Well, our little Anna Grace has arrived! I type this BLOG from my hospital room at MUSC in Charleston. It was a little unexpected, as we had planned to have her by c-section on December 30 - but the Lord had other plans for our little one.
We arrived in Chalreston on Saturday (Dec 26) and I went into labor on Sun (Dec 27). We ended up not having a c-section as planned, but having her "naturally" because my labor progressed pretty much prefectly. She was born on Monday, December 28 at 3:48 am weighing in at 8 pounds 3 ounces! Once she was born there was a "Stabalization Team" waiting for her so I got a quick glace at her before she was quickly wisked away by this team of doctors. They worked on her for 2 hours getting her stabilized before moving her up to the PCICU (Pediatric Cardiology Intensive Care Unit). That's where she is tonight as I type up this e-mail. It is VERY HARD to not have her with me and it has been very hard not being able to hold my sweet little daughter. I stood by her incubator tonight for an hour singing songs to her and holding her little hand. They are also not feeding her (for various reasons) which is very hard as a Mommy to hear your baby cry for milk and not be able to feed her.
The doctors spent pretty much the entire day doing tests on her. There are a multitude of tubes and lines going into her little body, the have done 4 echocardiograms today as well as ultraounds on her brain and kidneys. This evening we talked to the cardiologist who told us that our little girl has Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, but more specifcaly Tricuspid Atresia, Transpoition of the Great Vessels and a CoArch. The tests reveal that she will be having the most complex open heart surgery there is called the Norwood Procedure. They are also going to be unable to wait to do the surgery and as it stands right now her surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Dr Shaw will be doing her surgery and it is a very long open heart surgery as well as risky. However, if we don't do the surgery she will die within 48-72 hours so the surgery has better odds than that. It is a very hard place we are living in right now. Brian and I cried over our little girl today - true gut wrenching sobs. We have also spent time in prayer over our little girl and the doctors today. Please join us in praying that Anna Grace can remain off the ventilator until her surgery and that the Lord will show mercy on our daughter and give her the strenght to make it through the surgery. Also, that the Lord will give us the strength we need to care for her and make tough decisions on her behalf. The doctors have warned us that the next two weeks will be very difficult ones. Lord help us. Please pray for Brian & I over the next couple of days that we are able to get some rest because we are so very tired.
Things I am thankful for today.... That Anna Grace weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces upon her arrival, that despite having to be put on Prostagladin which is a drug that she needs to stay alive but will often times cause babies to "forget" to breathe she is still breathing on her own like a champ and is able to remain off the ventilator, that we have family that traveled to Charleston to take care of Zachary and to be here to support us, for Crossbridge Ministires here in Chalreston who have reached out to us and ministered to us since we have been here, that I had a textbook perfect labor & delivery of Anna Grace, that we have so many friends & family who are praying for us and our sweet girl.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Thanks for those words from your heart. We love you all and are praying, praying, praying.
Praying, praying, praying!
May you and Brian feel the Lord holding you so tightly right now! And as much as my heart just breaks to read of you not being able to hold your baby girl (that just HAS to be one of the hardest things in this world) I know that the Father is holding onto your precious Anna Grace tight every second.
Love, HUGE Hugs from afar, and lots of prayer,
Kimberly
I heard that you had gone into labor yesterday. I was looking out for you and your precious girl and got to glance from afar at you sweet girl this morning. I wish we could have met, but praise God we left the PCICU today after 222 days! We will be praying for Anna Grace, especially on Wednesday. We are so grateful to be spending our first night at home! Take Care- God is in control
I have been praying for all of you. I know these next few days and weeks will be hard. I will be praying for your sweet girl tomorrow, and for all of you to have peace through all of this. Thank you for the update. And congratulations on your baby girl!
Congrautlations! I promise to continue to pray for all 3 of you...Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for Anna Grace. I am thankful for your mercies and goodness even before she was brought into this world. I pray for your protection over her during this time as you are the greatest physician. You know every intricate detail of her heart the same way that you know every hair on her little head. You have a plan father and I wait expectantly to see the how your glory will be shown through this tiny servant. I especially lift up Tina and Brian to you Lord. Two servants who are living their faith. I pray for physical strength as well as emotional strength for them both. I believe your word when it says that if we present you our worries that you will give a peace that passes all understanding. I pray that as they endure these upcoming times and hard decisions that your peace will almost be overwhelming as you release it onto them. I pray specifically for Anna Grace's Dr.'s. Lord, Be in their hands and fingers as they work on such precious material. Be in their physical bodies as they perform surgery for long amounts of time. Make there eyes clear and not grow tired. Make there minds sharp and ready to recognize anything that needs to be done. I ask all of these things in the most precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Congratulations on Anna Grace's textbook arrival! My labor at MUSC with Chase went very well, too! I know how very hard it is to see your beautiful baby and not hold them! And I clearly recall the uncertainty and fear about what lies ahead. I will tell you Dr. Hsia is amazing and we were so very blessed to have him perform Chase's Norwood on Nov. 2nd. Your precious girl is in wonderful hands in the PCICU at MUSC! I will be praying for Anna Grace as well as you and your husband, the doctors, nurses and surgical team. God is in control!
I have been following your blog for some time now. You don't know me, but I am a fellow HRHS Mom. My son Ian will be having his Fontan Completion done in the next two months or so. I will be praying through the night, morning, and day for little Anna Grace, You, Brian, and of course Zachary. Stay strong, and don't be afraid, for what He brings you to, he will bring you through.
With lots of love, prayer, and understanding,
Jessica Lane, Ian Poston (HRHS, tricuspid/pulmonary atresia), Ashlynne Lane
Tina and Brian, The Fosters are lifting you, Anna Grace, Zachary, and the doctors and nurses up in prayer throughout the day. The real prayer warrior in our house is our 20 year old son, Blake, who has autism. When you ask him to pray, HE PRAYS. He asked me to write down information with your names and the condition. He is carrying it around in his pocket. All day I have heard him pull it out and start praying for all of you by name. As we looked at the sweet video in the NICU it brought back so many memories of our 6 weeks in the NICU with Blake almost 21 years ago. God had a plan for his life as he does Anna Grace. Sing,Sing, Sing to her. I made cassettes for Blake and when we would leave the hospital at night, the staff played them for him and as long as the music played-his stats stayed great, but when turned off, they went down. We sang scripture songs to him and read Bible stories. It also ministered to the nurses as they worked on him, they were being fed the word. Thank you for keeping us informed. We are standing in the gap. Get your rest. Love from the Fosters- Krisila, Randy, Blake, and Parker
Post a Comment