Author Archives: CH

Hello friends and family, so sorry for the delay in updates lately! The wait has been worth it:

We are thrilled to share with you that we brought Kevin home today!

Kevin was born 5-15-21 at 2lbs 15oz, 16″ tall. After 70 days in the NICU Kevin checked out today weighing 7lbs 1oz and measuring 19.5″ !

We had expected to bring him home around or shortly after his due date (Aug 1) but he made such great progress this month we were surprised with the happy news of an even earlier homecoming.

Bringing Kevin home and introducing him to Ryan for the first time has been so very special– it’s hard to put into words what a relief it is to finally all be together, strong and healthy as a family of four. We weren’t sure how Ryan would react to his new baby brother, but he was all smiles — he even gave Kev two big kisses!

Since we last shared an update, Kevin has done a lot of work learning to suck, swallow and breath at the same time. He was such a trooper and made slow but steady progress finishing more and more of his bottles each week. Earlier this week they took him off oxygen entirely and we were pleased to see he was able to eat and keep his blood oxygen numbers at a healthy level. Because Kevin was able to maintain feedings and gain weight all while breathing on his own, he has been able to come home without any oxygen support and without his feeding tube– this is huge news and a great relief.

We have continued bi-weekly ROP eye exams and are still finding regular development, he was most recently still in zone two, stage zero, which means we’re not currently anticipating any problems with his vision. Kevin will continue with the same doctor he’s seen at the Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor until his eyes are fully developed. His next checkup is Wednesday.

Now that we are home, Kevin will receive in-home visits from a nurse 2-3 times a week to monitor his weight, pulse oxygen levels and heart rate. We’ll also work closely with our pediatrician to ensure he continues to stay strong and healthy.

We are so incredibly proud of Kev and so deeply grateful for the talented and loving staff we had at Mott’s Children’s hospital– the NICU team was absolutely amazing. We appreciate all the love, prayers and positive thoughts so many of you have shared with us during this journey, we know they’ve definitely made all the difference!

We will continue to keep you updated with our progress and look forward to meeting some of you when Kevin is little older ☺️

Kevin is continuing to do good! He is now 4lbs 11oz. He is 17” which is an inch more than when he first was born. His newborn tests and screenings went well. Since reaching the 1 month mark, he received 2 blood transfusions. This may sound scary but this is actually good for him and pretty standard for premi babies.

When a baby is developing in the womb, their bone marrow is learning how to make red blood cells and will develop all the ones that they need to grow. Premi babies have to undergo continual blood tests, so they can sometimes have a low red blood cell count. It is necessary then to have a transfusion in order for them to get more oxygenated blood throughout their body to help them develop and be healthy. It’s a delicate balance, too many blood transfusions and his bone marrow won’t learn how to make red blood cells on his own. So the hospital only gave small transfusions and will constantly monitor him to ensure he has the right amount.

Kevin has been on a nose canula rather than a CPAP mask for about a week. They are watching him and adjusting oxygen dosage as necessary. They aren’t sure how long he will need the nose canula/oxygen support but it will be necessary until he is more fully developed and breathing on his own. The goal is to maintain only 20% oxygen through the nose canula so that he can begin the process of bottle feeding.

They haven’t attempted the gravity flow yet that was mentioned in the last update. They adjusted his feedings to be entirely fed formula and that has transitioned well.

At this point in the premi journey, an important thing to monitor is the development of the eyes. The premi baby’s eyes are exposed to oxygen before they should be, which can stunt the ability for the eyes to develop through all the zones (there are 3). Kevin is in zone 2 of his development and he is stage zero – which means he is developing like he would have been in the womb, which is what we want to see. They will continue to do eye screenings bi-weekly.

Hayley has finished her in-home physical therapy. She is seeing improvement in her hands and feet which is where she had some nerve damage from being under for 6 days. She has a gained new understanding of what it means to have a csection and is eager to heal enough from that to be able to lift Ryan again. She had some follow tests on her lungs and will talk with a pulmonologist to see if addition treatment is necessary so she can continue to improve her lung functionality.

