More Fun Facts...
Well I turned 33 today...and Nic turned 3 lbs 11 oz...with the hopes of being 4 lbs by new year. He even has chubby cheeks now...but the apnea persists and the infection is still around.
For my birthday today I decided to give myself my own birthday present and list all the funny things that have happened which were not funny at the time [or basically I forgot to laugh at that moment] but darn it...I have to admit they are funny now...here is just two but the rest are coming...my list is in its early stages as of yet...
1. The head of the preemie ward came to me early on and said one day..."you have given birth to an Italian citizen...you are a lucky mother..."
I told him "I came to learn a little Italian and instead I am going home with a little Italian."
He replied "by the time I let you go you will be an Italian citizen."
2. Minutes after giving birth and laying around for the placenta to fall out...the 7 women/nurses/midwives were all around my lower regions and saying things really fast in Italian and beginning to argue with each other...and finally the one doctor(dottore) asked me as I am crying and feeling a great deal of pain..."how much did you pay in America for your bikini wax?" My only response was..."Wut?"
My Roma Christmas Story
Hi --
I received a few emails so I thought I would write you all back at once.
It is day 22 here for me out of a possible 45 days at this point. This week was definitely the hardest. Christmas Eve and Christmas were harder to get through than I thought. But I do have one nice story to tell...
On Christmas Eve I found out Nic had an infection in his kidneys. He had another IV hooked to him for that medication. I found out his Apnea was back...where he stops breathing for 20 seconds once an hour and you have to flick his leg to jump start him literally...very exciting times. They have him on another IV giving him steroids to speed up his lungs for that.
His color was off and for the first time when I saw him off color I actually felt ill and had to leave the room to get myself together...nothing like cleaning "throw up" off of wires and monitors...so in general it was not a good day and my entire family was meeting for dinner to eat a dinner that I normally cook once a year...
Well I left the hospital on Christmas Eve I went to go to mass at the Vatican and then to return to the hospital just after midnight because at midnght in the baby ward they had a priest come to do their own mass and tape little baby Jesus' in a mangers inside each incubator that the pope blessed...so it was going to be a long night for me without sleep. Getting a cab in Rome on Christmas Eve in front of the Vatican is a fete in and of itself.
But first I had to check back into the hotel the Hilton Cavalieri in Rome where I was the night I went into labor. When I arrived I was beyond depressed and feeling kind of numb, but the hotel greeted me and had me sit down and told me my room wasn't ready. The woman [Karen] and head concierge [Markus] who had helped me when I went into labor two weeks earlier came over to me and said everything in the hotel is taken care of for you and I had no idea what she meant...but when I came to my room a huge room [not what I had paid for] overlooking Rome I was speechless... a basket with poinsettias, chocolates, fruit, and a bear for Nic with a card from the staff signed was also waiting. A letter was included from the manager saying all meals and drinks are also taken care of and asked me to stay indefinitely through january. Keep in mind this hotel charges 12 Euro or 15 bucks for a coke here. I was speechless. Everyone from the lady who brings me towels to the bellboy...knows who I am and they have gone overboard to help me.I didn't think I could handle one more thing that day but then the Hotel did this.
I hadn't slept in 48 hours and by Christmas I had a fever so I didn't think i oculd even see Nicolas on Christmas...I stayed in bed all day when visiting hours came I took my temp and was o.k....so I went to the hospital. As nice as the hotel had been I couldn't get out my funk.
I stood by Nic's incubator and stared at him and wondered how we were ever going to get well and get home...and what a wierd Christmas this had been and how weird it was to touch him through the plastic box. I hated that I couldn't talk to the staff or other parents about stuff and no one on shift that night spoke English.
At ten to 8 when visiting hours ended and I was the only mother left in the room and Christmas was almost over...a male nurse I had never seen before came in and told me to "sit down"...He took out a fresh towel I thought to change Nicolas' bed...but instead he handed the towel to me and opened the incubator [just like a present box!!!] and handed me my son for the first time and shut the door behind him and I sat there for 30 minutes just Nic and I and we finally got to talk...it was my only present I opened that day but boy was it good...and so my Hope rises again...attached is a picture the nurse took for me...of that night. Remember I hadn't slept in three days and the pic was taken through blinds so it is dark but you can still see us...see our christmas. I hope yours was just as good.
I don't know when I am coming home at this point...Nicolas is still hooked up to a lot of medication and everyday is different...but I will keep you posted. One postscript...The last utlrasound of his brain shows the inflammation is disappearing and the Doctor told me his brain looks normal...she also said if nothing else I came to Rome for that experimental drug...Nic will be written up in their literature they are publishing on their use of the drug in preemies.
Week 3 In Roma
I would have come home the day after tomorrow...if my two week vacation had stayed a 2 week vacation. But just to let you know...Nicolas has gained his birthweight back so he is just over 3 lbs again and gaining...as they say no news is good news. I talk to the doctor tomorrow about his latest ultrasound of his brain...but they are all optimistic...and told me to be the same.
as for nicolas...if they put him on his tummy to sleep they have to center him on a high pillow because he will get to his knees and "skooch" himself all around the incubator and go from one end to the other and knock his line off of his foot showing his vitals. It drives the nurses nuts because he won't stay still. My dad who is Italian woudl love to know that cute 25 year old Italian nurses are changing his diapers and talking to him in Italian...calling him "mi amore."
