Mikelle Faith Rhoton

Mikelle was born December 23rd at 12:41 am. She weighed 6 lbs 12oz and was 17 1/2 inches long. I was hoping she was going to be here on the 22nd, but she wanted to be born on Joseph Smith's birthday.

At 3:00 I got my cerclage taken out. I had to get a spinal (it took them 3 different times to finally get me numb) and they also put in a catheter for an epidural. As soon as the doctor cut the cerclage out I dilated to 4, so I thought I was going to have her soon after, but I was wrong. It took about 7 hours to finally dilate to 6. My contractions were pretty bad so I had them add medicine to the epidural and it worked so I thought I was good to go, but when the doctor came to break my water and check my cervix, I felt it. The doctor was surprised and so was I, but he didn't act like it was a big deal. I felt tons of pressure and pain as she was dropping down. I kept telling the nurse I didn't think the epidural was working, but she just said it was normal to feel that. Finally at 12:10 I started feeling tons of pressure and feeling like I was going to die, so the nurse checked me and I was dilated to 10. I was really surprised and happy because the nurse kept saying it would be 3:00 before we had her. She had me do some practice pushes. I only did a few before she was ready to come out. So the nurse hurried and called the doctor and instead of pushing I just had to wait for the doctor to come. I actually thought I was going to die. Finally the doctor showed up and she was born about 5 minutes later...and I felt EVERYTHING! And to make it worse I tore very badly. As the doctor was sewing me up one nurse whispered, "Ouch," to the other one. So I knew it had to be bad. I was pretty angry I went through all that without an epidural even when I kept telling them it wasn't working. I was just glad to finally get her out of me! I'm so glad she's here and healthy. Everyone at the hospital was nervous about her only being 36 weeks, but she is very healthy.

We love our little girl. She hardly ever cries, only when she's gassy. She doesn't even cry when she's hungry. She just starts sucking. I can't wait to take her come to my house. By the time we finally get home it will be about 2 months since I've been there.

We took tons of pictures the last few days, so here are a few of them.

This is right before they took me to take out the cerclage


One of the times I was throwing up. Jory couldn't handle it.


At least he still likes me


Jory putting on her diaper


He's so happy!


Grandma Daley (she's trying to think of a good name for Mikelle to call her, Grandma Daley sounds old)


She was covered in the nasty white stuff because she was early


Grandpa Daley- he loves her and might not let me take her home with me


Our first family picture


They brought her in a stocking after they gave her a bath


Grandma Rhoton








Merry Christmas!

36 weeks...finally!

Well I ended up in the hospital again. But this time I'll leave with a baby. All week I have been having a lot of cramps. I told the doctor on Wednesday and he said that was normal, so I thought it was. On Friday it started getting a lot worse. I just wanted to lay around with a heating pad. So I decided to call the doctor. He told me they were contractions and the I needed to come to the hospital right away. I had no clue the cramps were contractions. I had never felt contractions like that. When I got to the hospital I was having contractions every 3 minutes, but they finally stopped them completely a few hours later. I was dilated to 1 1/2 so the doctor wanted to send me to Tucson because I wasn't 36 weeks yet (I was 35 and 5 days)and they can't take care of babies under 36 weeks here. Luckily he didn't. He just wanted me to make it until Sunday, which I did. Now I just have to make it to Tuesday and he will cut my cerclage and we will have a baby! We're pretty excited. Jory came down yesterday morning because Dr. Tran thought I was having the baby real soon. I told him my husband was 7 hours away and he said tell him to get here right away. Now I'm doing really good. And only 2 more days until we have our baby girl! I won't post a picture because I'm really swollen. They were giving me fluid in an IV and I was retaining it all. I gained 15 pounds in 4 days. This morning I didn't have ankles and could barely bend my legs. They took me off the fluid now and the swelling is finally going down, but I still look pretty disgusting! Hopefully it keeps getting better because I hate looking like a blimp!

We have a date!

Today at my appointment we set a date to cut the cerclage, which means I'll have the baby that day! It's December 28th. I'll be 37 weeks and one day. I'm so excited. Jory wanted me to ask the doctor if they would do it the 21st or 22nd. But he didn't really like that idea because I would only be 36 weeks and babies could have respiratory problems then. I'm just glad I only have 12 more days.