Justin got to spend Father’s Day with his newest little man and Hayley surprised him by having Kevin in a Poli Construction onesie, gotta start the branding early. 🙂

We have a family update for you all, including a sweet video update from the NICU!

Kevin is almost 30 days old and 4 lbs 1 oz!
He now can finish his feeding over the course of 1 hour vs it being spread out/dispensed over 2 hours. The next step as far as food (in about a week) would be for his feeding to go through his feeding tube at gravity’s pace– that helps prepare his belly for a more realistic idea of what a bottle feeding will feel like.
Now that he is reaching his one month mark they will redo some of those standard ‘newborn’ screenings. We anticipate good results– it’s just something they do with all babies when the reach the one month benchmark.

An update from Hayley:
I am feeling stronger every day. I had follow up appointments with my OBGYN and my primary care provider both of which went very well. I will be seeing a pulmonologist just to ensure we’re continuing to strengthen my lungs and get them back to 💯. I am continuing to monitor my blood pressure/ pulse ox, temp everyday via an aftercare program provided U of M, a nurse is assigned to review/monitor those numbers everyday and they’ve been very happy with all my numbers.

Visiting Kevin is the best medicine and while it is hard to leave after a snuggle, seeing him makes me feel so rejuvenated. It would probably surprise everyone who knows me to know that I am having a hard time being loud– 🤭🤣 I am hoping that as my lung strength improves and my throat continues to heal that I’ll get back that wild loud voice and laugh. Yesterday Justin called me ‘very soft spoken’ ,😱 that had to be a first lol

Justin is doing well and continues to be in awe of everyone’s support and generosity. Ryan is enjoying extra time with grandma and grandpa Freese as well as with Nana and Grampa Anable. We’ve tried to show him pictures and videos of his new baby brother but he seems more interested in trucks, the park, and playing with rocks (we’ll let him enjoy being the “only child” for awhile longer 😜)

What a whirlwind week!

Hayley got to be reunited with Kevin on Tuesday and has been able to see him every day since! She was so overwhelmed with love and gratitude to not only hold her son but to see how much Justin has learned during the time she had to be away. He is very confident and hands-on with him. He was able to show Hayley what cords go where and how to take him in and out without tangling up the wires, and he changed his teeny tiny diaper like it was no different than changing Ryan! 💗

• Feedings continue to go well. He gets a donated breast milk via a feeding tube that’s screened by the hospital but he is also given some additional nutrients
• He eats about 1oz at a time and eats every 3 hours
• They do a ‘venting’ process with his feeding tube between feedings to help release any air in his tummy (that can happen with the CPAP machine he’s on)
• Hayley got to give him a “bath” and change his diaper this week which was a full load 💩 and today he weighed 3.34 lbs
• Justin and Hayley are the only ones that have been allowed to visit him.

We’d like to brag a moment, Kevin is now 3.3 oz! Look at our guy!

In case you missed it, here is a post from Hayley she shared on her Facebook:

We wanted to give an update on our beautiful boy. Kevin is back to his birth weight after a couple days of success with feedings. The next benchmark we are aiming for is his ability to stay off a CPAP machine, this we would want to be reach by 32 weeks.

He is now being swaddled most of the time and was even outfitted in a stylish onesie, see if you can spot him in this photo. 😉

Hayley is so very happy that she is home and has been off the respirator for a whole week already. The work to get her strength up will take some time as she is still fatigued often and needs to rest often. This can be hard for someone with as much drive as our always active and creative Hayley. She will begin in-home physical therapy next week. The focus will be on regaining lung strength and her ability to walk and use stairs.

The family is home, taking it easy and enjoying their time together this weekend. We continue to be overwhelmed by the kindness of our friends and family and unbelievably grateful for the miracle that has kept everyone safe.

Major update!

We didn’t want to jinx it yesterday but we were told that she may come home today and, well, she did!

Yesterday morning they took her completely off the oxygen and they monitored her levels throughout the day and night. Today they did a number of tests with her to ensure she was safe to be home. The family was beyond overjoyed to be reunited as you can imagine. Family on either side will remain close by to help with Ryan and ensure Hayley has a full recovery now that she is home.

