Dec 30th, 2007

We are simply amazed at the spirit and strength little Caleb has continually demonstrated. This morning around 5:30 a.m. Doctors and Nurses decided that it was time to remove Caleb's feeding tube along with his oxygen. All along the medical staff has said when it comes time to start feeding him you will have to be patient because sometimes it is challenging, however Caleb has grasped the concept quite well, so well that his mom was able to nurse him this morning. He continues to amaze everyone the progress he has made in such a short amount of time. It is amazing how much this little guy has already changed our lives, I guess it goes to show it does not matter who you are young or old you can impact peoples lives. We want to continue

Great Strides

A great day at the hospital today and lots of fun pictures of little Caleb.

We even caught a cute picture of him smiling.

Once again he continues to amaze us and his doctors with his INCREDIBLE progress.

He's been moved to a crib and has been eating very well. His nurse bumped his feeding up to 50 cc's of milk and he surprised her by drinking a full bottle - 80cc's! We hope to have his feeding tube removed real soon.

We also hope to have all of his IVs removed soon so he can start taking the remaining medicines orally. We still don't have a date on when we can expect to bring him home, but they are looking to schedule his MRI for next week which means we're one step closer. We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping he does not have much longer than a couple more weeks.

Thanks once again for everyone's kind comments on the blog - they really help keep us going. We appreciate all your support and everything all of you have done for our family.

Dec 27, 2007

Caleb is doing so well. As you can see from the pictures Caleb has lost quite a few machines in the last couple of days. He is eating alot more than the Doctors or Nurses originally thought he would, and all of his tests continue to come back very positive and everyone is simply amazed at how well he is progressing. Once again to reiterate we know it is through faith and prayers that he is doing so well and for that we thank you all!

Very Alert

Caleb has made so many great steps over the last few days. From being weened off his ventilators and the Nitric gas and now eating from a bottle. His swelling has really gone down and now we can finally start to see his cute little face.

He's such a precious little baby. It's so fun to see him alert and looking around and recognize when his mom and dad are there.

First Feeding

We got to feed Caleb for the first time today. He did a great job- just another step forward.

Grandpa and Caleb

Grandma and Grandpa got our Christmas present and were allowed to hold him this morning; he's doing good and opened his eyes for us. We love this little guy immensely. He has a little fluid in his lungs. Dr Yoder indicated this is not a concern, as he has a lot of fluid in his body and the body processes it out thru the lungs. He had a little cough and a slight wheeze. (He may have to go back onto the C-PAP Prose ventilator to help clear his lungs.) He opened his eyes and studied us intently. His bodily functions are working well, as he filled his britches while G-pa was holding him. Nurse Stacy got the pleasure of cleaning him up just prior to our departing. (Dr Yoder and his staff did their rounds while we were there and spoke about the MRI that they needed to schedule soon, and also mentioned that they would take the Cook catheter out this afternoon.)

2:15 PM, we just got word back from Shaun and Alicia, as they are currently at the NICU, and they stated that they had just finished removing the Cook catheter—(this is great news!!!).

Dec 26, 2007

Caleb had a Merry Christmas. He had a couple of Christmas wishes come true the biggest was the removal of the C-Pap machine along with a couple of other machines, he is now down to just a few IV's, Oxygen, and feeding tubes. The Nurses were also able to dress him for the first time and continue to rave about the great progress that he has shown. We still continue to be in awe how our Heavenly Father has blessed us and this sweet little boy so abundantly. We sincerely hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Wide Awake

We got to see Caleb open his eyes for quite a bit on Christmas Eve. He is being weened off his medications and is becoming more and more alert every day.

However one thing he did not like was the C-Pap breather he was hooked up to. The nurses kept telling us he tried to pull it out.

Dec 25th, 2007

Merry Christmas baby Caleb! Caleb has continued to progress so much even in the past couple of days, as of the night of the 23rd the Doctors and Nurses felt confident enought to remove the ventilator and use a machine called a C-Pap. Caleb has done very well and not had to go back on the ventilator. Yesterday Caleb's Mom and Dad received the best Christmas present they could ever ask for, they were able to hold Caleb for about twenty minutes each. Nurses have reported that as they have continually brought Caleb out of sedation he has continually became more feisty trying to pull out tubes, remove masks and so on. He is starting to open his eyes more and more and becoming aware of his surroundings, all of his Nurses tell us that he stays up most of the night ( Shaun definatly passed on that behavior). We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Once again words cannot express how much we appreciate everyone and what you have done for us.

Dec 23rd, 2007

How blessed we are! That is by far one of the first thoughts that comes to mind as we look at all the progress made by baby Caleb in just one week. Yesterday was yet another great day for Caleb. Doctors have now tapered him off several medications including a blood pressure medication and a sedation medication, he has responded well to all. A couple of days ago they switched his ventilator to one that better simulates his normal breathing, after checking his lungs and using the new ventilator Doctors felt it was time to start tapering off his oxygen, he is also responding well to this they just need to get him awake enough to have his brain start telling his lungs to function. Everyday it seems as though they remove a couple of more machines, taper off a medication or just push him in general to complete a task that he has not completed before and every day he responds with the utmost positive results. Everyday this little guy never ceases to amaze us with his strength and determination. It just validates the quote from E.T. Sullivan quoted by President Hinkley in the December issue of the Ensign magazine, "When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born." It is amazing what this little guy has taught us in the short time he has been on this earth. We once again want to thank you all for everything all of you have done and will continue to do.

Visit From Santa

Claeb got his first visit from the Man in Red. Caleb asked Santa if he'd take him for a ride in the sleigh.

