Lightening the Atmosphere

With all this going on, life gets a little too serious sometimes. So we decided to post some pics of the cutest little 9 month old girl in the world. Thank God for her!!

One Week of Life!

We were able to get the Grand-dads in to see Emily today...they were her chaplins and we had some time to pray over her. We also heard some words we haven't heard since the day she was born, "She is having a GOOD day today." Her x-ray looks a little more clear and for the first time her blood gases are balancing out. She was pink too. We won't be able to hold her until she is off of this particular ventilator, but we still get to touch her.

I am trying not to get too high when there is good news in the hopes I won't get so low with the bad news but it is very hard. I look at her and dream about the day I will get to put her on my chest and tell her face to face that I love her. Please pray for emotional endurance for us and practically that my milk will come in and increase in supply. She needs my breast milk badly and without a baby to suckle at your breasts, the hormones needed to make it aren't released.

11-12-09

We didn't get to spend much time with her today because they need to do some check ups on her, but here is the news:

Her lungs have cleared up a little so Emily Grace is responding positively to medicine and prayer. She was receiving another blood transfusion while we were there (blood transfusions at this stage are normal).

Not much else to add, other than keep praying that the pneumonia will clear up and she will make it past this setback.

11-11-09

Emily Grace is not doing so well. She developed pneumonia in both lungs and is on two different drugs to try heal the infection.

11-10-09 Update

Check out my cool shades!

Well today we just got some good news from Emily Grace's doctor. She said that they did an electro-cardiogram and found that the valve in her heart had closed. This valve is open while the baby is in the womb and receives her blood from the umbilical cord. If this valve does not close after delivery, the doctors must perform open heart surgery to close it. Can you imagine open heart surgery on such a little baby? Praise God this valve has closed!

They also gave Emily Grace her second dose of Surfactant. This medication is a lubricant that enables the lungs in a premature baby work more efficiently and thereby reduce the stress on Emily's immature lungs. She took this well and the gases in her lungs got closer to normal after receiving this dosage and switching her onto a different respirator (called a Jet).

more pics to come

These pics were taken by the doctor, after Emily Grace's birth. We are going in to see her again this afternoon. Thank you so much to all of you who are praying. It is so awesome to hear about people from around the world, lifting our family up in prayer-its a very humbling experience. Keep it up.

As I am writing this, I hear little K outside with Grandma in the garage, jabbering away at anything and everything. She slept rather well last night, only waking up once in the night.

I really wish she could come into the NICU to see her little sister, but due to flu season, children under 18 aren't allowed near the NICU.

Update

B meeting Emily Grace the first time.

What an emotional roller coaster the last few days have been. I'm sure many of you have heard details, but I will try and sum up everything for those who are still a little in the dark.

Becky started moderate bleeding on Thursday night, around midnight. I got a call from her and all I could understand through the sobbing was "bleeding, Get here now!" I was working about 15 minutes away, so I immediately started heading home. Upon arrival at a Walgreens-a mile and a half from my house- I saw Becky standing outside her car with blood all over her and a bunch of Firefighters around her. Becky had gotten into her car and tried to drive to Urgent Care. When she saw it wasn't open, she panicked, pulled into a Walgreens and called 911.

Yes, that is my wife, she is tough and stubborn like that (I think Emily Grace inherited it)!

I took her to the ER which was around the block. They stabilized her and then arranged for an ambulance to transfer her to Loma Linda University Medical Center (one of the top children hospitals in the nation).

At the hospital, the doctors had checked her out and did all sorts of ultrasounds. At this time, we were informed Becky had complete placentia previa-this was the first we had heard of this, apparently in the previous ultrasounds, this glaring fact had been missed. This is a condition where the placentia completely covers the cervix, making it impossible to give birth naturally. The complications of this condition are numerous, but the biggest complication was one we were about to learn the hard way.

After checking her out, we learned that Becky was going to have to go on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy--something we all know Becky would enjoy! The doctors all seemed to think Becky was stabilizing, and they were starting to hint at possibly sending her home for bed rest, after a couple days of observation.

By late afternoon, a nurse from NICU came in to prepare us for the possibility of a premature birth. Mind you, by now, Becky had been in stable condition for over 12 hours and had not bleed in around 12 hours. As we were speaking to the nurse (and learning all the worst case scenarios of a preemie birth) Becky said, "I'm bleeding." The nurse pulled back the blanket and I saw blood soaking the entire sheet under Becky. A doctor rushed in and immediately decided to do an emergency C-section.

For those of you who know us, you know how close Becky and I are. She is my best friend, lover, and soul-mate. I would do absolutely anything for her. One of the reasons I was always so hesitant about having kids, was because of a childhood nightmare that I got married and lost my wife during a difficult childbirth. It took 7 years to get over this fear.

As I watched my bride bleeding profusely and slowly turning pale, going into shock, I realized my worst nightmare was coming true (the placentia had ripped away from her cervix and was causing severe bleeding). I was helpless and couldn't do a thing to save the life of my best friend. I am trained in my job to shut my emotions off and be capable of dealing with traumatic situations, but when it is your loved one, your bride and soul-mate, no amount of rationalization can overcome emotions. As Becky was getting wheeled out of the room, all I could think to do was kiss her on the lips and tell her how much I loved her. I have never been so broken and terrified in my life.

A few minutes later, I made my way over to outside the OR. I could see through the slits in the window, doctors and nurses running back and forth. After what seemed an eternity (5 minutes), a nurse came out and said Emily Grace was stable and being cared for. I asked how Becky was doing and she said she was still in the operating room.

After 20 minutes, a doctor came out and told me Becky was stable and the surgery was over. She had lost 2 litres of blood and may have to go to the ICU for a transfusion-they were going to monitor her. Because Becky is so healthy, she did not need the transfusion-her hemoglobin count was still good, within several hours she was moved from the recovery room to a maternity room.

Our lives changed so rapidly over the course of a few hours, it still is with a sense of sur-realism that I look back on the weekend.

I count my blessings: my wife is still alive, my little miracle child is still with us and doing well, my family is near and has been a tremendous help and comfort to us in our time of need. We have felt this sense of peace the last few days, so your PRAYERS are working! By the grace of God, Emily Grace will make it through this ordeal, continue growing and developing a healthy body. She will live to be a testament to the healing power of prayer and faith in the greatest Healer of all.