We will continue to update this page as we get news of how Kevin is doing in the NICU. His tract has been cleared and he no longer has blockage in his lower intestine. They will resume feeding with donor breast milk today. Hayley is anxious to get skin to skin with her little boy but testing for Covid and other precautions are in place, so it may be another week until she is able to see him in person. Until that time Justin will continue to visit him for nightly skin-to-skin. The journey for preemie babies can vary but as an estimate, he may be there for a couple more months (until closer to his regular due date).

We are so grateful for all of the prayers and positive energy that were offered up on our behalf – it worked wonders for our family and got Hayley home. The team at the University of Michigan hospital worked tirelessly to care for our family. We are so grateful to all who looked after Hayley and continue to care for Kevin as attentively as if they were their own family.

Today family was able to hear Hayley’s voice through videos and calls. As you can imagine, it brought a lot of joy to us all after this past week. Her main message was of gratitude and continued requests for prayers. She is already being given instruction for physical therapy and reports feeling very weak after any activity. Despite all of that, we are all so impressed and excited about her progress. The doctors shared their enthusiasm about her turn for the better. The plan is to move her out of the ICU tonight – we aren’t sure what that means as of yet in regards to visitation, but we know that wouldn’t be possible if she is still testing positive for Covid.

Let’s not forget that as of today Kevin is officially 1 week old!

Tremendous news for today’s update!

We got the best possible surprise, the doctors took Hayley off her sedation and she was able to come around and be responsive. Later in the day, when she was strong enough, they were able to remove the ventilator and Justin got to hear his wife’s voice for the first time in close to a week. Justin was then able to zoom from the NICU and got to introduce Hayley to Kevin! They talked for over an hour with Justin doing skin to skin and explaining to Hayley all the love and support we had experienced this past week.

We are praying for a calm weekend so that Hayley can continue to rest and progress. The power of prayer has never been more evident to us, thank you all for all that you have done for us this week.

Hayley was weaned off and continues to remain off the paralytic. She is still intubated and sedated but we are happy with her progress thus far.

Justin got to have some more skin to skin with Kevin. The process of introducing breast milk is beginning which can take some time as his digestive system adjusts. There doesn’t appear to be anything of concern with his progress and Justin has gained a lot of strength from being with him.

The doctor gave us cause for cautious optimism today. We think the prayers are really helping or perhaps it is the zoom calls with all our constant jibber jabber talk into Hayley’s ear because this is the first time we have heard a doctor say they are pleased with the trajectory of today’s health progress for Hayley. We aren’t out of the woods but they said that they think she is doing well and headed in the right direction.

The baby is doing well and his test came back negative for Covid. Justin did not test positive either so tonight he is able to not only hold Kevin but stay with him the entire night!

Please continue to help us spread the prayer circle bigger and bigger. Thank you for all of your support and care.

Today’s update is that Hayley is getting a more specific treatment for a bacterial infection in her lungs. The goal continues to be improving lung functionality through positioning among other treatments. She remains fully sedated and intubated at this time.

Kevin has shown consistent and positive performance. No concerns or hurdles at this time. To clarify an earlier post, he is getting oxygen through a mask so he is assisted with his breathing but he is not intubated. We are eager to get Justin in with him in person more regularly but every precaution is being put into place with testing to ensure there is no risk to our beautiful boy.

The outpouring of love and support these past few days has been overwhelming and has carried us through this challenging time. Our friends and family have continued to show us how much you care and we are certain the prayers are making a huge difference in Hayley’s fight. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

The update from this morning was that Hayley and Kevin maintained – no changes either direction. Given the events of the weekend we are taking that as a good sign.

Yesterday evening we were told that Kevin had the breathing tube removed and was able to breath on his own without it, which is great news, especially since that continued to be the case overnight. Our little man is making us proud already. 💗

We were set up with a Skype video chat yesterday evening so that we could talk to Hayley. Although she is fully sedated, we know hearing our voices will help bring her comfort and add strength to her fight. Her complexion looked good and she seemed peaceful. We will be given the chance for a video visit daily, which is an enormous blessing because being away from her during this continues to be very challenging for our family.