34 1/2 Weeks

Well things are still going good. The baby weighs 5 pounds 11 ounces. The doctor said the only thing holding her in is the cerclage, so it's a good thing I have it. I'm getting really tired of being pregnant, but I still need to make it a few more weeks.

We got some pictures of her part of her face and her lips.

The first one is of part of her face, up to her nose.


These are her big lips.


34 1/2 weeks


I'm almost done! I'm so excited!

Another hospital visit

I have decided I might only have one kid. I really don't like being pregnant and apparently neither does my body. I ended in the hospital yesterday. For the past couple of days I haven't been feeling very good. I was having a lot of contractions and anytime I stood up I just hurt everywhere, especially my cervix. I thought it was really thinning out. So I called the doctor yesterday morning and they told me to go straight to OB. As soon as I got there they hooked my up to the contraction monitor, took my blood, gave me 2 shots of trebutaline, gave me an IV to hydrate me, and gave me an ultrasound. Luckily my cervix is still okay, I just have a really bad yeast infection. That's what was causing me all the pain. Since I have a foreign object inside me (my cerclage stitch) it causes bacteria and all kinds of other things to grow inside me. It's really annoying that something that's supposed to help me is causing me so many problems. So after 7 hours in the hospital they let me come home because everything looked okay. I just need to hold off having a baby for another 2 1/2 weeks. If not they will fly me to Tucson and I really don't want to pay for that!

My brother Derek left on his mission yesterday. I really am proud of him. Not only for making the right decision and being worthy to go, but by proving all the doctors wrong who said he wouldn't be able to leave December 2nd. It was sad to see him go, but I'm glad he was able too.

Family Pictures

We took family pictures yesterday with my family, since Derek will be gone for 2 years. I can't believe he leaves in 2 days!

31 weeks

I made it to 31 weeks. I only have about 5 or 6 weeks left. It's a good thing because bedrest is extremely boring! But hopefully I get a healthy baby.

I feel extremely huge and look like it too!

All it takes is a little faith!

I got released from the hospital today. I was so excited. The doctor came in before the ultrasound and talked to me. I asked her if my cervix could get thicker at all. She said it could but probably only half a centimeter. When I went into the hospital my cervix was 1.7 cm. Today it was 3.4 cm. That means it grew almost 2 cm. She was amazed. And so was I. Yesterday I kept telling Jory that I was hoping for a miracle, that some how my cervix would get to 3 cm. Well I got my miracle! It may not seem like a big thing to other people, but it is to me. That's what's keeping my baby inside. And I want her to keep on growing for as long as she can. My mom took me home to Thatcher, so I'll be here until I have the baby. I'm still on bedrest, so I would love visitors!

30 weeks

Things have been a lot better since I got the trebutaline shot. I haven't had any contractions since then. Which is really good. I got 2 steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs. I get another ultrasound on Monday to check my cervix. I hoping that it will have gotten a lot thicker, so I could go home and possibly go to Thatcher for Thanksgiving and see Derek before he leaves on his mission. But that would definitely be a miracle! I'm extremely bored, so if you live close by you can come visit me!

Hospital Bedrest

Well I'm in the hospital on bedrest now. I called the doctor this morning because I was afraid my cerclage was ripping. So they had me come in and my cervix had gotten shorter. If it gets under 2 cm they put you in the hospital and my did. I've also been having a lot of contractions and the medicine they gave me wasn't stopping them. So I got a shot of terbutaline, which helped. I just hate it because it makes me shake and my heart beat really fast. I'm glad something is helping though. It's scary because I've been through this before, but I'm a lot more confident because I know my baby can live. Hopefully I can at least make it a few more weeks. And hopefully these stupid contractions stop!

Bedrest

Well I'm on bedrest now. My cervix got a lot shorter in the last 2 weeks. I've been on bedrest one whole day and I already hate it. At least I'm at home. I started having contractions last night, so I'll be getting some medicine tonight. It's really scary living 2 hours away from my doctors and a hospital. But hopefully everything turns out okay. I really don't want a premature baby. The goal is to make it to 35 weeks. I hope I can do it!

