There have been threats of uprisings because there have been no new Cheyenne Pictures uploaded recently. I am jumping in to stop any rioting in the streets. Here are a few pictures of precious little Cheyenne!
Click the pictures to see a larger version!
Just a note…Aaron has not posted lately because of a computer meltdown. We are hoping he is back up and running soon!
Cynthia, the kids and I were finally able to go to visit Cheyenne (and her parents) last week. We drove up on Sunday evening, and got to stay through Monday, and head for home on Tuesday. It was a brief stay, but such a good visit. While Cheyenne was in the hospital, we had to come home before getting to hold her. It was such a relief to get to see her without all of her tubes, and sensors. It was a real treat to get to hold her in our arms for the first time!
The kids really enjoyed getting to see Cheyenne and hold her. All of the kids were thrilled to get to see her. I think Skylar was about to bust with excitement when she heard that Cheyenne went home from the hospital. She could hardly wait to get up there and see her little cousin for the first time. It was so nice to see them enjoying little Cheyenne. They had been praying so hard for her (and continue to do so.)
As we were leaving Cheyenne’s house, we stopped at McDonald’s for some breakfast. Jacob asked if he could say the prayer because he wanted to say an extra special prayer for Cheyenne. He said such a nice prayer, and even remembered to thank God for letting Cheyenne go home. It is certainly encouraging and exciting to see what power there is in prayer!
Here are a few pictures of the kids together. Hope you enjoy them!
Click on the picture to see the full size image!
I talked to Aaron a little while ago, and he said they are still on track to go home today. They are having to get all the technicalities set up so that they can be released. There are so many doctors involved, it seems a bit difficult to get everything arranged. He had to get a Pediatrician set up at home, and get them in touch with the doctors at the NICU. So, they are still heading home, it is just going to be a bit later than the 11:00 time that they gave them earlier. So, Lord willing, they will still be home by this afternoon, or this evening.
My dad sent me a few more pictures last night, but unfortunately I didn’t get them till this morning. They have been able to dress little Cheyenne up a bit, and boy does she look cute in her little red dress!
That is one proud Papaw in the pictures up there. I’m glad they are getting some good pictures to share with us, and I hope they get some good ones today as they are heading for home!
EDIT: I just got a call from my dad, and Cheyenne has been released from the hospital! They are on their way home, and should be there in just a little bit. I can’t wait for Aaron to post on here that they are home safe and sound. More pictures to come, hopefully this evening!
I just got some pictures in from my dad. There are a few pics showing Cheyenne with just the oxygen tubes, and then a couple with NO TUBES!!!! I was so excited to see her with no tubes. We haven’t had any pics like that since she was in the delivery room. It is such great news that she is doing so well. Here are the pics:
Now, I may be prejudiced, but I think that is one beautiful baby 
Dad also loaded up a video showing Cheyenne’s beautiful dark eyes!
Keep on praying for Cheyenne! Hopefully she will be able to go home tomorrow if all keeps going as well as it has been for the last few days. I know that Aaron and Nikki are ready to take her home. And remember, Nikki hasn’t been home in over 2 months!
My dad called a little while ago to tell me that Cheyenne got moved from the main floor NICU to a smaller NICU on an upper floor of the hospital. He said that they don’t view the cases that get moved up there as being as critical as those on the lower floor, so that seems to be a really good sign.
They took Cheyenne off of the oxygen today, and let her breathe the air only for the first time since she was born. I had heard earlier today from Aaron that they had taken the tubes from her nose, but that they were still connected, in case she needed them. Dad told me she struggled a bit at first, but that she was doing better by this evening. I don’t know if they will put her back on the oxygen to give her a bit of a break tonight or not…I will have to wait for word from the others “on the scene”.
They wanted to take out her feeding tube, but decided to leave it in for a bit longer because they were not convinced that she is eating enough without it yet. They are hoping that she will get to start nursing soon. Aaron and Nikki have been getting to feed her a bottle for now. Hopefully, she will continue to improve, so that they can get the feeding tube out, and she will be able to nurse healthily. The nurses warned Aaron and Nikki that Cheyenne may have difficulty with the whole suck, swallow, breathe cycle because she is premature. I am sure, at the rate she is going, that it won’t take her long to figure it out. That girl just might be a genius 
Aaron called a little while ago, and said that the big news of the day was that they let them hold Cheyenne! They were finally able to take her from the crib for about 1/2 hour, taking turns holding her. They were going to let them hold her again later this evening (though I figure they have already done that some this afternoon). Unfortunately, there was no one at the hospital with them who had a camera. i am hoping that they are able to get some pictures this afternoon of the proud parents holding little Cheyenne. I can’t wait to see how small she looks in the arms of her daddy!
In case you missed it, go back and look at the post that Mamaw wrote this morning about Cheyenne kicking out the IV from her leg…she is one feisty little girl!
I just found this video that my brother (Shawn) loaded onto his YouTube Account:
Cynthia and I had to leave from Pittsburgh this morning, but we just got a call from Aaron telling us more wonderful news! They have decided, after the 4 PM blood work, to take Cheyenne off of the ventilator! She had been pulling at it herself anyway, and everything has been going so well, they decided that they would take it out, and put her on oxygen through her nose. Tomorrow, if everything continues to improve as it has, they will try to feed her through a tube.