The updates to this page will likely come 1-2 times per day unless something more urgent develops. We truly appreciate the support that has been shown to us over the weekend and can feel the love from all over the world. We know the prayers are doing wonders to help Hayley and Kevin.

Hayley is stable in the same condition as she was 2 hours after the c-section. We almost lost her on and off for 2 hours after it. She has been given a paralytic to help her muscles fully relax and she has been moved to lie on her stomach, which helps her lungs. She is sedated and so far the ventilator is working well. The baby is actually 3.2 pounds and measures at 29 weeks, even though he isn’t actually 29 weeks. Her first baby was a big boy too, thank goodness. He is on a respirator and feeding tube and they don’t know yet if he has covid but they said at U of Mich hosp that they have had only 1 baby born with covid so odds are in his favor.

8:00am:

Hayley made it through another night. The baby is doing well. They let Justin stay with her all night long. The OB Dr. pulled some strings because he can be there as a father. He is still there and we are waiting for today’s Doctors reports and labs keep praying.

11:00am

Hi, this is our update. They have a spot available for Hayley at the University of Michigan hospital. They have made a transport arrangement and they are coming to pick her up now. The setting there is better for Hayley and it’s better for the baby. We are all so grateful. Please pray for her. We are asking for prayers for a safe transfer and safe delivery to some more medical expertise. We are so hopeful and happy that they are able to do this for her. They are only looking at her future needs at this time and this seems to be the best setting for anything that may come her way.

Just so you all understand U OF Michigan has a special setting designed for pregnant women with Covid. This will provide Hayley with optimum care. And it is best for The baby. This is a good time to make the transfer they are comfortable moving her it is not a long trip. It is 35 miles from her hospital. It is not considered an emergency.

She can’t talk or text at all. She must simply rest. And focus on getting all the care she can have.

She is wearing a full face BiPaP Oxygen mask so there are no contacts in her eyes or glasses at this time she simply resting and Justin has permission to be with her until the transfer begins and hopefully he will be able to be with her again when he arrives at the college hospital

5:00pm

Hayley arrived at the University of Michigan Hospital. Under advice from the doctors in charge, It is time for Hayley to be put on a respirator. She is aware of the plan. She listen along as the doctor spoke to Justin on the phone. The baby is experiencing some stress. They’re hoping the ventilator will alleviate some of that stress. If that doesn’t alleviate the added stress we will most likely experience a C-section for Hayley some time soon. The doctors believe that her elevated respirations (breaths per minute) are unsustainable and too difficult for her to manage. And it’s better for both mom and baby to accept this new plan. I know she’s a bit afraid and she is counting on each and everyone of us to pray for her. Justin did speak with her and we are so grateful that she is at U of M. We really believe that it is one of the many little miracles we’ve already experienced. The care there is the best in the state. We love you guys and we can do this. There are many times that we’ve had to do things like this and we always pull through. Hayley is strong and tough and nothings going to rock her world not even Covid.

10:00pm

Kevin Terrance Poli has arrived…all 2lbs of him! He gets to meet his Dad soon. He is stable. Doctor said Hayley is “critical but stable” and better than she was 2 hours ago.

Please keep praying and holding Hayley and Kevin in your hearts. Hayley is still intubated on a ventilator in critical condition. Kevin is in the NICU.

Hey everyone, it is 11:09 on Friday morning and last night at 3 AM Hayley’s blood oxygen was good but she was having difficulties with her respirations. It was too hard for her to maintain, her respiration should be at 20 Breaths per minute. They were averaging between 50 and 60 breaths per minute. They applied a method of using a Bi PaP full face mask for her oxygen. That seem to bring her respirations back to a good level. This morning her OB doctor said they are discussing her comfort. She believes Hayley is working too hard to breathe. But her OB Doctor will discuss all the options with the pulmonary team. The advice may be a respirator will be used as early as today. The decision has not been made. This would give Hayley the rest she needs to recover, the baby is stable. We are just waiting to hear more from the doctors. I wish we had more information at this time. Just keep the
prayers rolling. We love you all.