We want to thank everyone who made it to Caleb's memorial service today and everyone who sent thoughts and prayers and food and everyone who wanted to be there but couldn't. If meant so much to us to see some of the many people Caleb touched in the short time he was here.
Thank You!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Memorial Service
Thank you everyone for giving us strength through your thoughts and prayers.
Caleb's memorial service will be Friday at 11:00 am at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs in their memorial garden.
Everyone who has been touched by Caleb is invited to his memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, we would like to make donations to help other babies and their parents. We are not sure exactly how we will be donating. We have talked about donating blankets or hats and socks to the NICUs at Egleston and Gwinnett. We've also talked about donating money to March of Dimes and Egleston. We've also talked about donating books about having a preemie to Gwinnett's and Egleston's NICUs. We just don't know what we want to do right now. We do have a savings account for Caleb. Any monetary donations we receive will go into his savings account until we decide how we want to donate the funds. Caleb also has a virtual band with March of Dimes so you can donate directly to March of Dimes in Caleb's name.
Caleb's obituary is in today's AJC.
Caleb's memorial service will be Friday at 11:00 am at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs in their memorial garden.
Everyone who has been touched by Caleb is invited to his memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, we would like to make donations to help other babies and their parents. We are not sure exactly how we will be donating. We have talked about donating blankets or hats and socks to the NICUs at Egleston and Gwinnett. We've also talked about donating money to March of Dimes and Egleston. We've also talked about donating books about having a preemie to Gwinnett's and Egleston's NICUs. We just don't know what we want to do right now. We do have a savings account for Caleb. Any monetary donations we receive will go into his savings account until we decide how we want to donate the funds. Caleb also has a virtual band with March of Dimes so you can donate directly to March of Dimes in Caleb's name.
Caleb's obituary is in today's AJC.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Caleb Robert Locke 10-10-05 to 4-24-06
Caleb died last night at 11:05.
We got a call from a surgeon at about 5:30 last night. She said Caleb had taken a sudden turn for the worse. His stomach was swollen, red, and hot to the touch. His stomach was so swollen that at one point the swelling had cut off the circulation to his legs. He was starting to have a lot of his episodes. She said they needed to do a surgery to his intestines and try to save any non-damaged parts. She said he had all the signs of having NEC. She said that if all of the intestines are damaged they will not be able to do anything and you can't live without your intestines.
We got to the hospital around 7:00. The surgeon wanted to talk to us as soon as we got there. They took us into a private conference room. We knew it wasn't good. With all of the stuff we have gone through at Egleston, this is the first time they took us to a private conference room.
The surgeon came in and said he didn't have any good news. He had been doing surgeries for 20+ years and this was the most air he had even seen in a baby. The infection some how causes air to fill up in the intestines. The air in Caleb's intestines had moved on to his liver and spleen. His intestines were completely infected. He basically had gangrene in his intestines from his stomach to his rectum. The surgeon said there was nothing they could do. There weren't any healthy parts left of his intestines. He gave us a few choices of what to do. All of the choices ended with Caleb passing away soon - probably within the night.
We called our parents and told them to come see Caleb. Cary and I went to Caleb's room to see him. He didn't look like himself. His color was off. He was cold, so he had blankets all over him. There were a million nurses in the room hooking him up to medicines to try to keep him alive until we were able to spend time with him and decide what to do.
After the grandparents got there and everyone was able to see him and spend time with him, we decided it was time to let him go. Caleb's nurse called the chaplain and Caleb was baptized. We held him for a little more. Then, we told them to take him off the respirator and turn off all of his medicines. We felt like he was already gone. He was on so many medicines. Cary held him while they unhooked him. Then Cary's mom held him (for the first time). Then I held him. The doctor came back in a few minutes later to check for his heartbeat. She looked at us and said "He is already gone." At 11:05 pm Caleb died.
