Most recent email:


Hi all!

We probably only have one or two more of these email updates until there is nothing pressing left to report! As expected, at the end of last week we moved into the smaller long-term children's hospital! It's a lot better than we were expecting. He gets his own room, which is rare there, and the babies don't have as widespread intensive care so the nurses have more time to spend with each patient they have. Also, the 25th was Brigham's one-month birthday! We celebrated! (see picture) He gave us a great gift, too! We found out that the pre-infection prognosis was now out of date and he doesn't need a feeding tube in his nose anymore AND we probably won't need to put medicine through his nose tube at home! Yay! Candace was SUPER happy since we had to practice putting the tube down his throat and checking placement and all that jazz. No bueno. But, also! He has gotten all his bandages taken off! He's practically good to go! I told Candace we should steal him and bring him home now! He does still have an IV in his arm, but that's just to get the one medicine keeping him in the hospital for four more weeks and he can't take that one orally. Other than a couple medicines there is nothing keeping him from coming home! So things are getting better and better! 

He does have problems with reflux still, but the doctor has reassured us that it just takes time to get over that. I have been under the weather, but Candace got to take him back to Children's Hospital this morning for a check-up and so he got his first stroller ride (see insanely cute picture attached) and his third ambulance ride. I guess our old doctors said that everyone still talks about how cute he was and how nice we were, which is so nice of them to say. He has already grown an inch since birth and is back to steadily gaining just beyond his birth weight.

Thanks again for all of your support! It has been a very long ride, and we still have a good four weeks to go, but everyone's love and care helps us get through patience-inducing patches. Oh, also, we found out that the last day he receives his IV medicine and probably our discharge date is August 21st or so.

Brig's Update - Day 24

Adam sent this email out a few days ago:


Hello family and friends!

It's us again. Another update is due since things change so quickly day to day in the life of Brother Brigham. We are now in the recovery period! It's official. He vanquished the infection with all he had in him and now we are on the long walk home. He had some hard days during the worst of the infection but a priesthood blessing and awesome doctors provided him the means to get through it all. Once he was stable enough to breathe on his own they then decided the infection was spreading into uncomfortable territories, like threatening his original surgery and his bones. So they decided to reopen him at the surface level and wash out as much they could of the infection. They then put a "wound van" on him, which slowly drains out any lingering infection. BUT, as of Monday they said it looked so good they could take that off any day. 

Also, just to relate, we found out the infection is a very specific and rare strand of MRSA, so the infectious disease doctor was very excited to study it. But, it also means it is a very serious disease that we are getting over. The plan is still a six week process of antibiotics and his cultures came back negative about a week ago. So we are almost done with week one. This afternoon we have a tour planned of the new medical facilities we will be going to down the street, called "The Children's Home". Once that is done the doctors will collaborate on when he should move over there. This is very good news. It's the last stretch until he is completely recovered and we take him home. Technically he still has the infection in him, negative germ cultures just show it's not growing anymore, but the medicine is ensuring it will not linger in him at all. So he will have his own room over there. Candace and I may or may not actually spend nights sleeping there. We don't know the living arrangements and if we can't even sleep in the same room as him we do not think there is a point of sleeping there when our home is a 15 minute drive away. 

Oh! Other good news is that he is now eating out of a bottle. He is relearning how to eat, so right now we are on a thicker formula-rice mix, but we will slowly train him to swallow instead of breathe in his food. I sometimes have the exact same problem. I think that's about it. Grandma and Uncle Stanton got to spend half a day with him on their way around the world, which was awesome. We've also had an incredibly sweet ward that has been waiting just outside the hospital to help whenever we need anything. Visiting is welcome, again, too. We will probably be moving over to the Children's Home tomorrow or Friday.

Thanks again for all of your support. We have seen some very sweet and direct miracles, which we are so humbled over, largely because of your faith and prayers. 

Love,

Candace, Brigham, and Adam

TEAM BRIGHAM

Brigham's Update

Adam sent this email out to a number of people, but I thought it was a pretty good update of where we are now. We are just so proud of our little guy! It has been quite a roller coaster, but we are just amazed with how strong he continues to be. We have so much hope and faith in him and the doctors and that he will heal in a couple months time. 

