spine as it reaches the center part of the spine. Then they take out the fluid that flows between spine and brain. While this been done, he was also undergoing through blood transfusion as his Hemoglobin levels dropped. After going through all these pains, I think he feels this pain is part of life. He never cries for Injections, blood sampling or blood sugar testing. He makes a sad face when the needle pricks him and after that he goes back to what he is doing.

October 18, 2010 (Day 19)
As we waited for CSF analysis with bated breath, the day has arrived. And it was negative. We were more worried than being happy because we couldn’t co-relate the high value of CRP and negative result of CSF analysis. Doctors shared same concern and wanted to continue Levoflaxcin for some more time. His episodes of vomiting and abdomen distention continued suggesting intestinal infection.
October 20, 2010 (Day 21)
His situation didn’t improve much regarding vomiting and abdominal distention. Dr. Venkatesh told us he will involve surgeon Dr. C Ramachandra for this issue.


October 21, 2010 (Day 22)
He had problems in maintaining oxygen levels on his own so they have put him back on ventilator. This is for the 3rd time he went back on ventilator. We were getting used to this now and were worried about NEC. (Again changing priorities and problems)
October 23, 2010 (Day 24)
His Hemoglobin level and platelet count has dropped dangerously so they did one more blood transfusion.
October 27, 2010 (Day 28)
It was 3rd day since he had anything in terms of feed or nutrition. This was done to clean off his intestines so that infection will be controlled. He lost weight and looked weak. But we understood to prevent life threatening diseases we have to take these steps.

October 28, 2010 (Day 29)
For the first time I didn’t see my son for more than 24 hrs. I had to stay back at home as I had flu. I missed him the most that day.
October 29, 2010 (Day 30)
Advay celebrated his 1st month birthday, he now weighs 1.120 Kg. We sang happy birthday to him and as a birthday gift his ventilator is now removed. And that was the last time he was on ventilator.

November 1, 2010 (Day 33)
Today Advay lost 155gms in one day, doctors couldn’t ascertain the reason for this. But rest of the things was fine.
November 5, 2010 (Day 37)
It was Diwali, festival of lights and happiness. That night we went to see Advay and for the first time I took him into my hands. That’s my festival of happiness. It was mixed feeling for me, excited, worried little bit if I am holding him right. When I kept him close to me I felt his heart beat. I will never forget this Diwali.

November 10, 2010 (Day 42)
Time has come to test his eyes. They will look for a disorder called ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). Though procedure for ROP looked painful but its not. Or maybe he is now used to that pain. They will open both of the eyelids with a clip and with help of prongs they will hold his eyeball to be static and then look at his retina for any abnormalities. Result was avascular retina. It means his retina is not yet developed and test would be done after 3 weeks.
November 29, 2010 (Day 61)
Advay reached 1.780 Kg and sweet news is he can be discharged out of NICU and shift to hospital ward. It was his 2nd month birthday. That was his best gift one can give.

November 30, 2010 (Day 62)
Advay finally shifted to Hospital ward but our happiness didn’t last long. In NICU temperature is maintained at 33-34 C. But in hospital room though there was a heater, we didn’t measure the temperature. As he was brought down, he went into a thermal shock and started breathing fast. Doctors had a look and shifted him back to NICU for observation.
December 2, 2010 (Day 64)
After his breathing stabilized, we brought him back to hospital room. Now I got my own room heater and 3 different room temperature measuring devices. We stabilized the room temperature around 29-30 C. He got adjusted to this and we were all happy. For the first time we could spend with him whole day.

December 6, 2010 (Day 68)
ROP was done and this time result was retina formed completely with no abnormalities. Next visit suggested after 1 year. We also took him for Hearing testing and he passed with flying colors with his next visit after 3 months. Echo was done with mild water around his heart which is common. Next visit is after 3 months.
December 7, 2010 (Day 69)
Finally the day has arrived for us to take Advay home. Our feeling about taking him home doesn’t fit into any words. It has to be felt. We prayed for 5 little angels’ lives that couldn’t make it during Advay’s stay at hospital. We prayed for all other babies who are in NICU to recover sooner and join their parents. Two months is enough to make friends with other parents who were undergoing similar state of mind like us. When you are new to this there are parents guiding you and when you spend time you extend the experience with new comers. It’s like one big family.

By 8:30 PM I finished all admin, billing and insurance related formalities. BIG Thank you to my company NetApp which supported me through difficult times and gone beyond to help me. They took care of me when I had to take care of my family and that shows why it is Best place to work for. With all smiles we headed home thinking all is well and nothing can happen now. But Advay had to take some more pain and it is not yet over.
December 13, 2010 (Day 75)
We were home and Advay had settled down and started liking his room. But that morning we saw a big lump near his lower abdomen. We took some pictures and e-mailed them to Dr. Karthik. He immediately replied to get that checked with Dr. C Ramachandra Pediatric Surgeon. We took him and visited Dr. Ramachandra. He looked at it and diagnosed as Inguinal Hernia. Advay’s abdominal muscle got ruptured and part of his intestines dropped into lower abdominal area. Doctor suggested for immediate surgery and it was planned next day morning 7:30 AM.
He explained the risk of surgery, highest risk being giving full body anaesthesia and giving pain killers and antibiotics. Anaesthesia is critical because of his weight and age, even a small increase in dose can cause major brain damage and he could go into coma. And pain killers and antibiotics can bring back Apnea. But we didn’t have any other option. We had signed all consent forms for the surgery and hoped for the best. We were very confident that he could pull this off without any problems.
December 14, 2010 (Day 76)
We stopped his feed by 3:00 AM and had to put him on IV. He is not new to IV so didn’t cry much. By 6:30 AM he was shifted to Operation Theater. By 8:45 AM he is out and shifted to NICU for observation. All nurses were delighted to see him again (Though they didn’t want any baby to come back) NICU procedure is not new to us. It’s the same but new set of fathers with worried faces waiting. Some parents whom I know were there waiting for their babies to get discharged. It was something like re-union though the word doesn’t fit in here. By afternoon he came out of sleep which is a great thing. Feed resumed and IV was removed by then. Advay was back to hospital ward by that night. We had some tense moments due to not so well trained nurses in the ward in handling infants.
December 15, 2010 (Day 77)
Dr. Ramachandra came for visits and suggested to get discharged the same day. Advay had to bear the pain as they didn’t give any antibiotic or pain killers. Only Crocin was prescribed as SOS if he cries due to pain. But as usual, he took all the pain without crying and was playing kicking his legs and hands in the air. It’s the same old procedure for discharge which was easy for me this time. We started back home not anticipating anything but just wish for Advay’s good health.

December 20, 2010 (Day 82)
Advay had his first vaccinations. He weighed 2.25 kgs and 45 cms in length.
December 24, 2010 (Day 86)
We named him Advay in a traditional naming ceremony.


December 29, 2010 (Day 91)
Advay celebrated his 3rd month Birthday.


January 03, 2011 (3 months 5 days)
Advay weighs 2.60 Kgs, length 47 cms

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