Everything happened very fast. The last time he had NEC the nurses told me stories of how fast NEC usually happens. One nurse told me she was taking care of a baby who was doing great. She went back to check on him 1 hour later and he was very sick. They took him down to surgery and NEC had already killed all of his intestines. We were lucky with the first round of NEC. It moved very slowly and the surgeons where able to remove all of it. Last night, the surgeon said sometimes NEC comes back and when it does come back, it is a lot worse. That's what happened to Caleb.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers along the way. Caleb had a great 6 1/2 months.
We don't know what the funeral arrangements will be. That's something we've never thought about. We will let you know when we figure it out.
Please no calls or visits (except family). This is a very hard time.
We got a call from a surgeon at about 5:30 last night. She said Caleb had taken a sudden turn for the worse. His stomach was swollen, red, and hot to the touch. His stomach was so swollen that at one point the swelling had cut off the circulation to his legs. He was starting to have a lot of his episodes. She said they needed to do a surgery to his intestines and try to save any non-damaged parts. She said he had all the signs of having NEC. She said that if all of the intestines are damaged they will not be able to do anything and you can't live without your intestines.
We got to the hospital around 7:00. The surgeon wanted to talk to us as soon as we got there. They took us into a private conference room. We knew it wasn't good. With all of the stuff we have gone through at Egleston, this is the first time they took us to a private conference room.
The surgeon came in and said he didn't have any good news. He had been doing surgeries for 20+ years and this was the most air he had even seen in a baby. The infection some how causes air to fill up in the intestines. The air in Caleb's intestines had moved on to his liver and spleen. His intestines were completely infected. He basically had gangrene in his intestines from his stomach to his rectum. The surgeon said there was nothing they could do. There weren't any healthy parts left of his intestines. He gave us a few choices of what to do. All of the choices ended with Caleb passing away soon - probably within the night.
We called our parents and told them to come see Caleb. Cary and I went to Caleb's room to see him. He didn't look like himself. His color was off. He was cold, so he had blankets all over him. There were a million nurses in the room hooking him up to medicines to try to keep him alive until we were able to spend time with him and decide what to do.
After the grandparents got there and everyone was able to see him and spend time with him, we decided it was time to let him go. Caleb's nurse called the chaplain and Caleb was baptized. We held him for a little more. Then, we told them to take him off the respirator and turn off all of his medicines. We felt like he was already gone. He was on so many medicines. Cary held him while they unhooked him. Then Cary's mom held him (for the first time). Then I held him. The doctor came back in a few minutes later to check for his heartbeat. She looked at us and said "He is already gone." At 11:05 pm Caleb died.
Everything happened very fast. The last time he had NEC the nurses told me stories of how fast NEC usually happens. One nurse told me she was taking care of a baby who was doing great. She went back to check on him 1 hour later and he was very sick. They took him down to surgery and NEC had already killed all of his intestines. We were lucky with the first round of NEC. It moved very slowly and the surgeons where able to remove all of it. Last night, the surgeon said sometimes NEC comes back and when it does come back, it is a lot worse. That's what happened to Caleb.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers along the way. Caleb had a great 6 1/2 months.
We don't know what the funeral arrangements will be. That's something we've never thought about. We will let you know when we figure it out.
Please no calls or visits (except family). This is a very hard time.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
surgery's done
The surgeon called at about 11:30 am today. The surgery is over. Caleb did great. He is still on the respirator. They hope to get him off of it today or tomorrow.
When I got to the hospital, he was already starting to wake up. He will start feeds through his new G tube in a couple of days.
I'm going back to his room now. I'll update more later.
When I got to the hospital, he was already starting to wake up. He will start feeds through his new G tube in a couple of days.
I'm going back to his room now. I'll update more later.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Thursday
The surgery's Thursday. They want Caleb to be in optimal health for the surgery. His sodium and potassium levels where a little low. They have giving him extra sodium and potassium and now he is ready for surgery.
The surgery is scheduled for 3:45 pm, but they are going to try to get him in sooner.
The surgery is scheduled for 3:45 pm, but they are going to try to get him in sooner.
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