Hi all from the Italian district of Pittsburgh!

Candace and I felt we should write up a synopsis of how The Brigster is doing and that way we can reconnect with a lot of people that we have been indirectly communicating with. First, we just want to thank EVERYONE for all of their support. We have been holed up in the hospital for over two weeks now and every time we have surfaced to the public we have only felt love and support, which really helps us through the toughest times. 

Brigham's heart surgery, and biggest challenge to date, went perfectly, as we know you are aware. That is no longer a concern for Brigham; he will just need a few visits through his first year of life and then an annual doctor exam each year of his life. We have heard both he will and will not be able to play contact sports, depending on the doctor. But, those decisions will come with follow-up exams. 

We are currently back in the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit) due to a complication from the surgery and recovery. After being up in recovery for a couple days the Brig-man-on-campus came down with a heavy infection from the surgery and drainage/medicine tubes that had been inserted and removed from his chest and abdomen. The infection went septic, but not severely to the point of organ failure or anything like that. But, the infection was bad enough that his body was spending all his energy in fighting it with the antibiotics they started. So he needed to be put on a tube to help his breathing. He was also put onto a pacemaker (not as serious as it sounds, they already had the lines in from the surgery and the thing sits in his bed running off batteries), but he was just taken off it this morning. The pacemaker was because of a condition many newborns have where they have an extra circuit in their heart that starts looping, causing their hearts to race at really high rates. They have been giving him medicine to regulate his heart rate and we will most likely need to give him medicine 4x a day for his first year. They expect him to naturally grow out of that problem within the first year like most children. 

So the current hurdle Brigger-the-Better is facing is the infection. They are currently taking an x-ray to see if his lungs are working strong enough to allow him to get off his breathing tube by the end of the day. They are optimistic he will most likely come off the tube today. After that we are waiting for his infection cultures to show up negative so we know the infection is not growing but dying off. We expect that result any time, as well. He does have little complications they are watching, but we will just wait as we monitor it all. And he just got his breathing tube out with the x-ray! Yay! Now he's rediscovering his tongue! So, one thing we have learned recently is that the antibiotics for the infection is a six week process. And because of the IV he needs for the medications he cannot come home for that time. Instead, he will go back up to recovery hopefully by the end of the week, and then once he gets feeding and breathing down pat and he is ready to be discharged like normal, he will move down the block to a children's home. It's basically a hotel for families with kids who need medical care to a degree less than a hospital and more than parents can be trained to do. We are just learning about it, but I guess we can stay with him whenever we want or have nurses take care of him as needed. So that is where we are at now. He is INCREDIBLY cute. Probably the cutest baby I have ever seen. We have started charging nurses admission fees to come in and see him. 

Thank you again for everything! Obviously it has been very hard and scary at times, often for long periods of time. But, we keep reminding ourselves that he has gotten through the worst already and he won't remember any of it. That knowledge with our hope and faith has kept us going well. The support has been overwhelming and perplexing to us at times, but we are always grateful for it. On Sunday the Elder's Quorum President came down and helped me give Brigs another blessing and our wonderful Bishop came later and allowed us to take the Sacrament, too. We also heard that Brigham was prayed for in nearly every prayer at church, which is really humbling to us. Oh! I forgot to mention the infection is Staff and they have to take precautions to make sure it doesn't spread to other patients nor worsen his conditions. So if you are planning surprise trips out here just know you may not even get to see him. But we are going to try and sell photos in the gift shop downstairs for only $5, which is a great alternative.

Much love,

Candace & Brigham & Adam Dyal

PS Dr. Morell just visited us and winked at Candace multiple times so it's been a very good day! 

Just kidding...he's coming tomorrow.

So, our little guy just doesn't want to come. Two weeks ago I was in labor and had been at the hospital for 7 hours, when a nurse came in and told me that some test results came back and his lungs were still unusually underdeveloped so they were going to wait a bit before inducing him. Fine...."that's just fine" I thought, until they told me they weren't going to induce him for another 2 weeks!

welp, those two weeks are up and I'm going in tomorrow at 6am to officially be induced. Yes! I get to meet him tomorrow!

