Melanie Maxwell delivered Andrew

[kpmom]

Sarah is blinding me with science with her proper use of terms like bilirubin count and episodes of bradycardias (along with an explanation).

She obviously has some smarts there. Shame she'll never be able to use them.

[Dru]

I know, and I'm wondering whether it would be the reverse attitude if he hadn't been fine.

I don't think so. I don't recall them badmouthing the doctors or nurses when Susannah was in the hospital and eventually passed.

[theologygeek]

Not one g**damn word of praise or even acknowledgement for the doctors and nurses and SCIENCE that have saved Drew's life.

There's nothing wrong with that. Muslims thank Allah. Christians thank God. I could snark on fundies for a lot of things, but thanking God isn't one of them. This world needs more religious tolerance.

[browngrl]

I'm reporting OB ultrasounds today and I happened to have my charts on estimated fetal weight %tiles open so I looked up Drew's weight/gestational age.

If my calculations are correct (and could be wrong - I have no idea about lbs and oz - I only work in g and kg) 7lbs 4oz = 3290g

The 97th%ile for 35 weeks gestational age is only 3244g which means that Drew was macrosomic if the gestational age is correct. I wonder if Melanie's dates were wrong or if she had gestational diabetes or there is something else amiss.

edited because I do actually know how to spell macrosomic

[HereticHick]

There's nothing wrong with that. Muslims thank Allah. Christians thank God. I could snark on fundies for a lot of things, but thanking God isn't one of them. This world needs more religious tolerance.

I am not pissed at them for thanking God; I am pissed about living breathing people that they have NOT thanked.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I've been following along and think it's cool that the name of the poster who started the thread is called Dru, and that's actually what the Maxwells wound up naming their little boy, only the spelling's different. That's awesome. 8-)

[theologygeek]

I am not pissed at them for thanking God; I am pissed about living breathing people that they have NOT thanked.

That's a silly thing to say. How do you know that the Maxwells didn't thank the doctors and nurses?

[dairyfreelife]

That's a silly thing to say. How do you know that the Maxwells didn't thank the doctors and nurses?

Or not. They openly thanked God on their blog more than once about baby Drew, but not once have they thanked the doctors or nurses for saving his life on their blog.

Side note just to say that Nathan and Melanie make adorable children. The girls are cuties and so is baby Drew.

[treemom]

I completely judge them for thanking God. If it was the only thing they did I would still find it set my teeth on edge.

[LittleOleMe]

Or not. They openly thanked God on their blog more than once about baby Drew, but not once have they thanked the doctors or nurses for saving his life on their blog.

Side note just to say that Nathan and Melanie make adorable children. The girls are cuties and so is baby Drew.

Exactly. Like most fundies, they thank god all the time for everything, which is perfectly fine. Most everyone here would agree with that. The problem, as others have been saying, is that they aren't thanking the doctors and nurses whose hard work and education and dedication have saved his life, and presumably Melanie's as well. If they can thank god over and over on their blog they can also thank the doctors and nurses. Non fundies with blogs always thank the doctors and nurses in addition to god. It's just plain rude to ignore thanking the doctors and nurses.

[SPHASH]

Exactly. Like most fundies, they thank god all the time for everything, which is perfectly fine. Most everyone here would agree with that. The problem, as others have been saying, is that they aren't thanking the doctors and nurses whose hard work and education and dedication have saved his life, and presumably Melanie's as well. If they can thank god over and over on their blog they can also thank the doctors and nurses. Non fundies with blogs always thank the doctors and nurses in addition to god. It's just plain rude to ignore thanking the doctors and nurses.

This. I always thought the doctors and nurses are an extension of God's work, God put them in a position to save Drew's life and they answered God's call. Shouldn't they be thanked too?

[HereticHick]

That's a silly thing to say. How do you know that the Maxwells didn't thank the doctors and nurses?

How do I know? Um, because their blog is public, and I'm literate? Perhaps I needed to clarify that ON THEIR PUBLIC BLOG they have neglected to say anything about the medical personnel who have saved Drew's life. I have no idea what they do or don't say in private. Every friend and family member that I know that has had a baby in a NICU has expressed public gratitude about the care received there. And frankly, the Maxwells should also be aware that their hospital stays have been heavily subsidized by taxpayers like you and me.