Baby, Hunting, Birthday & Pumpkin Carving

BABY:
Last week at our appointment we found out lots of good things! The ultrasound took about 30 minutes. Our baby girl weighed 2 pounds 10 ounces, she looks very healthy and was making good breathing motions. She has long legs (they are in the 86 percentile). I can tell she's getting stronger and stronger because her kicks are starting to hurt more. My cervix still looks good and the ultrasound tech thinks I'll make it to my due date, which I didn't think I would.

Her feet have gotten bigger and fatter since 20 weeks. I've decided her toes look like mine...which is probably a good thing.


This isn't a very good picture. She had her arm up over her head so it was making a shadow on her face.


We can't wait for her to be here. Jory and I always talk about who we think she'll look like and what features of ours she'll have. We almost have her room all done. I'm just waiting for my mom to come help paint!


HUNTING:
Jory was so excited to go hunting this year. He didn't get a deer, but he had fun!

This is my dad...of course he is standing by the food


Jory, my cousin Amy and Dad


We weren't sure if Derek was going to be able to go hunting this year, but he did really good. He even got a deer a few days later.


Jory and Derek when they got home.


BIRTHDAY:
It was Jory's birthday on Sunday. He's 25 now. Some of his family came to my parents house and we had dinner and ice cream cake.




PUMPKIN CARVING:
On Monday night for family home evening we carved pumpkins.

27 weeks

I made it to 27 weeks. I just wish I was 37 weeks. I'm not too good at being pregnant. I still get sick and I get about every pregnancy symptom there is to get...even the rare ones. I'm afraid I'll have to be on complete bedrest soon and I really don't want to be. So I hope everything goes okay at my appointment on Wednesday!

Derek's Home!

Last night I called home to talk to my mom about Derek and to see if he was home yet. Derek answered the phone, "Konnichiwa," in his weird accent. I was so happy to hear that because Derek would always answer the phone like that. I knew he hadn't changed at all. You would never believe he was in the hospital unconscious the week before. He still has to go to physical therapy twice a day, but everyday he is getting better and better. Derek said the physical therapists want him to work his brain all the time to make sure he remembers things. So he has to help Rocki with her homework every night. He said it's like he has to go back to school. He's also working with my mom memorizing scriptures. He told me the physical therapists said he has a problem paying attention sometimes. He listens really good for awhile then dazes off. That made him mad because he said he always did that before. He said he would always to that to me and Jory. Which is true. At least he admits it. Anyway, he is doing really good and he's really glad he's home and can actually eat good food now.

Derek Update

From facebook:
Derek is doing great today!
Roger says he is 100% better than he was yesterday.
He is able to move his toes and feet and his arm movements are becoming very well controlled. He was able to put his glasses on himself today, which he could not do yesterday.
His verbal skills are much better today, although his throat is still very sore and it makes talking a bit painful. His voice is labored, but again much louder and more pronounced now.
Derek can eat for himself. He even had a bean burro today.
Yesterday he was alone and needed to go to the bathroom and attempted to get off his bed and walk. This did not turn out so well. He fell, hit his shoulder and to top it all off spilled his pudding. The pudding made a mess on the floor and he couldn't quite get it all cleaned up before the nurse caught him.
He was also very disappointed, because during his time on the floor, he attempted a push-up and couldn't do it.
His pneumonia is clearing up, and overall everything is improving in great strides.

Thank you all for your prayers and your support. This has and will be a tough time for Derek and his family, but your efforts are greatly appreciated.


Derek got to go on a wheelchair ride today. I'm sure it was nice to get out of his room. We had him try pushing himself with his feet and his arms. His right side is still a little stronger then the left. He also walked a short ways with help, but his legs are still really weak to go very far. It's amazing how much he improves every hour! His goal is to be out of there by Tuesday, but he'll need to stay in the hospital a little longer then that. He starts physical therapy tomorrow morning which should help him a lot. He is still in the ICU because they don't have a bed for him yet, but hopefully soon he can move out of there. Last night there was a Code Blue in the ICU when our whole family was there, so we saw all the nurses rush into someones room. Derek asked his nurse later if that lady was okay. The nurse said the lady's heart stopped beating so they had to shock her and it started beating again. Derek said he felt like he was in a mortuary, and he hated mortuaries. So it will be really good for him to get out of there. It will be so nice for him to come home. With the way he's been improving already, it wouldn't be surprising if he could come home this weekend.