They have told Aaron and Nikki to expect Cheyenne to remain on the oxygen for about another week or so. They are certainly excited about the improvements, and all of the doctors have been pleasantly surprised by the quick progress she has made over the last few days. I know the doctors have done what they can, and have done a good job. But, the most important factor has been all the prayers of faithful saints going up before our God. Keep remembering little Cheyenne when you go to God in prayer!
Nikki got to change Cheyenne’s diaper twice today. She told me that when she was doing it the 2nd time, she wet before getting the diaper back on, so that she wet her bed. I guess Cheyenne just wants to break her in good. Aaron said that every time he tells someone that Nikki changed Cheyenne’s diaper, they laugh (as I did). Those who know Nikki will see the humor in that! For those who don’t know her very well yet, I will just say that changing diapers is not one of Nikki’s favorite things to do…in fact she has avoided it fairly well up to now. But we all knew that would change when Cheyenne came. Now, it is a tremendous blessing to be able to change that little diaper!
I want to take a moment and thank everyone who has given financial help to Nikki and Aaron. You have been very generous, and we all appreciate the sacrifice you have made for Aaron, Nikki and Cheyenne. They can certainly use all that you have so graciously given. Their need will continue for a while longer at least, so if you know of anyone who may want to help them out, please don’t hesitate to point them to this page.
Some have asked for an alternate way to give, instead of through the paypal address. You can send a check or money order to me, and I will see that it gets to their account. Make any donations out to Aaron Brewer, and put “gift for Cheyenne” in the notes section of the check. Feel free to put a note in with as well, as Aaron and Nikki have liked reading the words of encouragement as well. Donations can be sent to:
Kris Brewer
2021 Walnut St.
Kenova, WV 25530
Please continue to pray, and don’t forget to thank God for the progress Cheyenne has already shown!
I posted a while ago about how much progress Cheyenne has been making over the last couple of days. The nurses this evening said that a couple of big things may happen tomorrow, if she continues her improvement. The first is that there is a chance that they may remove the ventilator. She is doing most of the breathing on her own tonight, and they think she will be ready to do it all by herself tomorrow. This, of course, is HUGE!
The second big thing is that they may start feeding her tomorrow. She has been sustained thus far with electrolytes and fat emulsion. They told Aaron and Nikki that they will probably start with a feeding tube, and then when they think she is ready, let her nurse. She was started on a pacifier today, and she has no trouble with the sucking reflex! I have a video that I took of her tonight that I hope to get loaded up, and on here sometime tomorrow.
It has been a wonderful couple of days. Please keep those prayers, comments, and well wishes coming. They are doing wonders for Aaron, Nikki, Cheyenne, and all of us in the family.
Cheyenne has continued to do well throughout the day today. She has reacted well to the new ventilator, keeping her blood gasses at a good rate without the oscillating ventilator. They still have had to keep her slightly sedated to keep her from thrashing around too much. That could mess up her blood gasses again, and it could cause her to pull out IV lines. They have been able to lower the amount of oxygen that they are giving her. When I was in with her just before 4 PM, she was at about 51%. She was at about 64% last night, so that is a good improvement. They have also been able to take her off of Dopamine, which was being used to keep her blood pressure up at an acceptable level. So, now, she has been regulating that on her own as well!
The improvements in the last 48 hours have been great! The doctors and nurses have warned that she still must be watched very closely, as any of these improvements could slip backwards. Even with everything going great, they have said that she will still be in need of the oxygen for several more days. I don’t remember if I mentioned that they also put her on Nitric Oxide when they brought her over to Children’s Hospital. Since Cheyenne’s lungs are doing so well, they are now trying to wean her off of that. They have brought the level down significantly today, but have said that it will have to be done very slowly over the next few hours…I believe they want to take about 24 hours or longer to take her off of it completely.
We will continue to pray for her improvements, and continue to trust our gracious and merciful God to her care. We are all so thankful for the prayers that so many are continuing to offer on behalf of Cheyenne, Nikki and Aaron…please continue them, as they are heard by our Father!
We have been trying to take some pictures of the family with Cheyenne over the last couple of days. We weren’t able to get either Justin and Laura, or Chris and Jessie when they were in. But we do have a few so far, so I put them together in a collage below…
We have not made it up to the hospital yet today, but Aaron called a few minutes ago and told us that Cheyenne had another great night. Her blood gasses improved some more, even to the extent that they did decide to take her off of the oscillating ventilator and return her to the regular ventilator.
Aaron said that Cheyenne is now trying to do some of the work herself, which is also a very good sign. She is still on a high percentage of oxygen, but that will probably be true for at least several more days. Room oxygen (if I remember correctly) is around 21%, and they are still using about 64% oxygen through her breathing tube. That is a huge improvement, as they started her around 90% (again, if my memory is correct).
Please continue to keep Cheyenne, Nikki and Aaron in your prayers. Every improvement is a blessing, and we believe prayer works. Also, keep leaving Aaron and Nikki comments. They have been very encouraged by you all!