[Dru]

I've been following along and think it's cool that the name of the poster who started the thread is called Dru, and that's actually what the Maxwells wound up naming their little boy, only the spelling's different. That's awesome. 8-)

It was a bit jarring for me reading the first several posts after he was named. :lol:

[sparkles]

It doesn't surprise me at all that the Maxwells never publicly thank the medical professionals who care for them. In the Maxwells are concerned, the doctors and nurses are merely tools in god's hands and just like they wouldn't thank a hammer for building a house, it wouldn't occur to them to thank their caregivers (despite their hard work, knowledge and skill) for simply doing god's bidding. It still astounds me that while his firstborn lay dying (or it may have been before she was born but they knew there might be problems--my memory fails me at the moment), Nathan commented that he hoped her doctors would be Christian. Seriously? THAT'S what's important to you? When my 10-day daughter was undergoing 7 hours of delicate neurosurgery, the LAST thing I cared about was what religion her doctors practiced.

[Jana814]

That bothers me that the only thing Nathan was conserned about was if the medical personal were Christian's. what if the only person in the hospital who could help his child was Jewish or Muslim would they have not allowed them access to their child.

[Dru]

In the 2/13/07 post Nathan wrote "We are also praying the Lord will direct us to the correct (maybe even Christian?) perinatalogist, hospital, neonatalogist, pediatric surgeon, and whomever else gets involved." So being Christian doesn't seem to be their only concern. And it doesn't surprise me at all that Christian parents with a medically fragile baby would hope for medical staff that share their beliefs about when life begins and ends.

[HereticHick]

That bothers me that the only thing Nathan was conserned about was if the medical personal were Christian's. what if the only person in the hospital who could help his child was Jewish or Muslim would they have not allowed them access to their child.

Luckily,a hospital would not allow the Maxwell religious bigotry to trump a child's religious needs.

[Coconut Flan]

Did you mean the child's medical needs? I'm guessing you did.

[kpmom]

Nathan wrote, shortly after Susannah's funeral, that he was grateful he didn't have to make any difficult end-of-life decisions regarding his daughter.

I've often wondered what fundies do in that awful situation? Would they insist machines keep her alive, trusting God to end her life when he chose to, even as the doctors tell them there is no brain function?

I'm thinking of the Terry Shiavo debate, and how fundies came out of the woodwork to keep her alive.

How do fundies feel about these situations?

[treehugger]

I always feel like there is this incredible hypocrisy surrounding end of life care in fundie-world. If they truly believed in God's will being done, then they would let people who are on the brink of death die. But they don't. Like the Terrie Shiavo case, they insist on tubes and machines to keep the heart pumping and food going in and the lungs breathing. And then they yell "murder!" when someone tries to remove these machines (even though, without them, the person would be dead). I just can't follow their logic.

[twin2]

In the 2/13/07 post Nathan wrote "We are also praying the Lord will direct us to the correct (maybe even Christian?) perinatalogist, hospital, neonatalogist, pediatric surgeon, and whomever else gets involved." So being Christian doesn't seem to be their only concern. And it doesn't surprise me at all that Christian parents with a medically fragile baby would hope for medical staff that share their beliefs about when life begins and ends.

I can just predict how that conversation would go:

Dr: Hi I'm Dr. So-and-so neonatologist at Hospital A and have read you son's medical file. I...

Nathan: Do you know where you will go when you die?

Dr: Uh, no, but I did do a residency in neonatology at UCLA Medical Center and while I was there....

Nathan: I'm going to need you to take the good person test.

[WonderingInWA]

Cute new photos up of Drew. He looks like he's about 2 months old, not a preemie. Melanie looks great and Sarah responded to a comment that she didn't have a C-section.

[Jana814]

I can just predict how that conversation would go:

Dr: Hi I'm Dr. So-and-so neonatologist at Hospital A and have read you son's medical file. I...

Nathan: Do you know where you will go when you die?

Dr: Uh, no, but I did do a residency in neonatology at UCLA Medical Center and while I was there....

Nathan: I'm going to need you to take the good person test.

Funny! I wouldn't be surprised if that happened

[socalrules]

The problem is that a doctor will never be the right type of Christian for the Maxwells. Their type of Christian has to be homeschooled, have received no outside education, no relationship with the outside world, work in the family based business, loved thinking about death, etc. It is impossible for anyone in the outside world to meet their criteria, especially a doctor. I don't see anyone being Christian enough for the Maxwells.

[nelliebelle1197]

Funny! I wouldn't be surprised if that happened

I don't think Nathan would have done that in such a delicate time.

He would have asked Christopher to do it