Derek concentrating on wheeling himself


The whole family


He got to go outside for the first time in a few days


Derek saying, "Stay Sweet"

Derek's Awake!!!

Copied from Nelson's facebook page:

Friday Night:
Derek just woke up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is conscious and is able to communicate by nodding and shaking his head.
His family has just gathered and are looking for a doctor to authorize the removal of his breathing tube.
I told you the prayers were working.

Saturday Morning:
Derek pulled his breathing tube out himself, along with most other things attached to him. He is breathing well. He is having some trouble talking, which seems to be because his throat is sore from the tubes. His voice is low and labored.
Derek can remember the dive and not feeling good when he came out of the water. He has been asking lots of questions about what happened.
Roger asked Derek if he felt he could walk and Derek replied that he is good to go and wants to leave the hospital.
The reality is that he is still having difficulty controlling movements particularly in his legs. He can wiggle his toes, but with some difficulty.
The neurologist visited him briefly this morning and basically said that he looks good and left.
Overall this is great news. Derek can now communicate and that will make everything much easier.


Derek woke up last night! We had been debating who was going to go to the hospital after dinner and decided no one would go, that we would just let him sleep and all go wake him up in the morning together. At about 10:20 Derek's nurse called and said Derek was awake. So we all rushed into the car and drove to the hospital. I have never seen my whole family move so fast. We got to the room and Derek was excited to see us. He answered yes and no questions and gave us two thumbs up. In the morning the nurse called again and said Derek wanted to talk to his dad. So my parents rushed to the hospital with my brother Chad and the rest of us came later. He can barely talk because his throat is hurting him, but he was cracking us up. He was mad at his nurse Chip because he wouldn't get him a fan fast enough. He told us he hated Chocolate Chip. He told me he was in Kayenta sleeping in our guest room and was really thirsty, so that's why he pulled out his breathing tube. He's still his same self always trying to make people laugh. We are all so excited that he is doing better. And hopefully only keeps getting better.

Some good news...

I'm glad my uncle has been updating. He can say it a lot better and easier then I can!

The neurologist has gone over the MRI with Roger and Babette. He showed them the damage to that brain that was caused by oxygen deprivation. There is damage on both sides of the brain. The damage is primarily in the part of the brain that controls leg movement. We have noticed his legs move much less than his arms.
How about some good news.
The neurologists says that the MRI shows much less damage than he expected. The doctor is very optimistic that Derek will have a good recovery, but that it may take a while. He expects Derek to begin to regain consciousness within the next 2 to 7 days!!!
He does expect that at that point Derek will still need a lot of help. Derek will probably still need to have some form of feeding tube in place, as he is not expected to be able to eat normally right away.
Derek will have his last hyperbaric treatment tomorrow, Sept. 25th, at Noon. After the treatment they will remove the breathing tube and allow Derek to breathe on his own. He is expected to be able to breathe without assistance at that point. They have already reduced his oxygen levels from 100% to 35% and Derek's oxygen saturation levels are staying in the 91% region. (it is not felt that Derek ever had a time when he was not able to breathe on his own, although it was very labored on the boat ride back to the marina.)
Now back to some bad news.
Even though many public officials are trying to tell us we need to get a good health care system like Cuba and Mexico, Derek seems to be suffering some ill effects of his time spent in a Mexican Hospital. The doctors say he has some type of infection and they believe that he has contracted a mersa infection in Mexico. If the cultures taken prove them right, they have a good solution for it, but it will require 2 weeks of IV treatments. Derek has had a fever at least since he arrived in the US, but seems to be getting it under control somewhat at this point.

Keep up the prayers, it's working.

