Author Archives: davealter

So a lot has happened over the last few days…mostly good news, but news nonetheless.  After performing well on the CPAP early in the week, the doctors turned Jada’s BPM (breaths per minute) down to 10 early on Thursday morning. … Continue reading →

I’m happy to report that we have lots of good news to report today. First, Jada continues to digest her feeds and, as a result, is now 2 lbs 2 ozs. Go Jada! She is still receiving 16 ml + … Continue reading →

Jada has continued to improve over the last 24 hours just as we had hoped. Jada’s feedings and breathing (the two areas where we are primarily focused) continue to go very well. She is currently receiving 14ml of milk + … Continue reading →

It is official. Our little bundle of joy is officially 2 pounds. Way to go Jada! This also means that Allie and I will have to defer our friendly wager to another occasion. Other news, Jada has had a pretty … Continue reading →

I’m happy to report that Jada had a pretty good day today. She is still on the high frequency ventilator, but her oxygen requirements stayed consistently between 30-40% and her doctor was able to ween the MAP and amplitude settings … Continue reading →

Allie and I are running out the door to head to the hospital then to church. I’ll post again this afternoon, but wanted to give a quick update: Jada had a horrible day on Friday and the doctors needed to … Continue reading →

Just got back from my lunch trip to the hospital. As Allie mentioned in her post earlier today…Jada has had a pretty rough morning. After desating (a drop in her oxygen saturation levels…remember she needs to stay within 80 – 93%) … Continue reading →

This morning we headed up to the hospital to check on Jada, and all is going very well. Allie’s Dad, Mike, just arrived in town so he and Allie are currently in the NICU with Jada. I’m really glad they are getting this … Continue reading →

I’m headed back up to the hospital right now, but wanted to first provide a short update on Jada. The last 24 hours have been very positive. After initially responding well to the first dose of the steroids, the doctors … Continue reading →

Its been a really busy 24 hours in the Alter household. Yesterday morning I met with another well regarded NICU doctor in town to discuss the use of dexamethasone steroids. Without going into too much detail, he confirmed that 1) … Continue reading →

This is a guest post by Bill and Karen Peary, also known as Allie’s mom and Step-Dad. In addition to being wonderful people, B&K shouldered much of the burden over the last few months while Allie and I camped out at … Continue reading →

It is hard to believe that it has been three weeks since Allie and I had the blessing of experiencing the birth and death of our first born child, Reese Corbin. Some of you may have noticed that, until now, … Continue reading →

Just a quick post for tonight. Today was a pretty quiet day…which was a nice change from the constant ups and downs that we experienced yesterday with Jada’s oxygen stats. It looks like the blood transfusion was exactly what Jada … Continue reading →

Today was a good day for Jada…actually it was probably the best day she’s had in about a week. Activity today was pretty status quo, with no major tests outside of the normal x-ray and blood gas schedule. Jada’s oxygen … Continue reading →

Just a quick post for now b/c Allie and I are on our way to the hospital. Our apologies for not posting yesterday, but after almost three weeks of this whirlwind schedule (plus the 3 weeks prior that we spent … Continue reading →

I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time, but unfortunately life just got in the the way. But today, on Jada’s two week birthday (Go Jada!), I’m finally going to write it. The subject: a tribute to Allie’s … Continue reading →

It was a busy day today in the NICU, so we only have a short update on Jada this evening. Jada’s oxygen requirements continue to trend on the high side, with ~70 – 80% oxygen required from the ventilator (worse … Continue reading →

I’ve been told quite a bit over the last few weeks that girls, and feisty personalities usually have the best outcomes in the NICU. The good news is that Jada is both. The bad news is that these same qualities … Continue reading →

It’s been a long, but good day in the Alter household. I have to admit that I’m a little tired, so I’ll keep the update short for tonight. I promise that I’ll follow up with a more detailed post tomorrow. … Continue reading →

When Jada grows up I think she will be a dancer, specifically a country dancer. After two strong days of stability and improvement, today she decided it was time for a break and took one step backwards. I call it … Continue reading →