He can lift his head and does it often when he hears talking in the room...everyone says these are all good signs that he is healthy.I have changed his diaper once and held him once so far.
I found an apartment today in a better area near the Vatican in a great building just two stops away from the hospital on the train. I was quoted a price and when i got there the landlord told me he would take 600 euro (almost $800 dollars) off the price for me. I wanted to kiss him...His name is Andreo.
Also a friend of a relative back hom gave my name to a group she belongs to called the "American Council of Women in Rome"...a group of english speaking women. She told them my story and I now have 25 women who want to help me with everything and one is from the American Embassy and is going to expedite Nic's passport so I won't have to deal with red Italian tape that I know I will not understand...I was so happy I wanted to cry...It was so amazing to come back from visiting hours and find 35 emials from these women who are all really interesting women from the US living here...most are other lawyers and doctors and software people.
I have been overhwlemed with how nice they have been and will keep me company during the month of January when I am by myself.
I will be at the Vatican on Christmas Eve for midnight mass...giving thanks for all that has worked out so far...if you are watching tv at that time...look for me I will be in there somewhere...I will be the only one you can hear praying in english...merry christmas...
What a Difference a Week Makes...
We went tonight - Monday night here - to see Nicolas and talk to the doctor. He is out of the critical area and now in the room where the other babies are that are on a feeding tubes...the room before they get to be on bottles. The doctor say he has made tremendous progress in just one week. He is off of everything except the feeding tube. He just needs to gain wieght and we can go home!!
The inflammation in his brain responded well to the drug and continues to go down. It will take one more week to completely tell how much, The doctor feels if this continues and no cyst or scar occurs in this area, he will be fine. So we just have to wait and see that he is alright but everything looks good so far. we just need to keep it up. John and I were able to hold him for the first time tonight and we each were able to change his diaper once too. It was a great day. I really feel like a parent today.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I just now have to find housing for January so I hope an apartment shows up.
Georgina
Fun Facts I learned about Italy...
1. Because my son was born here in Rome, he is now an Italian Citizen and all his medical bills are covered under the National Health System. While my expenses will need to be reimbursed by my insurance, which by the way for a week stay was extremely reasonable at $1600 Euro or almost $2,000.00.
2. My son will get an Italian passport but I will need a US passport in order to bring him back into the the US with me. The US embassy actually has been helpful in getting this expedited.
3. As his mother I can apply and get an Italian passport as well because as his mother I attain citizenship through that status alone [having a child who is a citizen here]. Rather generous country I think.
Day 6 Post Birth
They took Nicolas off of oxygen for good in just 6 days! he turns one week old tomorrow. and he is now on a feeding tube. He is taking breast milk through a feeding tube.
If his stomach handles it well....we will move to bottles in a week. I won't know about his brain until monday. I am moving into a corporate housing apartment near the Vatican day after Christmas. I will be here for sure until January 11th.
Day 4 post birth
Hi...just to let you know...I should be back to work on March 27th if
not earlier. I will not be back to the U.S. until the first week of
January.
I checked out of the hospital today. I am still in a lot of pain but
doing better. I can't take any pain med's because of breast feeding.
I am doing o.k. however Nicolas is heating up underneath a big lamp
right now to try to take away his jaundice. The one miracle in this
whole situation is that he was born with fully developed lungs and
breathes on his own without any help unlike all the other babies he is
with. i did get bad news last night that during a routine ultrasound of
his brain they foudn white spots showing early stages of inflammation.
He likely has viral meningitis. They are treating him with an
experimental drug that I will know if it works in 4 days. The meningitis
was the reason he came early. I must have had an injury or caught an
infection before I came here. I will never know how or when this
happened to me though. I had no symptoms or problems during my
pregnancy.
I have to say if you have to have a baby in foreign City pick Rome. They
have treated me so well. I owe so much to so many people for their
kindness and great care to me and most do not even speak English.
I am next door to St. Peter's Basilica where I go to church every
morning before my first visit. I stay in a hotel now walking distance
from the hospital. I have learned to do my laundry here and shop at the
market. Hoping all this activity will keep me busy and my mind off of
Nicolas.
I will keep u posted. Take care and I do hope to see all of you in
January. You have no idea how much I want to come home.
-georgina
Arriving in Rome 12/7/05
My first few days at 29 weeks...
I arrived in Rome on 12/8. I had a great three days and at 4 am on 12/11 I had menstrual cramps and 2 hours later I gave birth prematurely in Rome at 29 weeks to my baby boy Nicolas Antonio Glaviano Dunne.
He is only 3 lbs. I will be living in Rome next to the hospital and the Vatican for a month and not home until January 2006! Please pray for us, Nicolas has jaundice but breathes entirely on his own. They said that is the best part. His lungs are totally developed at least. They found some white spots in his brain that show there is inflammation. He likely has meningitis which is why he came out early. I must have contracted an infection or injury before I came which i did not know about. He is on med's which should take it away but I will not know for 4 days. I am still in shock. They said I will never know when or how I got an infection. I had no signs no problems.
I will let you know updates as it happens.
What a story huh? Leave it to me to screw up something like a vacation and a pregnancy which other people seem to do quite well...but not me.
Take care guys...I hope to see/talk to you in January. Let me know your news as well. It will keep me company getting emails from all of you.
Love - Georgina
