6wkstogo

In just under six weeks we hope to give birth to Emily Grace in Minneapolis! Our doctor in Duluth today says it looks hopeful that we'll make it that far.
Thankyou for praying and supporting us. This week I (Joel) was surprised several times to hear of people we hardly know praying for us, or supporting us in other ways. And I was encouraged as the Lord affirmed his choice of the name Emily Grace as numerous people told us how it seemed so right. An excerpt from one email:

I was very pleased to meet, in spirit, Emily Grace.
I just started crying when I read her name and I know
that God named her. She is a very special and precious
little girl and she is going to speak volumes by just
her presence to the people that will be surrounding her
when she decides to make her entrance.
Love and Blessing to you guys...

Renee and I have been thinking about how to celebrate her life, if it is very, very short. And yet we continue to pray for healing. Whatever God does, it will be good. Joel.

.Good news, Good news and Hard news.

Good news: Joel and I did not go to Minneapolis to have a baby today! No signs of heart failure within our baby, so, thank you, Jesus!

Good news: June Bug has a new name! May we introduce Emily Grace to you. Emily means 'to strive, to rival, to excel'. Emily (June Bug) has been striving to survive, striving for life but only with the empowering grace of our God. Joel and I have been striving to trust, to believe, but only by the empowering grace of God. We felt that this name fit perfectly.

Hard news (not bad news, just hard): If you haven't been keeping up to date on what is going on here is a quick summary, Emily Grace (June Bug) has been diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly. In short, the valve on the right side of the heart has been formed in such a way that blood sloshes back and forth. The heart is not able to pump blood as it should to the lungs and throughout the body. There is a medication that she can take after she is born which will help (it is far too complicated to explain) to fix this problem, delay surgery and maybe even no surgery at all! Ok, here's the hard news that was brought to our attention today as we spoke with the doctor. The heart takes up 70-80% of the chest cavity. A normal heart of equal age would only take up 50%. Big difference! The concern is now of the lungs. The concern is NOT of the maturity of the lungs but if there is enough lung mass to support Emily. In other words, the lungs at 38 weeks will be mature, able to handle oxygen and be perfectly normal except for the amount of lung tissue. Since the heart is taking up so much space within the chest cavity, the lungs are forced at a standstill in reaching the desired size. There is no way of knowing how much lung mass is needed for Emily.
The doctor said, optimistically, there is a 50-50 chance that Emily's lungs will sustain her once that umbilical cord is cut. If the lungs DO sustain her, then we 'worry' about the heart. But if the lungs do NOT sustain her, then she goes home to be with Jesus.

All is well

Another Tuesday went well. (Especially the weekly milkshake at Culver's - but beware of the Butterburger.) We were encouraged talking to our maternal fetal medicine doctor in Duluth. She was not concerned with Junebug's growth. Although it is slow (about 10% behind), it is not falling sharply away from the norm. So this means that the heart defect is not causing a serious development challenge. Also, Dr. O'Day suggested we cancel our trip to Abbott hospital in Minneapolis on May 2 because they can do the same tests in Duluth. Renee was greatly relieved. Junebug is very active. She seems to want to get out and play, especially when Mama's supposed to be sleeping. Kids!
Thanks to Stephanie and Claire for babysitting today.
And thanks to our family at First Baptist Church for your genuine concern and prayers. Joel.

.once upon a toddler morn.

Story: Joshua wakes up one morning quite distressed. Mama walks in, sees his distress, sees this is normal, and calmly asks him what is wrong. Mama gathers that Joshua would like mama to find a particular booger that he has lost within his blankets. Trying not to laugh, Mama suggests he pick his nose and get another one. Joshua, almost to tears, exclaims that he doesn't have any left and that Mama needs to find the one that he has lost. Needless to say, Mama does not attempt to look for his long lost booger but successfully distracts him with the thought of breakfast. (a real breakfast) The End.

.back from Minneapolis.

Joel and I made it back at about 10:30 Thursday night. The kids came home this morning (Friday). I sure missed them, wow. They are running circles in the living room right now laughing and chasing each other. I thank Jesus for such good, healthy kids that He's given us.

Our trip to Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis:
There were a few good things that happened and a few concerns.

First the good things:

-I am 30 weeks along now, which brought great relief to the Pediatric Cardiologist.
-There are no signs of heart failure within June Bug.
-She is an active baby which also brought relief to the Ped Cardiologist.
-Surgery is no longer completely necessary. There is a medication that can be given to June Bug after she is born that will help and possibly eliminate the need for surgery. She will need to be closely monitored for a few weeks and the specialist will determine when she can be removed from the medication. So this is wonderful news!!

The concerns:

June Bug is two weeks behind in her weight gain. She only weighs 2 lbs 8 oz right now. The doctor is hoping for her to double her weight gain in a few weeks.

Her heart is taking up 70-80% of her chest cavity. It should only be taking up 50%. You can imagine what we saw on the screen during the ultrasound, her heart was huge! Specifically the right side, which is where the valve problem is.

Because of these concerns, the doctor and the Pediatric Cardiologist wish for us to return to Abbott in four weeks. They will perform an ultrasound that will again determine June Bug's weight and measure the size of her heart.

The good things of the visit was that we got to tour the Children's Hospital and the NICU. We were also able to spend time with some of our friends, Alfie and Maria, which was really nice.