New Ventilator

They changed Caleb's ventilator to a new ventilator that simulates more of a natural breathing pattern. This will also will help strengthen his lungs and begin to teach him to breathe on his own.

Caleb and Dr. Yoder

Caleb has had such wonderful doctors and nurses during this whole experience. We're very lucky to have him at one of the best children's hospitals in America.

Dec 21, 2007 9:26 a.m.

Once again another night of miracles! Caleb was taken off the ECMO machine a couple of days ago and doing very well. With him doing so well Doctors and Nurses decided that yesterday they would continue to taper him off some of his medications and also attempt to feed him milk for the first time. On a couple of different occasions last night they fed him milk in which he did great, so great that they increased his intake on his second feeding. They are also continuing to do EKG's on a daily basis which continue to come back very positive, along with a lot of other testing. Once again we cannot say it enough, how thankful we are to our Heavenly Father for all the miracles that have accompanied little Caleb through this process. We are also very thankful and in awe every single day of all the wonderful people that have done so much for us. Thank You all you will never know how much it means to us.

Alicia and Caleb

Mom and Baby both doing well.

Making Progress

Caleb was finally able to move his head to the other side today.

All the fluids they are giving him have caused him to have a double chin and no neck!

20th of December 8:39 a.m.

We want to first start this morning by saying we want to thank each and everyone of you for your thoughts and prayers, we know that Caleb has progressed so fast due to his strong will and the prayers of everyone. Last night was a very positive night, Caleb continues to simply amaze us with how much defiance this little boy has. He is doing very well without the ECMO machine so well that they have already started to taper down is oxygen and some of his other machines which we did not expect to happen near this soon. The Doctor's and Nurses still continue to give very positive news and once again we know a large part of this is due to all of you. Thanks to everyone.

Off ECMO

This picture of Caleb was taken right after they finished the surgery to remove the ECMO catheters. We're so grateful he was able to come off the machine today.

Today they also added his "Cook iv" in the same artery his ECMO tubes came out of - That's the white tubing you see across his chest entering his neck.

After a good night Caleb's Nurses and Doctors decided that it was time to start tapering him off the ECMO machine, as of 1:30 this afternoon he was doing very well without the machine. They have also taken another EKG of his heart, after he was taken off the machine and everything looked very good and was functioning as it should. Once again we reiterate that we are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for blessing us so abundantly, along with that we cannot thank everyone enough for all the love that has been shown to us and our family.

12/19/2007 8:44 a.m.

Caleb had another good night last night, he is starting to become more active and not really liking all of the tubes and machines that are hooked to his little body. The Nurses said that they were possibly looking at tapering down the ECMO machine last night, however Caleb thought he wanted to be a little more active thus causing his blood pressure to fluctuate a little bit, but the doctors did not seem to be to concerned about the fluctuation. Thanks once again to all of you for everything that you have done and all that you will continue to do in the future.

Caleb on ECMO

This photo was taken Tuesday 12/18- just 3 days old. You can see the ECMO tubes on Caleb's right side along with the ventilator through his airway.

715 p.m.

Caleb had another good day today, he is making sure progress each and every day and the doctors are very pleased with the progress he has made. It seems as though with more tests that are taken there continues to be encouraging news. Early on in the process there were some questions about his lungs however with a new x-ray's taken today they found that his lungs are looking good. They also performed an EKG which we are still waiting to hear back the results. The Doctor's and Nurses are very encouraging about how much progress he has made in such a short amount of time, there was even some brief discussion today about possibly starting to look at tapering him off the ECMO machine. We will have to see how that evolves. Once again we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who have included us in prayers, thoughts, watching kids, providing dinners and the list can go on and on we can never thank you enough!

Dec 18th 8:21 a.m.
When speaking with the nurse last night she informed us that through out Caleb's stay in the hospital they will continue to make goals for him. Last night they initiated one of the first goals which was reducing his Nitrous Oxide intake from 10 ppm's to 5 ppm's when we spoke with the nurse this morning she said that he responded very well to the change and that he had a very good night. Once again we are are eternally greatful for all that each and every one of you are doing for us at this time.

Baby Caleb Gregory Koos arrives

On a sunny but chilly Saturday December 15th afternoon our lives were enriched by the arrival of Caleb Gregory Koos. Although Caleb was born with a few health challenges, he is already proving to be a very determined strong and spirited little boy. We would like to express and thank our Heavenly Father for how much this strong little spirit has brought to our family in the short amount of time he has been on this earth. We would also like to thank each and every one of you for all the thoughts, calls, prayers, and acts of kindness--there are truly no words that can express the gratitude we feel towards each and every one of you.

Now on to Caleb; as listed above, Caleb was born with a few health challenges that we are still learning about on a daily basis. Please know that we will try to keep this updated as often as possible. Little Caleb is still being evaluated to try and find out exactly what is negatively affecting his health. For now here are a few things we do know: right now they have him hooked up to a machine that is called a ECMO machine which in my limited health understanding is helping to oxygenate his blood http://oce.sph.unc.edu/phnceac/babyguide/ecmo.pdf. Doctors have him on several medications as they try to eliminate possible problems and get a more precise diagnosis to treat the elements he has. To keep on a positive path, Caleb makes baby steps of improvement every day; there have been several tests run on his vitals that for the most part look very positive. He is continuing to try and become more active every day, and whether it is moving his little hands or trying to open his eyes, he continually shows that he is a true Koos kid--always on the go. Once again, we would like to thank our Heavenly Father for strengthing us all and continuing to bless us immensely with a beautiful baby boy and wonderful family and friends such as you all.