So, what have I been doing the last two weeks? Well, getting lots of things done and trying to finagle housing situations, and calling deadlines, and get the last of the baby stuff together. Besides all of that, Adam and I have been biding our time and hanging out around Pittsburgh. After all, it is summer time!

My parents were so kind to fly out to Pittsburgh two weeks ago. They planned on being there for his birth and to help us after with his surgery and recovery. However, they were already here when we got the news that we'd need to wait. So, we spent the week just hanging out with Mamma and Papa Shields. That turned out to be the greatest blessing because 1. we never get to just hang out with my parents 2. it made the week  go by so much faster.

Here are some pictures of our week-o-fun:

The giant 42 story Cathedral of Learning is filled with 'nationality classrooms' dedicated to the immigrants who helped settle Pittsburgh. This is Adam in the Japanese room.

 This is me in the Israel room

We also looked at other historic buildings/cathedrals

Of course while they were here we went out to eat at the most yummy burger places, breakfast places, italian places, etc. Mom and I got our nails done. Adam and Dad watched baseball. Mom and Dad went jogging in Frick Park. We watched movies and ate oreos. We swapped Netflix favorites. We showed them the hospitals, where we work, where Adam goes to school, etc. It was lots of fun.

I think my absolute favorite was going to the ZOO and Aquarium!

The most embarrassing/hilarious part was being pushed around the Zoo in their "wheel chair." I think mom, dad, and Adam were all trying to be so nice to me and were a little freaked out that the walking would put me into labor. It was priceless when they would wheel me up next to a toddler in a stroller to see the animals. the toddlers all stared....

This was one of the best Zoo experiences because every animal was out and active and close to the glass. We were even allowed to pet the stingrays.

We even waited our turn in line behind the school kids just to get a closer look at the stingrays. Mind you, I crawled through a 2ft tunnel to do it. 

And of course, how could any outing with Mom be complete without her talking her way into free food or a backstage pass or first class tickets? Today she was chatting with the aquarium trainer and somehow got us a private tour behind the glass to go play with the octopus! Sweet! He told us all about how they are the most intelligent creatures and know how to unscrew a jar and put together a Mr. Potato head. The octopus will literally go crazy if he isn't played with and intellectually stimulated a few times a day.

So we got to play with the octopus!

That night we finished our fun day by driving through Pittsburgh and visiting an overlook to give Mom and Dad a real view of where we live. Beautiful huh? And can't you just see why they used Pittsburgh to film the Dark Knight Rises from that skyline?

It was great to have them here even though their visit was completely different than we originally planned!

2 more days!

