The story of a Preemie (condensed)

So, thank Jen for posting the question about the pictures Amber did. Here you go. This story takes place 30 years ago (can you believe it, man, I’m old). Medical practices back then weren’t draconian by any means. There were incubators, warming pads, and other advances that made premature babies as safe and as comfortable as possible, although artificial surfactant hadn’t been invented yet. For those who’d like a little science lesson, here it is. Surfactant simply means soap. Your lungs naturally produce a surfactant compound to break up the surface tension of the water in the lung tissue. This makes breathing much easier. Soap does this with water which makes cleaning things much easier too. The physical effort to breathe (moving all that surface tension around with every breath is tiresome) is hard on very little bodies. Ever have your lungs filled with mucus from a really bad cold and had to cough it out over a period of time? I bet your lungs and diaphragm hurt afterwards. The same kind of concept is at work here for preemies. Their lungs can’t quite make surfactant yet if they’re born early enough, which makes breathing hard. So we were given 100% oxygen to make up the difference. It’s too bad that oxygen wreaks havoc with still forming retinas.

I’m an identical twin. Brent and I were born 11 weeks early. We were both small, Brent was over 3 lbs and I was over 2. Being that early, our lungs hadn’t developed enough to make surfactant and so we were given oxygen. My right lung collapsed twice during the first bit of life. I still have the scars where the tubes were inserted to re-inflate my lung. Brent survived for ~24 hours. His medical records indicate that he died of cerebral hemorrhage and blood acidosis (too much carbon dioxide built up in the blood stream converts to carbonic acid, this alters the pH of the blood. To support life, the pH of blood can only be within a narrow range.). The pictures that we have I’m already a month or two old, as you can see from all the hair. We don’t have any pictures of Brent.

Having spent the first 3 months or so of my life in the ICU and battling many early health problems, I consider myself very blessed to be a surviving twin. I know God had a hand in my early life. Were it not so, I would not be here. Most surviving children born at the same time under similar circumstances are much less well off physically. Mental handicaps, blindness or other vision difficulties are common, although I didn’t fully escape those either. My retinas became detached between my junior and senior year of High school. Surgery was needed to correct the problem and I still go up the U of U Moran eye center for yearly checkups. Speaking of which, I’m due again in September.

The medical intervention that saved me and our families preemie experience overall has had a lasting impact on our family on multiple levels. I am committed to the sciences (see the post about my ASM certification) and I work for a company that services the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. I get to see many new and innovative products that will improve the quality of life for many people. I get to play a role in making all of that safe. My work brings me great satisfaction. Mom is currently working for the March of Dimes. She has been involved in support groups, and other organizations for preemie awareness all of her life. She recently had a march where my Sister-in-law and her son, who was born with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus, were the ambassador family for the Utah County March of Dimes. My sister Heidi is currently in pre-term labor with her second child. She's doing OK and labor is stopped for now. We hope she can hold out just a little bit longer so please keep her and her baby girl in your prayers.

We've come a long way in 30 years. Babies a lot smaller and much less developed are saved all the time now. But is still sad to see the tiny bodies, clinging to life and their parents fingers. It is very sobering to know that I am one of them.