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In the meantime, we are getting closer to Sarah's due date. Three months into the pregnancy, the baby was diagnosed with CDH, which means that while otherwise healthy, its lungs are underdeveloped. For our baby, lung size is about 40% of a normal baby's lungs. But a scan doesn't give an indication of how well the lungs function, which is what ultimately determines a child's survival. Treatment consists mainly of careful respiration, although the baby also needs surgery in order to give the lungs space to grow. The surgery is normally done within a week from birth. The birth will be induced well before the due date in a university hospital (the Mercy). After a day or two, the child will be transferred to the Royal Children's Hospital for surgery and specialized intensive care.
On Thursday 27th October at 16.26h was born:
He weighs 3.570 kg and has been named after Sarah's grandfathers William Bick and Albert Walmsley. Sarah's eldest male cousin Bill has been named after the same grandfather. We chose the Dutch spelling 'Willem', which also happens to be his father's second name. Jan Willem was named after his paternal grandfather (Jan) and his father's eldest paternal uncle (Willem), who, being the eldest son, was in turn named after his paternal grandfather, who is Will's great-great-great grandfather. So Willem is son of Jan Willem, son of Piet, son of Jan, son of Kees, son of Willem Bos, who lived from 1820 to 1896 and was married to Antje Broekhuizen.
Due to his underdeveloped lungs (CDH), he was respirated immediately, although he also tried to breath himself. We also heard a brief cry. We took this as a positive sign, as we knew he had severe CDH. X-rays show his right chest cavity is filled with his heart and lung, while his left chest cavity is filled with his bowels. Will stabilized swiftly and was transferred to the Royal Children's Hospital the same day, were he arrived at 22h. We are very relieved we got this far.
On his second day in this world, Will deteriorated sharply. Possibly due to the artificial respiration, he developed a hole in his lung, which allowed air to escape into his body. This increased pressure on all his organs, causing a cardiac arrest. We had just left the room when this happened and were called back in. Will was resuscitated, put on a heart lung machine and moved to yet another intensive care unit. He seems not to have suffered major brain damage, but the risk of minor damage is large as the oxygen levels in his blood were already low before his heart failed. His brother and sister came over to visit their little brother in the hospital later that afternoon.
On his third day, Will was stable. The heart lung machine keeps him alive. He has been heavily sedated since birth, so he does not feel pain. We are able to hold his hand. He passes urine, showing his kidneys are okay, one of the few organs that still work. Doctors intend to keep him in this state a bit longer before attempting to start a very, very gradual recovery. Piet and Emma came over for a brief look at their little brother and a long play in the hospital sandpit.
Will's fourth day was a more positive experience for his mum and dad. While Will is basically stable, he has started making some small arm movements. Muscle movement helps him clear excess water from his tissue, so aids his recovery. He reacts to noise and moves his eyelids, his father even got to see his eyes - blue as far as he could tell. It was very moving.
On Will's fifth day, his mother checked out of the children's hospital to spend more time with his siblings. Dad spent the rest of the day trying to catch an open eye on video. He only managed at the end of the afternoon, when Will got a clean (video, 6Mb). It is difficult to grasp that all these signs of life are no indication of his chance of surviving.
Will's sixth day was Melbourne Cup day, when Victoria closes down for a horse race. Many hospital staff make this a long weekend by taking the Monday off too, which meant that Sarah had to be induced on the Thursday before the long weekend, a few days earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Mum was on duty and happens to be a horse fan. As Will's room had only two patients left out of five when he arrived, a television was brought in to watch the race with the remaning staff on the ward.
