Oleyen Vollette-Kist: First Entry

Oleyen Vollette-Kist

Born November 1, 2004, she was 8 lbs, 15 oz at birth. Oleyen had Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and was transferred to DC Children's Hospital for treatment. She passed away on November 19th in her parent's arms. She was the first child of Neely Vollette and Christopher Kist, married this past year.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

First Entry

Hi everyone,
Hope you made it here safely. I've never hosted a blog before, so we are going to see how this works. I'm sure my writer's tendency will show as I drone on and on and on and on.

Update on Oleyen:
Ok, I've heard today that they will be weaning Oleyen off the ECMO machine (infant heart/lung bypass machine) starting Friday. This is a long process, because they have to make sure as they slow down the machine, Oleyen's lungs and heart take over the function of oxygenating the blood. However, she only has until next Friday (19th) to finish this process because apparently the ECMO machine can only be used for 14 days. She'll be over that limit, but she won't have any more time. This is a critical time right now, and the most dangerous of the steps to recovery.

They have said they were going to start this process last week, but have not for some reason or another. Neely and Chris are up there, and will be by her side for this transition. Oleyen is a Vollette woman, so she's gotta be a fighter. It's in her genes - all of us girls are stubborn.

You can use this site to post remarks to the couple if you'd like. They really don't have access to the internet, but Mom will be bringing them printed out emails or letters.

I'll write more as soon as I know more.
Keep up the good energy...

1 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Hello,
I did have a bit of a time getting on here. I could only post anonymously.
What did I do wrong?
Anyway, this is Nana (Nan Vollette) posting and Lauren, you did a wonderful job with this site. We all appreciate your creative work with this. You truly are a genius with a computer.....
Neely and Chris will be coming home tomorrow for a little over 24 hours to take Noveigh to a "Wiggles" performance for her birthday. This may be the only time they are able to be with her at home for awhile. I will be staying up with Oleyen while they are gone. It is suspected no events will happen during this time as she is on full life-support until Friday.
We hang on here and send our love and energy to this family. I am so proud of Chris and Neely as they confront this challenge in their lives. They are supporting each other and it is so touching to see their love for each other. This is a great site to keep in touch.
thanks to all for your prayers..
warmly,
Nana (a.k.a. Mom or Nan); November 10, 2004 at 4:18 PM