Update on Derek

Last night Roger and Babette worked with Derek to see if he would respond to them. Derek did respond to a verbal command and squeezed Roger's hand with his right hand, but did not do the same with his left. When asked to open his eyes Derek moved his head, but did not open his eyes.
There was an MRI done yesterday as well, but the neurologist has not been available to discuss it thoroughly. We have been told that the MRI does show that there is "some" damage to the brain caused by oxygen deprivation.
Derek is currently just finishing up his 4th hyperbaric treatment (1 in Mexico and 3 in Tucson) and is scheduled for his final treatment tomorrow.
Outwardly there is no real change with Derek today. He is still very medicated to keep him from moving to much during hyperbaric treatments or removing his breathing tube etc.
Derek is still on a ventilator, but can breath fine on his own. This again is a precautionary measure to make sure he is getting what he needs during the hyperbaric treatments.
Thanks again to all of you for your support and prayers, and don't stop now. It looks like we may be in for the long haul on this one.


Here is a link to my uncle's facebook page, where he has info on Derek.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=100000235837182


(You'll have to copy and paste it because I don't know to insert a link where you can just click on it and it will go. Sorry!)

Just because...

I miss Derek and I'm worried about him. I'll copy and paste what my uncle Nelson wrote about him on facebook:

Derek was scuba diving in Guaymas, Mexico and experienced some kind of problem. He surfaced with his dad and told Roger that he wasn't feeling well. Roger told him to get in the boat.
Derek swam to the boat was evidently ...a little disoriented as he didn't swim to the ladder. Roger told him again to get in the boat, and Derek said he can't and that he couldn't feel his arms.
Roger went to help him get into the boat and when trying to help him get his gear off, Roger noticed that his arms were limp and Derek could not move them. Roger couldn't put him in the boat without Derek helping.
Within about 3-4 minutes of surfacing Derek went unconscious. Roger stayed with him holding onto the boat and onto Derek to keep him from drowning. About 5 minutes after Derek went out, Rob surfaced and Roger called him to help. Rob got in the boat and pulled Derek in. Then about another 10 minutes passed waiting for all to get out of the water and then came the 1 hour boat trip back to the marina.
The were able to arrange an ambulance to meet them at the marina. Then came the Mexican healthcare system.
Derek spent some time in Guaymas, but the hyperbaric was insufficient so they took him to Obregon to a privately held larger chamber. There they did a 90 minute treatment, but Derek was very combative and obviously in a lot of pain.
He was brought to Tucson via medical jet and brought to TMC.
He has had 2 hyperbaric treatments since he has been at TMC and they are planning on 2 more over the next 2 days.

The doctors are now saying that they expect his current condition to slowly progress over weeks not days, but they feel good that he is so young and strong that he will be able to overcome the damage that has happened

Here's another update:
Derek just finished another Hyperbaric treatment. The doctors are saying that the cat scan looks normal. This is good news except they really don't know for sure what the problem is right now. They are assuming that he is suffering from damage caused by air embolism, but since it took so long to get him here from Mexico, they are working a lot on the story of what happened just before he went out and the symptoms of what they are seeing now.
The doctors are also assuming that all air embolisms have been absorbed or purged at this time, but that some damaged has occured that is causing him global control problems. He can breathe on his own, but they are keeping him on a ventilator to ensure proper breathing in and out of the hyperbaric chamber.
At this point when we pressured the doctor for a prognosis, he wouldn't say that he is optimistic, but he would say that he is not pessimistic. This is largely because Derek is young and strong and that he should be able to overcome the damage that has happened.
The Morning nurse today said that she worked with him today, off of the medication that keeps him out during the hyperbaric treatment. He was not very responsive. He would open his eyes a little, but not really make eye contact that would make you think he is understanding or even really acknowledging communication. His motor skills are similar. He moves his arms, but does not seem to have any fine motor skills. Basically just not a good connection, between his brain and the rest of his body.

My uncle also posted pictures of him in the hospital, but they just make me cry, so I won't post them. These are some pictures of us throughout the summer. He stayed and worked in Kayenta the whole summer and just left last Friday. I wouldn't admit it to him, but I was really sad that he left. Our house was very empty without him. When he left I realized I'm really going to miss him while he is on his mission.

At graduation in May


Derek and Jory playing Madden 10 on X-Box. They did this ALL the time.


Derek posing in Jory's suit.


Playing SingStar. He was really getting into it.


So please pray for Derek. He really needs it.