Knox’s Story

Site created on January 22, 2019

Knox Lane was born 1/20/2019 at 4:30 PM. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He came into this world just as stubborn, strong, and sweet as his parents were combined. He had a hint of red hair (sorry dad) and big feet. His entry into life was not as we had imagined for him, but God works amazing miracles so we know that he will protect and heal Knox just as he works miracles every day. Let’s start with a little background to get you all caught up on what happened before he was born. 
Jamie had severe back pain starting Friday. She woke up Saturday in even more pain than the few days before. At this point she was 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant. She decided that it was time to go to the clinic in Grant to see the doctor. This is where she Doctors and sees her OB. However her OB was out of town this weekend so she was able to see another amazing Doctor. Upon some tests they found that her white and red blood cell counts were too high. Also an ultrasound of her kidneys showed some hydro. It is common in pregnant women to have hydro in their kidneys during pregnancy.  What she thought was a UTI turned into Pyloric Stenosis. The Doctor wanted to keep her over night in Grant to watch and treat her kidneys. A little later he came back and decided to transport her by ambulance to North Platte where she would meet with a urologist in the morning to discuss options. She was very upset but knew this was the best option for her and the baby. 
Upon getting to North Platte she was greeted by some familiar faces. Jamie and Dane used to work in North Platte so seeing those people helped ease her worries. She was admitted into the Labor and Delivery ward at Great Plains. Dr. Bianco soon came in and discussed options with her and Dane. He said that they would meet with the urologist in the morning and hopefully place a stent to help pass the kidney stones. However not shortly long after he came back in and said he wanted to induce her since she was full term. This made Jamie so incredibly happy and excited knowing that her baby boy was going to enter this world soon. She was soon started on a pill to help induce labor. She was given two does of this. Sunday she woke up at 4:30am and was given Pitocin to help start those contractions even more. She also was able to get an epidural (she was so thankful). Little did she know that her and Dane would meet their beautiful boy 12 hours later. It was a rough day through contractions and trying to get the little guy to turn. Did I mention he was stubborn? He was facing up all day until the very last hour when he turned. Jamie pushed for 50 minutes and he was out! He got to lay on mom’s chest while dad cut the cord. This is where they all knew something wasn’t right. After cutting the cord, Knox started being lethargic and turning blue. They took him to the NICU and Dane went along. The heart sounded good, the lungs were great, but his oxygen levels were low. This tipped off the doctor that there was something wrong with the heart and the oxygen exchange. Soon a pediatric doctor came in, Dr. Lopez, and diagnosed him. Knox was born with a congenital heart disease called Transposition of the Great Arteries. This is where the two arteries that feed the heart are switched. This type of heart condition requires surgery. Dr. Bianco and his team of amazing nurses soon started working together to get Knox prepared to transfer him to Children’s in Omaha. He was intubated and ready to transfer by plane. Dane got to ride along as Jamie was not allowed to. Jamie was very fortunate and lucky to have their family friend there, who was also her nurse and “doula”, during delivery. Kim was amazing and drove Jamie down to Omaha so she could be with Knox and Dane. Without Kim there, we don’t think they would have let Jamie leave so early. She was released from the hospital that night and drove down to Omaha to meet Dane and Knox at the hospital. 
Dane and Knox were greated by an awesome team of nurses and met with the Cardiologist that very night. Jamie arrived at the hospital a little after 2 AM. 
In the morning all the Doctors rounded and decided to do a septostomy before the big procedure to help with the exchange of blood. During this procedure the doctors inserts a catheter through the groin up to the heart and opens up a hole that separates the atriums of the heart. When you are born, this hole closes. However keeping this open has helped Knox’s situation because then the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood were able to mix allowing him to get the oxygen his body needs. The surgery went very well and his oxygen continues to climb. He is still on the ventilator, but they are slowly weaning him off. 
Today (1/22) Jamie and Dane met with the rounding team. It has been decided that Knox will have surgery tomorrow 1/23. Unsure of what time, but we will keep everyone updated. We just ask at this time if you would please pray for the surgeons to have steady hands, the nurses to continue their amazing care, and for Knox. That he has the strength to get through this very hard surgery. He has been a fighter and shown how resilient and strong he can be. Mom and dad are set out for a wild ride when he gets healthy. We know that he has amazing guardian angels watching out for him, but your prayers will help even more. 

Newest Update

Journal entry by Jamie Anderson

It has been a whirlwind of a few days. Not much has happened that is too exciting (which is a good thing). Thursday, after just getting home, we had our first Doctor’s check up with Dr. Demmel. She is our primary doctor and she is amazing!! She was so kind and good to me through out my whole pregnancy. Always answered every question I had and was so patient with me. The weekend that I had Knox and my kidney stones, which was the weekend BEFORE I was due, she was out of town. Otherwise she would have delivered for me in Grant. I was told that Grant wouldn’t of had the supplies and resources that we needed in order to keep Knox alive when he was born. This is another one of God’s amazing signs. He gave me those darn kidney stones so that I would be transferred to North Platte, where we had to resources to keep him safe and alive. When I went to Grant for my kidney stones I saw Dr. Colglazier and he had a gut feeling to transfer me to North Platte. I am so glad his years of experience and trusting his gut sent me there. God is amazing and I have no doubt we had guardian angels looking out for us.
The appointment went really well. Knox gained weight! I was worried about this because of his cluster feeding, but he is doing great and growing so fast.
I loved seeing every one of your posts yesterday with the red shirts! Thank you so much for those of you who supported us and all the other children with Congenital Heart Disease. It means so much to Dane and I. We have found comfort in talking to other parents who’s children have the same CHD as Knox. Transposition of the Greater Arteries can be a very scary thing. But it is nice to see pictures of kids who have grown up and are living their normal lives after the surgery. 
Today will be a relaxing day. We are still trying to get in the routine of things and figure out this whole new role of being parents. Briggs decided he likes his little brother and wanted to cuddle with him. He is pretty alert to every noise he makes and does not like it when Knox cries, especially during bath time. He loves to lay by his crib when he naps also. 
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers! We are doing amazing and God has blessed us in so many ways. We could not be more grateful! 
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