2008 was quite the year for Alexis. It definitely had its highs and lows, but one thing is for certain: it was never boring. Because of her unique health concerns, and because we're probably just predisposed to over analysis of our daughter, we spent the back half of 2008 largely focused on quantitative data. We became consumed with Lexi's weight, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, cell counts, TPN rates, cc's of formula eaten, cc's of output, etc. Therefore, we figured it was only fitting that we look back on Lexi's 2008 the only way we know how -- By the Numbers.0 - Number of hip sockets with which Lexi was born. An orthopedic surgery aimed at constructing hip sockets recently was scheduled for Feb 11th.
1 - Number of grandchildren Kevin and Deb had when Lexi was born. This also was the number of milli-seconds before they jumped in a car and headed to St Louis upon hearing the news.
2 - Number of days Lexi's parents missed visiting St. Johns' during Lexi's 3+ months in the NICU. Brian left town for a friend's funeral in Alta, while Laura left town for a work conference in Chicago.
3 - Number of major surgeries Lexi endured during the year, from an initial life-saving procedure on the 4th of July through her GI reconnect surgery on the 26th of September.
4- Number of great doctors (Klesh, Maurer, Brenner, and Young) and exceptional primary nurses (Toika, Paula, Jen, and Yolanda) Lexi was blessed with in the NICU.
5 - Number of pounds, along with 8 ounces, Lexi weighed at birth. She was taken five weeks prematurely by emergency C-section on July 2nd, immediately after an ultrasound discovered an apparent blood clot in the baby's umbilical cord.
6 - Number of fingers on each of Lexi's hands at birth. One digit on each hand was sutured off several weeks later to give her the more traditional five fingers on each hand.
7 - Number of grandchildren Phyllis had when Lexi was born. Lucky #7 has since lived up to her namesake simply by surviving 2008.
8 - Date in October when we completed an infant CPR course. 11 Days prior we had the misfortune of seeing the key steps performed on our daughter instead of on a mannequin, as 60 seconds of CPR had been necessary to resuscitate her.
9 - Number of days to end July in which Lexi battled a mysterious infection threatening her life. After fighting temperatures of 102 degrees and CRP levels of 13.2, Lexi finally turned the corner on July 31st after five powerful antibiotics had been introduced.
10 - Number of minutes required for a simple diaper change while Lexi donned her ostomy and Pavlik harness. The time required would triple when an ostomy bag change proved necessary.
30 - Age that Lexi's Mom turned just two days ago. Both parents are now thirty-somethings and justified in using their age as well as Lexi's health as reasons for all the gray hairs they've acquired.
50 - Minimum number of beautiful smiles Lexi flashes in any given day. Her demeanor is wonderful, and she greets everybody with huge grins -- unless someone engages in the heinous act of trying to stick a bottle in her mouth.
101- Number of nights Lexi spent in a St John's Mercy neonatal intensive care unit. She was released to spend her first night at home with us on Oct 11th.
155 - Number of blog postings on this website during the year.
182 - Number of Days Lexi was alive during the year.
312 - Number of medical claims settled and paid on behalf of Lexi during the year.
1,545,108 - Dollar value of medical claims billed on behalf of Lexi during the year.
