Shelby Ruth Duke

When Shelby was born the nurses realized quickly that something was a little off. She was not blue, and she was breathing, but she had a little gasp in her cry that didn't sound too right. After she was born, Casey got to bring her to me and then they had to leave. No one acted like anything was wrong, but I didn't get to hold her and she was gone very fast. My mom was outside so she came in to be with me, but I really didn't think anything was really wrong. I was mostly trying to calm down. The delivery hadn't been hard, but I'd been throwing up for 11 hours and all I could really do was lay there and calm down.

Shortly after the doctor and nurses left, I began to realize that something was wrong. My nurse came in to take me to my recovery room and told me they were doing some x-rays on the baby and starting her on anti-biotics to clear out her lungs. She wheeled me to the nursery so I could see her and that's when I found out she had a small hole or tear in one of her lungs and it was filling her chest cavity with air. I had a hard time holding it together. Luckily, Cade and Hayli were still at the hospital, so someone could help Casey give Shelby a blessing. Casey blessed her with health and strength, and I knew that Heavenly Father was there watching out for her. A couple of hours later, the neo-natalogist came to my room and explained Shelby's condition. The air leaking out of her lung was filling up her chest and causing her a lot of discomfort. The doctors had started her on anti-biotics and sedated her so she would be comfortable. The doctor told us that she would get better, but it would take a little bit for the lung to heal and the air to dissipate. FYI--The tear in her lung was likely caused during delivery, when it happens to an adult, we call it a punctured lung.

That first night, and every night after that was very hard. Luckily the next day we got good news and more good news day after day. After the tear healed and the air was gone, the doctor could now look at her lungs and they were inflamed. Her inflamed lungs meant that she had an infection and had to be on anti-biotics for 7 days. This means she will get her last dose on Tuesday night and we will get to take her home Wednesday morning, September 30th.

I got to hold her the day after she was born and it was incredible. I had missed her so much. I won't pretend that I've been doing okay. The day I had to leave the hospital was the worst by far. I boarded at the hospital Thursday night so I could wake up and feed her. Since then I go to the hospital every 2-3 hours to feed her. I started skipping the 2 or 3 am feeding because I was running on empty. It is very hard to not be with her and have her near me. I get very upset when people make jokes about how much we will miss the nurses when we bring her home or how hard it is to have a newborn. I want to say to all of them, do you know what it's like to leave your baby when all she needs is you? I can't wait to have her home. I'm doing a lot better now because she's eating and very comfortable. All we have to do now is wait. We are so grateful that she is recovering. It has been very hard to watch her have IVs in her head, or to leave her when she's crying, or wonder how she's doing in the middle of the night. Casey and I know that Heavenly Father has helped her recover. I'm so grateful to know that Shelby is a daughter of God who knows and loves her. I'm so grateful for the priesthood and it's power to heal and comfort. I could not have survived without the comfort of the Holy Ghost. I am so thankful to have the gospel in my life and to know my little family is an eternal unit. We have shed so many tears and been so amazingly happy in the past 5 days. We are so grateful for our little girl. She is amazing. She is very bossy and very opinionated, but looks at me and Casey like we are her world. We love her so much. Thanks to everyone who prayed and keep praying for her. We are so grateful to our Father in Heaven that we get to be parents. We can't wait to have her home so we can put the hospital behind us and just enjoy the sweet spirit that our little girl has. Shelby in one word is magnificent.

I will post pictures soon. We love you all!