Welcome to Benjamin's 1st Adventure website. Here you will find the official updates of Ben's condition. Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes. They are working. Please, don't stop.
Benjamin Alden was born three weeks early on Thursday, May 2nd, 2002, at 2:28 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. The pregnancy had been complicated with 8 weeks of pre-term labor involving bed rest, medication, and several hospital and doctor's visits. Benjamin was declared healthy at birth and his first 28 hours of life were joyous.
Then suddenly, while nursing, Benjamin stopped breathing. He was rushed to the nursery where a team of doctors and nurses worked on him for 15 minutes. Finally his heart and lungs began working again. He was taken to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and put on a ventilator, monitors, and IVs. They put ice around his head to prevent swelling. At this time, Benjamin probably had some seizures. Over the next few days, Ben began to stabilize. Then on Wednesday, May 8th, Ben pulled his breathing tube out and went into respiratory arrest again. The doctors worked with him for about 25 minutes before he returned to us. Since then, Ben has been regaining strength.
His doctors are puzzled. Currently a team of neonatologists, a neurologist, a pulmonary specialist, an ENT, a cardiologist, and his pediatrician are working on an answer. Benjamin has undergone EEGs, EKGs, a MRI, a brain ultrasound, chest x-rays, a spinal tap, metabolic testing, and numerous blood tests, but so far nothing is clear. We are still awaiting the results of metabolic tests that have been sent all over the country. There are two things that concern his doctors the most. First, Ben does not always breathe for himself and the breaths he takes for himself are shallow. Secondly, he appears to have trouble swallowing.
Some of the theories are: 1) That he was born a bit too early and so the kinks in some of his systems haven't quite been worked out. Possibly, they will develop with time and he will grow out of this (we're hoping for this one). 2) He has some type of infant emphysema or apnea where his body just forgets to breathe. 3) Some type of airway obstruction. 4) A some kind of central nervous problem that controls breathing and swallowing. 5) A muscle disorder. 6) A rare metabolic disorder.
Today, May 12th, he is being fitted with a feeding tube. First they will inject it with air and see if it goes through correctly. If so, he will begin getting Mom's milk for nourishment. For now, they are giving him a week to recover from his last episode. Then they will discuss doing a bronchial scope and a CAT scan. Benjamin is stable. He is breathing more on his own and there seems to be some evidence of swallowing. He is awake more and more. He knows his Mom and Dad's voices, and is so squirmy they've had to tie his hands down to prevent him from pulling out his tube again. Mom and Dad are trying to stay strong and patient. We have been uplifted by the support of family and friends, and are rooted in faith, hope, and love. Please keep praying. We've been blessed with so many miracles in the last week, but we still need more.
