A rocky start
A new friend recently asked me how Owen got his nickname, "Tank." She assumed it was due to his bulging muscles, intensity in the weight room, or wrestling skills. Her question made me realize that many people might not know about the tumultuous start that Izzy and Owen had when they entered the world on February 5, 2006.
Curious, I revisited our old CaringBridge website from that time. In 2006, Jeff and I took turns writing daily journal entries to update friends and family on the chaotic, scary, and unpredictable first few months of their lives. Though I was never much of a journaler, we used these updates to minimize the flood of phone calls. Jeff and I also made a conscious effort to put a positive spin on our entries or inject humor, hoping to ease everyone’s worries. In hindsight, this intentional focus on the silver lining mirrors the practice of keeping a gratitude journal.
Even as frightened parents unsure if our children would survive, we held onto hope. With that in mind, I thought it would be meaningful to share our very first entry, written by Jeff on February 7, 2006.
Superbowl Sunday 2006
“Unexpectedly on 2/5/06 (Superbowl Sunday) Isabel and Owen decided to come into the world at 27 4/7 weeks gestation. Liz began experiencing some cramping early Sunday morning which became more frequent and uncomfortable as the morning progressed.
We contacted the OBGYN on call and came to Vanderbilt to be evaluated at around 12:30 pm. By 1:10pm Liz was on the monitors and the contractions were readily apparent. We then began an aggressive attempt to stop the progression of the labor: magnesium was rapidly given and steroids also delivered. Owen and Isabel, however, had other plans. Labor progressed very rapidly and within 30 minutes of her first exam and the decision was made to rush to an emergent C-section.
Thankfully they allowed me to go with Liz to the operating room. She was intubated and C-sectioned performed with me standing at the head of the table. At 2:54pm Isabel was delivered with her brother following closely at 2:56pm. Both were quite small (Owen 2lbs 7oz and Isabel 2lbs 6oz) and eerily blue. Owen required just under 1 minute of chest compressions to re-establish a blood pressure. They were both intubated rapidly and taken to the neonatal ICU.
