Overdue Update

I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. I've been busy packing and preparing the children for various activities, selling some of the farm animals and scheduling appointments, all while "taking it easy". First of all, I have to say how terribly blessed I am. My husband has been so supportive and encouraging during this time. He's been strong for both of us. All the children are pitching in to help in their own little way and we are thankful for my in-law's help with childcare.

Just 9 1/2 days or so until our scheduled arrival date. I had an appointment yesterday and the OB came in and asked some questions then looked at the sonogram. He asked the sonographer if there was anything he needed to know and she said, "Yes, she has a lot of hair. Look at this." He chuckled and looked then stated he would make a note of it in his charts. ;-) Thankfully her Great Aunt Jeannie sent some hairbows so she should be all set. I need to pack a little bag to keep by the door with essentials like hairbows, hats and blankets. Perhaps I should include a camera and cell phone too. :-)

I was informed yesterday that I only had trace protein but now am throwing ketones. My last platelet count was dropping and about 130. They are supposed to check again when I go in for the section and they do a CBC. (Let's see if they get the results back faster than my other OB office. ;-D) Hopefully the ketones aren't serious. After doing some research, I found I need to have a later snack (ick), up my calories and get more protein. I've only gained about 9 - 10 lbs in the past 8 weeks and almost 5 have gone to the baby. Those sound like good numbers to me. I'm heavier than I've ever been in my life and feeling every ounce of it. Dr. B said my placenta was getting old which struck me as humorous. He was glad we were delivering no later than 39 1/2 weeks. (Him and me both.) I can't seem to convince anyone here that I'm only having one baby and I'm not past my due date. I carry mostly all out front and from my neck to my thighs. I said I'm feeling a bit like a bullfrog with skinny legs but huge everywhere else.

I met a sweet little lady here that reminds me of my grandmother, Ma. When I told her I was supposed to eat more food, she told me she couldn't believe that because she's never seen such a little girl put away as much food as I do! LOL Oh yes, her bluntness definitely reminds me of Ma. :-) I love it.

My sleep has been very limited these days. Although I'm trying to rest there is simply too much on my mind to really get any rest. I decided to deal with my insomnia by doing a background check on the OB that is scheduled to perform my c-section. I was neither pleased nor disappointed with what I found really but would feel better if there were more positive reports. While doing that, I looked up the OB in charge of my care and was pleasantly surprised to read some of his published essays. I was pleased to find out that he traveled to 8 different states speaking out against partial birth abortion.

I braced myself today for a visit with the heart surgeon. My prayer was everyting would go smoothly and yet in my preconceived notion, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience. Boy was I ever wrong. Geneva's surgeon has to be one of the nicest and most humble doctors I've ever met, especially for a surgeon. Praise the Lord! He came in with a med student and spent an hour with me explaining all he could. Our prayer request right now is that her aortic valve and mitral valve would each grow at least 1-2mm. If they do then we are looking at most likely one surgery involving just repairing the aortic arch. He did tell me that it was possible but unlikely that would be the case. Geneva's valves are both borderline in size right now and if they get larger then we could try to do just the one arch repair. But, if they don't, we have to decide if we are going to try the less invasive procedure or go ahead with the Norwood procedure for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). HLHS is basically connecting everything from the left side to the right side. The first procedure is done during the newborn stage. Second step is done around 4 months of age (Thanksgivingish). And the last stage is performed at 1 1/2 to 2 years of age. This is obviously a more involved procedure with the first surgery being the riskiest. By the time the procedure is finished, we are looking at her having a 2 chamber heart instead of a 4 chamber heart and an increased likelihood of needing a heart transplant later in life.

Please pray for her valves to enlarge and for us to have a very obvious decision to make. The worse case scenario would be for us to attempt the less invasive procedure, have it fail and then have to go right back in and try the Norwood procedure. This hospital performs 20-30/yr on average. The success rate is typically about 80%. Praise God they've done 10 this year with a 100% success rate.

Thank you God that I was able to get into the temporary housing ministry and save money on some food and lodging. We are still looking at at least $6k in expenses we still need to raise but it could have been much, much worse. Two days before I signed in and two days after, the place was full. God is good. There was someone here who hugged me my 2nd day here and sat down next to me for supper. I found out the next morning that she just got over a horrendous cold and her husband was in the hospital with pneumonia. There was also a teen girl here who was stuffy, visiting her aunt. Now my nose is running and I've started to cough just a smidge. I'm praying it's nothing. There is a smoking deck right outside my window. There was a couple here that was smoking all day and one time I was sleeping and awakened and coughing because the smoke smell came through my closed window and woke me up. Yes, I am that sensitive to smoke. I was nauseous for two days from it. The people are very friendly here and I'm thankful for meeting them.

My philosophy has always been to pray for the best but prepare for the worse. I completely trust her surgeon. I completely trust the Lord. As a mother though I am scared for my baby and I just want to wrap her in my arms and take her home and not have to deal with any of this. I want to nurse my baby and watch her coo and grow and pretend this never happened. And yet, above all else, I want my children to depend on the Lord and trust in His perfect plans. Father, I pray you will heal this precious child. Please let me be an example to my children and others of resting in Your arms. Thank you for my husband, my family, this baby and for your son.