Jonnie, i am Processing Cod Fish at Salamatof Seafoods. In Kenai, AK i guess that is for the Salmon season too. I just don't see that far for now. I might take off to Ocean Beauty Seafoods. Okay! I found your address and it's lost in my room for now.

Edited by author 05-13-2009 03:02 PM
A little bug flew into my right nose just now. 11:55 A.M. Alaska Standard Time. When i read ole news. Come on let me read somemore regular emotions.,and swinging flu or how is the fire season down California i just signed up for that walking tour of fire and eye open hair flare ups! Anywhere in the forest fires, or side roads, dry bushes?

According to Facebook, we have a new baby Gilliom loose in the world. I think further details should come from a more authorized source.

Well - there's a photo posted too.
Abby is now officially a mother!
You all should get Facebook accounts and check it out.

Hello all!! Yes, the baby is here. He couldn't help it, he was anxious to get here. I think he just didn't want me to be pregnant through HOT AZ summer. =)

To try and make a long story short… I started contracting and bleeding Wednesday of last week and was rushed to the hospital from work. Luckily, I was taken to the best hospital in the state for high-risk patients. The doctors who cared for me are world renowned and known best for handling mothers of multiples (Dr. Elliott and team w/ PPA). Over the next few days I was pumped full of magnesium (HORRIBLE DRUG!), which turned me into the living dead. Over the next 4 days I continued to dilate and seriously felt like I was dying. The plan was to keep me on bed rest for as long as possible, guess Aiden had other plans for me! At one point I was using a bedpan. Sorry for the details, but I have to say that was pretty much the most vulnerable point of my life. Nothing beats asking your boyfriend or a nurse you’ve just met to help you go pee. By Sunday evening I went from around 3-4 cm to 8! I delivered at 12:41am on 5/18/09 and the baby weighed 1lb 11oz. Aiden still hasn’t been measured, apparently the doctors don’t like to agitate preemies too much. Thankfully the NICU w/ Phoenix Children's Hospital is just as amazing as the high-risk doctors whose care I was under. Dr. Elliot’s team will continue to care for Aiden during the next few months. We’re happy to report he’s doing well. Within his first 12 hours he was taken off the breathing tube and put on a CPAP. We just found out he has a heart murmur, which they say is typical. He’ll be put on medicine tonight to try and correct this. We’re praying he responds to the medicine and his next tests come back with improvements. A brain scan was done and the results showed he’s perfectly normal (HUGE PLUS!!) So far that’s all the news I have. I’ll keep everyone posted as he progresses. The plan is that he’ll be in the NICU for a minimum of 90-100 days, we’re hoping sooner. Love you guys and I’ll keep you posted!!! xoxo

We are thinking about you and little Aiden. The world has another Gilliom man.

Oh, Abby, I'm so glad to hear you're all doing well. Take lots of pictures and keep us posted. You're in our prayers. Can we have a home address for you? You can Facebook it to me instead of posting it here.

We're so happy for you Abby!

We're so glad to hear that you and Aiden are doing well. Thanks for the update.

Not much to report, except Uncle Adam is in town!! He will be meeting Aiden in a couple hours. I need to get ready so gotta run. I'll keep taking pictures and upload to facebook soon. Talk to you guys later.

We took a couple steps back this morning; Aiden to be put back on a ventilator and his hearth murmur has opened back up. It had closed yesterday. The Dr.'s have stopped feedings for now until he gets stronger. They're testing for an infection and have already started antibiotics. He looked comfortable this afternoon though, which means all they're doing is working. For the most part, they say this is normal micro-preemie behavior, but I'm still stressed out.

Just to give you guys some perspective on how little he is...
We measured him yesterday and he's approx. 13 in long, had dropped some weight since birth and weighed 1lb 7oz as of yesterday. His head is about the size of a tennis ball and his feet are about 2 in long.

Keep Aiden in your thoughts and prayers. Talk to you guys later.

Sorry about the baby that is having a heart murmur, my cousins baby is got a hole in her heart too. But that the twins r learning how to walk. The sunshine is bright, and that the clams r good for the diggings. I hope to go sometime this week. Guess one of the guys is probably already at the Whiskey Gulch, or one of the beaches., near Homer. I helped Harold rake his nephews ditch area for excess dry leafs and dusty trash. I had to clean my tennis shoes. I will pray for the baby, and all the babies. Amen!

Thanks Kilbuck, I'll tell Aiden that he's got friends all the way in Alaska. =)

How are things going Abby?

A brain scan was done again yesterday and a small amount of bleeding was found. Aiden's heart murmur has returned (Sunday), which may have something to do with this new found bleed. Pressure changes in a baby so tiny could have triggered the bleed or the medicine they gave him to try and close the murmur, which was given last week. He had a rough morning on Sunday; they put him back on a ventilator and stopping feeds for about 24 hrs. He seems to be doing better on the vent and is back up to half of what his feeds were prior to Sunday. All of this behavior is considered normal for a preemie so young in gestational age. The doctors are now talking about surgery. We're waiting for an ultrasound to come back and cardiologists to get back to Aiden's team of doctors with their opinions on how to handle the murmor. He's responsive, feisty and enjoys when I hold him. The problems that he's having with his oxygen levels seem to be stemmed from the murmur, otherwise known as a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). I'd prefer for the surgery in lieu of having more rounds of indicine, which can caused the bleed. Overall, he's doing well, considering the long road we're up against. I'm able to finally hold him and this helps tremendously with his neurological development. When Aiden is sleeping or I hold him his vitals are strong and he holds his own. I'm praying that the bleed has stopped and doesn't cause permanent damage, in which case we won't know how severe until he's in grade school. His eyes opened last week and they are light, possibly blue or green. He has the Gilliom 2nd toe, dark hair, olive skin completion, big feet and hands and long fingers. I guess this experience will truly teach me the definition of faith and patience. I'll keep you guys posted on what the cardiologists decide and how he's doing. Talk to you guys later. =)

Hang in there Abby.

We're praying for you.