Alright, I'm just getting the last little things together today since early next week we're going to be parents! Early Monday morning I go to the hospital for last tests for me and our little guy. Then, they'll induce me sometime Monday night/Tuesday morning. CRAZY!!!!!!! I'm sure you can imagine there is just about every emotion pumping through us and we are more excited than we can express. So, I just thought I would say some of the best parts about the last 9 months.... 1. the Carnegie Library is on my way home from work so every few weeks I would stop in there and check out whatever pregnancy/parenting books they had. They never had the best selection so I read some pretty interesting books. Anything from Mr Roger's philosophy to babies act the way they do because of their ape roots. I didn't always read the really strange ones... 2. Sending Stanton his birthday-picture-banner-thing and realizing that when he comes home he'll not only have a brother-in-law, but a nephew. It's been an eventful 2 years! 3. Having such an incredible support group and family. It means a lot that even though we are on the other side of the country we still feel such an abundance of love from everyone. We have been absolutely blown away with all the letters and packages people have sent us. Each one has meant so much to us! We feel so much peace about everything - and I know that is because of all the prayers and fastings and temple trips our family and friends are doing for us. 4. Speaking of family and friend support - the greatest baby shower Stephanie organized! I wish we would have taken a picture of all those faces on video chat. Greatest thing ever to see everyone! 5. My sweet young women throwing me a mini-shower and celebration. They completely surprised me! They decorated the YW room with baby onesies they made and had games and fruit and everything. We didn't snap the best pictures, but here are some of my YW and an idea of their surprise party. Being in Young Women is the world's best calling! I love these girls and all the leaders. Here is a pic of a smaller shower some friends through for me here in Pittsburgh. It was so fun, and more of just a hang out with everyone. Wish I would have remembered to take pictures while everyone was still there so you could see our friends. oops! 6. A million things reminding me of my cousin Amanda. For some reason, this whole pregnancy I have seen so many things in passing that remind me of Amanda. Here are just a few things.... Who knew Outback created an Oreo Waffle plate? Also, if any of you see the 100 year oreos with funfetting icing you HAVE TO GET THEM! They are absolutely amazing! Funfetti birthday cake + oreos = amazingly delicious There is this little Asian restaurant we drive by on our way to church called Lulu's! We went there to celebrate Adam finishing a really hard semester (and because it is named Lulu's) and it did not disappoint. Incredible smoothies. Over the last 9 months I have discovered where every bathroom is in every store. This one was the most decked out that I went in so I had to take a picture to show Amanda and the fam. It was at Trader Joe's....would you expect any less from Trader Joe's? Now, there have been a ton of other little things that remind me of Amada, but I didn't get to snap a pic. 7. Going to our baby classes. I found out about this non-profit in Pittsburgh that is geared toward helping out teen moms or teens that have no where to go because they are pregnant; however, anyone is welcome. So, I signed us up! (also, when you go to these free classes they give you free baby things so it saved us a lot of money). - We've been meeting such interesting people and hearing the most interesting advice from those pregnancy, birthing, child care classes....but it was good to go to them. As of this last Thursday, we graduated the classes! Now, we have tons of stories and new friends and I am CPR certified (which I've been trying to get for a long time) and we have tons of free baby things! 8. Okay, so the saddest thing in the last couple of weeks has been finishing up at my job and saying goodbye to my clients. I really grew to love these kids and their families since I spent everyday with them, in their homes. It is really sad not to be with them and not know how they are doing anymore. Here are some pictures of them: I taught Bracha how to play basketball, which she loved. hilarious sight to see an 8 month pregnant woman with zero athletic ability teaching Bracha how to play basketball. best memories! She loved drawing and making "Monster Crowns" as a reward. She loved going to school and learning with her friends. I also introduced her to silly putty and she loves playing with it while she waited for her friends at school. I'm so sad I only really have pictures of Bracha, but here are 2 of Menachem. He was the greatest boy who loved doing structured activities and homework. 9. I loved/hated going to more doctors appointments than I can count. I'm sure you can imagine that I got a lot of good reading done in all their waiting rooms... So even though it was a pain to go to a couple appointments a week, I would go to double that if it meant that I was helping our little boy. I feel so confident that all the doctors are prepared for him to come. It is unbelievable how much they can tell about his heart condition when he isn't even born yet. 10. So, obviously, I've been working with quite the spread of different doctors that all specialize in areas relating to his heart condition. I love meeting new doctors that are working with us and seeing how every single one of them is not a native to the US. My OBGYN is from Ukraine (or something). Our pediatric cardiologist - so the heart specialist we've been going to - is from India. Our cardiology surgeon is from Puerto Rico - as some of you know he is the dreamy older man who Adam and I have a major crush on. Even the doctor in the NICU is from Germany or something...I'm not going to be surprised when I meet the anesthesiologist and he's from Antarctica or something crazy! America is certainly a melting pot.

