Riley William Bruneau (my 100th post!)

It's taken me a while to get ready to write this post.  I've had to reflect and mull and pray and, ultimately, I want to just write down Riley's story for my own memories.  And so that others can know about him.  Riley started out as a Baby Boy in my cousin's belly just over a week ago. 

My cousin Brittany, my sister Nikki, and I were raised more like three sisters than like two sisters and a cousin.  After our dad's were divorced from their wives, there was a period of many years where they both moved back in with their parents to get their feet back under them.  Brittany lived there full time.  Nikki and I visited two weeknights a week and every other weekend.  Brittany and I are about a year and a half apart in age.  Sometimes we fought like sisters and sometimes we got along better than siblings since we weren't actually siblings.  As it seems to happen with a lot of people, Brittany and are even closer, in a different way, now that we are adults and especially since we are both moms and wives. 

Brittany and her husband, Rory, were married almost one year ago and conceived shortly thereafter.  Brittany has a ten year old daughter, Tiana, from a previous relationship.

Almost as soon as Brittany knew she was pregnant, I knew she was pregnant and I don't remember the words exchanged but we knew that I would be present at the baby's birth.  And I was.  And it was amazing.  Riley William Bruneau came into the world at 8:09 pm on July 15th.  He looked amazing and healthy and the doctors thought he was.  Other than a heart murmur, which is quite common in newborns, he seemed the picture of health.  He weighed a whopping 8 pounds, 13 ounces.  But he was extremely fussy the night after he was born and either slept or fussed through most of his feedings.  Brittany and I both chalked this up to Riley being a newborn; they sleep a lot and who wants to be out in this bright, harsh world after being so comfy, protected, warm, and fed inside their mother just a day before.  Brittany and Rory had professional pictures taken of Riley, at the hospital, and then prepared to be discharged to go home.

  

The pediatrician performing Riley's post-discharge check noted that his murmur had not resolved and, furthermore, he now had no pulse in either leg.  The doctor called in another doctor to take a look and the decision was made to quickly move Riley to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  On the way to the new hospital, in the ambulance and before they could even leave the parking lot, Riley stopped breathing.  He was intubated and rushed to his new destination.  He has been sedated and intubated in the NICU since then.  Scans of his heart showed Riley was born with something called coarctation of the aorta.  There is a "shelf" in his aorta which severely restricts the bloodflow to his lower extremities.  He was scheduled to undergo open heart surgery as soon as he was stable enough.

On Monday, July 19th Riley was baptised in the NICU.  I am one of Tiana's godparents and also one of Riley's godparents.

Riley's open heart surgery has been scheduled for 8:00 am tomorrow morning now that he is stable enough.  During preparation for surgery, it has also been noted that a valve in Riley's heart is not large enough.  That situation will be monitored for the next 6 to 12 months.  Best case scenario is that the valve works well enough and this surgery will go splendidly and Riley will live a normal life, after recovery.  Worst case scenario is that the too-small valve needs to be replaced, resulting in ongoing, lifelong valve replacement surgeries and the likely inability for Riley to participate in things like competitive sports.

Brittany planned to breastfeed Riley and was given a double breast pump by the hospital but has been having a hard time finding time every two hours to pump.  She and Rory are constantly seeing doctors and nurses and visiting Riley.  She told me it's good if she can pump two or three times a day.  I spent the first few weeks of each of my maternity leaves stressing about my lack of sleep, how much or how little my babies were nursing, how much or how little my babies were crying or in states of alertness.  I can't imagine spending my first post-partum week like this and my heart aches for my cousin-sister.

There are many things one can do in a situation like this to try to help.  Nothing truly helps but things like prayer, hugs, food, offers to help care for their apartment while they're away can certainly be a bit of a salve to their hurt.  Additionally, Brittany and Rory currently face a financial burden of a few thousand dollars out of pocket and, potentially much more in the future depending on what happens after Riley's surgery tomorrow.  If anyone is interested in helping to assist in any way - prayers would be greatly appreciated and if anyone is so inclined, a "Riley's Recovery Fund" account has been set up at TCF bank. 

I, personally, get very squeamish asking people for money under any circumstances whether it's for myself or others but I know other people don't feel that way.  And so, we will also be hosting a pancake breakfast at the Applebee's in Fridley on Saturday, August 28th from 8:00-10:00 am.  Tickets will be $6 a piece and include all-you-can-eat pancakes.  Let me know, either in person or via e-mail (sheristewart1@comcast.net) if you are interested in attending.

Let's all pray that Riley's surgery goes splendidly and he can go home with Brittany and Rory and it will be like this blip on the radar never happened.