Home Sweet Home for 4 Hugheys

Praise the Lord, Ford and Hayden are finally home after 4.5 long months!


It sure is nice to finally reach this milestone, especially when there were really dark days for Ford and Hayden with their preemie lungs, kidneys, stomachs and hearts. We made it... we always had faith we would, but there were certainly plenty of health scares along the way. Of course it started with the grim odds doctors gave us about 25 weekers surviving. Back then, the boys weighed only 1 pound 14 ounces and 1 pound 15 ounces... Today Hayden is 9 pounds 6 ounces and Ford is 9 pounds 12 ounces. How amazing is that.


We also were blessed not to have stomach issues like many 25 weekers do and that usually translates into many surgeries and a longer hospital stay. Their head ultrasounds and eye exams have also been very good so what can we say... except Thank you Lord!



Hayden has been home for a month today and is doing really well. He now eats much better than he did when we first came home and seems to be over his oral aversion. He likes his milk and he will take it down. He also likes to sleep on mommy and daddy's chest and well... these boys get what they want after all they have been through. We are still working on sleeping alone with him... he is not fond of it, but it is something we have talked over with our pediatrician and at this point we just can't let him "cry it out" because of his lungs.

He does get breathing treatments for wheezing, but so far they seem to be helping and the wheezing does not seem to hamper his oxygenation.

They are getting better though. We saw the pulmonologist right before we left Fort Worth and he was pleased with Hayden's progress. Over the next month we are going to try and get Hayden off his tiny wiff of Oxygen... that will be great. It is hard to transport two on O2 and monitors, but you know what... we will do what we have to do. Certainly not a big deal... we are just glad they are home.

As for Ford, He is doing great as well. He is on 1/8 of a liter of O2. He still has more lung issues than Hayden and really needs his oxygen, but considering what he has been through... he is just amazing. He is still working on being a good eater. I can't blame him for his oral aversion though... he was on a ventilator for more than 3 months... so something going down his throat is a bit scary for him. The doctors are also watching his kidneys closely because of their issues, but so far he is stable in that area. Mr. Ford is the better sleeper and would probably sleep through the night, but he still needs feeding every 3 hours. We are happy to ablige them both. Ford seems to like being home and cuddling more with mommy and daddy... though we probably enjoy it the most. I can't even begin to tell you what a tough road Ford has had... you just wouldn't believe how far he has come with his chronic lung disease. If you would have asked me a month ago if I would have thought we would be home in May with Ford... I would not have said yes... but you know what he has shocked and amazed us all... even his doctors. He is ready to get better... he has the strongest will to live of any one I have ever known and he is only 4 1/2 months old. Hayden is right there with him on that though!

It is an amazing thing being a parent. We have some high maintenance children, but we are just so thankful they are here with us... that is all that matters.





The boys will be a more sheltered than most because of their weaker than normal immune systems. In time, we can't wait for our friends and family to get to spend time with them. We know how special and wonderful they are... we can't wait for you to enjoy them too... but that will come in time.





Thank you for all of your prayers that helped us find our way back to Tyler with our 2 miracles. There were many sleepless nights filled with tears and even anger at times. That happens when you have to watch your boys go through so much and can't help them. But you know what, it's amazing what the Lord can do. We can't wait to enjoy our two children and love them back to health. This truly is going to be the best time of our lives. We are also thankful we have found that blind faith you hear about, but maybe don't always believe in. I believe... I always did, but my faith is even stronger now.

We just also want to thank our amazing Dr. Lynch! She saved our babies lives and ours. She is more than a doctor... I am happy to call her a friend. She works with many other wonderful neonatologists at Cook. There were two others that really took amazing care of Ford and Hayden, Dr. Nedrelow and Dr. Nesslein. We just adored them... they were there to help us when Dr. Lynch was not on and they helped get us through this time as well! Also to our boys primary nurses, you are all the very best. The best nurses and the best people. Thank you for loving my sons and taking such exceptional care of them. I will love you forever because of that! Cook Children's and their NICU... is the best. They can do things with preemie babies that seem impossible and nurse them back to health... what a blessing.

We will do our best to keep you updated on the boys and post pictures. They keep us busy and we could use more than two hands at this point, but we have parents that help make it all possible.




With Love from TYLER,


Dana, Trey, Ford and Hayden