Church History Vacation cont'd

After leaving Palmyra, we stopped by Niagara Falls on our way to Kirtland. So, this is us stopping by the gorgeous falls in March. The temperature outside seemed so pleasant until we got close to the falls and saw icicles everywhere and trees frozen solid from the mist. It was so cold! Again, Adam had never seen Niagara so we had to go-it was so fun! We drove in to Kirland and straight to the sites. First, the Newel K Whitney store I love the School of the Prophets room. It always reminds me of my dad doing his own 'School of the Prophets' for our family. Actually, this whole trip I have been so grateful for Dad and teaching us LDS church history from the time we were young and making so many flash cards for us so we really knew where our church came from. I've actually kept some of his memorization helps and flash cards so I can teach my kids too. Other very special revelatory rooms. This table is an original from when Joseph Smith was living here with the Whitney's. Since we had some extra time we stopped by the stone quarry where they cut the stone for the temple. (Surprisingly hard to find.) If you look closely you can still see the rough edges where they cut the stone out of the creek bed. We also saw the Kirtland Temple. Our tour guide was an incredibly theatrical old man, which was so entertaining, but he almost blinded us with one of his climax moments. That was funny. They do the tour different than they used to. Now, it is standard for every tour group to see all three levels of the temple, instead of just select small groups. I was glad Adam got to see the top floor of the temple. I think it is such a special spot. On our way back to Pittsburgh, our last stop is the John Johnson Farm. This was probably my favorite memory when we came as a family years ago. I love the miracles that happened while this farm was the church headquarters and all the revelations that were received here. This was just an amazing and devastating time for the church. Also, Mrs Johnson loved bright colors and could afford to buy colorful paint for her house so each room is vibrant and exciting. This room that Adam is standing in is where Joseph Smith was dragged out of his bed and tarred and feathered in the night. And yes, Mrs Johnson chose this vibrant floor pattern. Saving the best for last....this is where Joseph received many revelations for the Book of Commandments, including what is now D&C 76. I am so grateful for this room and the powerful experiences that happened here. It is hard not to tear up when thinking about the many revelations that led to D&C 76. Also, it was so nice to stop by the Johnson farm because our Girls Camp is actually going to be in tents on the farmland here! How cool! This farm is only an hour from Pittsburgh so the Stake YW President was able to reserve this land for our girls - I am SO STOKED for our girls! What an experience they get to have. So, while we were there, I poked around and got an idea of what to expect for August. I'm pretty excited.

Church History Trip

So I know we went to Palmyra months ago, but I said I'd post pics from our trip so here they are! Since I am pregnant, my doctor said that I need to get out of the car ever couple hours to stretch my legs. For this reason, we made a couple detours on our drive. The most anticipated detour we made was to ERIE, PA!!!!! Now, if you know the movie, "That Thing You Do" then you will understand why I was stoked to stop here. I'd been watching this movie since childhood and had a special place in my heart for the Wonders and Lenny and Erie, PA. First Stop: town of Erie As we drove through the town here is a typical house: I even tried to see if there was a Patterson electronics store on our GPS....nope...sad Even though Adam didn't grow up watching 'That Thing You Do' regularly, he was excited to stop in Erie just to see Lake Erie. After my quick stop at Erie, PA we drove straight to Palmyra, NY. Now, Adam has never been to any of the church history sites in the east (and I haven't been since I was 16) so we definitely had our priorities of what we wanted to see. However, we wanted to cram in as many sites as possible since who knows when we'd be able to come out here again. It was Adam's spring break and I got a few days off work for a Jewish holiday. So, even though it was March and freezing we really wanted to go. Besides it being absolutely freezing, it was a really wonderful time to go. No one else was there yet so we had every place to ourselves. The best experience we had was in the Sacred Grove. It was really special to be there - and the only ones there - it was perfectly quiet and sacred. Here is a helpful map of the layout of the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove Adam walking through the Sacred Grove. I wasn't expecting it to be so leafless at this time of year. At the log home: After the Sacred Grove, we ran over to Grandin's Bookstore before it closed. I loved seeing where the Book of Mormon was first published It was amazing to see ink splots that have been on the wall since the 1830's The next day we drove down to Fayette to the Peter Whitmer Farm and, again, since we were the only ones there he let us take a picture behind the railing where Joseph would have stood to organize the church, and where Spencer W. Kimball broadcast from for the 1980 General Conference. We were able to do a session at the temple that night, but we stopped by the next morning to grab a picture of it. One of my most vivid memories of being here at 16 was doing baptisms for the dead and the sweet temple worker explaining the significance of those temple windows. When President Hinckley described this temple he made sure there was a set of clear windows on the side of the temple that overlooks the Sacred Grove. He said it was one sacred spot looking onto another. Here is the view from the top of the temple hill that looks onto the Sacred Grove....it was FREEZING! Then, before we drove out of town we ran by the Hill Cumorah and snapped some pictures. Every other time Adam and I went to the Hill Cumorah it was pouring rain so it wasn't exactly the 'special' experience you hope for there.