Psalm 41

I read this yesterday and want to share it. God always knows what we need to hear...
Psalm 41:11-12 (The Message)
Meanwhile, I'm sure You're on my side-no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp! You know me inside and out, You hold me together, You never fail to stand me tall in Your presence so I can look You in the eye.

Please pray for Jeremy. He has a second interview tomorrow at 10am for a job he is very interested in.

We love you all. Talk to you soon.

He's a shy one!

In every single ultrasound we've had, Damon has covered his face with his hands. See his little fist in the picture! So either he is really shy, or he just wants to keep us in suspence about who he looks like. I have always thought how cool it would be and how proud it would make me feel to have my children look like me, but I am hoping he looks like Myles. I think it's so cute when siblings look like each other!

This time when the tech started looking at him, he even rolled over onto his stomach so she would have a hard time seeing. He's ornery too! Definetly like Myles in that respect.

Our appointment was pretty standard. My glucose test came back normal and I lost a 1/2 pound (although I can't figure out how cause all I do is eat) so I've gained 13 lbs so far. We talked a little bit about what would happen if I did happen to go into labor early (befor 38 weeks which is when I'll be induced). But the chances of that happening are slim. Also, Damon is still breech. My midwife said that at this point in pregnancy 75% of babies have turned and 25% are breech, but there is still plenty of time and room for him to turn. I'm not sure exactly where that room is though...it seems to me he is taking up every square inch in there.

After this appointment, I start going every two weeks so my next appt here in Joplin is Oct 4th. While we were there the midwife showed us a letter that she had received from Dr Sharkey, the cardiologist we spoke w/ in STL. It said she recommended that I have a monthly scan to make sure the PFO is still open. The PFO is the opening in the heart that they need to stay open so they can keep Damon alive until he either has surgery or a transplant. Most of the time it stays open until shortly after birth. For Damon, they will give him a medicine immediately after birth to keep it open until surgery is done. So I might have to go have another fetal echo done before I go to STL on Nov 8th, but we're not sure yet.

All is well right now, so God be praised. We love this little guy so much already. We are so blessed. Talk to you soon!

Finally

I've emailed back and forth with the drs we talked to at our last visit in STL and they have agreed that it will be ok for me to be induced at 38 weeks. Of course I could still go into labor before that, so my dr here will have to keep a close watch on me and if I start to show signs of labor before 38 weeks I'm told I need to come up there ASAP.

They said we could schedule the induction on our Nov 8th appointment. When I'm 38 weeks exactly it will be the day before Thanksgiving so I don't know how they will do that but we'll let you know as soon as we know. I am so thankful that we at least can have it narrowed down to the week we will have him. That has been the question asked of us the most.

I have a dr's appointment tomorrow afternoon at my regular dr's office. I'll be having an ultrasound too so they can check the baby's growth. Or my growth, I'm not sure which. But one of us is definetly growing a lot.

Praise God for this beautiful day! Talk to you all soon.

P.S. A few posts ago I mentioned that I was approved for medicaid. The start date for that is May 1, 2006 so that means that I can file claims on dr's apointments I've already had. That is such great news because I have had some really expensive procedures done on me already. God is taking care of us in a HUGE way with this.

Encouragement

There have been some emails on the bulletin board at our church about this baby who was born w/ some kind of problem. I read the first one, but then never read any more of them. The night we found out about Damon's heart condition someone from our church called and said to me "have you read those emails about baby Cade? Maybe those emails have been coming to us for you guys, to encourage you." Ever since then, I have been meaning to read them but haven't. Sunday I finally made copies of all of them and while I was reading I starting thinking that this baby sounded like he has the same thing as Damon, HLHS. So I got the email address of the person who had been sending the emails and I wrote to her. She wrote me back and indeed he does have HLHS.

His parents elected to go the 3 stage surgery route and Cade has had his second surgery, the Glenn procedure, in August. He is doing very well from what I've read on their website. Last night, Cade's grandma called me and we talked for about 30 minutes or so and she was very encouraging. She answered some questions I had and just really was full of hope and faith in God. After talking with her and reading their posts on their website, I was struck by how she never ceases to honor our Father for taking care of everything. I think that I have neglected to do that. My heart is full of questions about why this and how that. But I know that God is in control of everything. He works in our lives and we don't even know it. One thing she said on the site that has stuck with me and will continue to, was this: We do not put our trust in this Dr or that Dr. Our trust is in the Healer and Giver of Life.

Thank you God that you have chosen us to be Damon's parents. I'm not sure I know why You did, but I'm greatful nonetheless. No matter what happens in the future, he is Your gift to us and to this world.

Yea!!!....I think

I got a letter in the mail yesterday from the Medicaid office that says I'm approved for MC+. I'm not sure what that is and what all it encludes but it is good news I think. I have called the lady that sent the letter to ask her a few questions and am waiting on her call back.

There is a section that says You will receive services through MC+ approved health care providers. Then below that it says if this box is checked, I have to call this number to find out what approved providers are in my area. So hopefully the hospitals we have chosen will be approved.

I'll let everyone know what I find out. Talk to you soon!

New Appointment

I have some new appointments scheduled and I know some of you have been asking about that.
The soonest one is on Sept 21st here in Joplin w/ my regular Dr. I will have an ultrasound at 8:20am, and then a reg/normal appointment w/ the midwife I have been seeing the whole time.

The next time we have to go to St Louis is Nov 8th. We will have appointments w/ all the same people as last week, except that this time instead of meeting w/ the cardiologist, we will meet w/ the cardiothorasic surgeon. His name is Dr Gandhi. I don't know if he will be the one doing the surgery or not, but there are only two surgeons who perform that type of surgery, so it will either be him or Dr Huddleston.
Here is the timeline for that day:
9:30-Ultrasound at the Center for Advanced Medicine
11:00-Appt w/ Dr Gandhi at STL Children's Hospital
12:00-Fetal Echo at STL Children's Hospital
2:00-Appt w/ Maternal-Fetal Medince Dr at the Center for Advanced Medicine.
As far as we know, we wont need to go back to STL until this appt on Nov 8th. They told me that as long as I keep up w/ my regular appointments here in Joplin and have an ultrasound about once a month to check the baby's growth, they don't need to see me again until then.
We are glad to hear that news.
The past 3 or 4 months have been really hard for us. Our faith is being tested in so many ways and it gets hard to deal with sometimes. We are trying to trust in God and rest in His promises, but please pray for us. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support. If you get a chance read Exodus 17:12. It is a perfect example of how we are feeling.

Talk to you soon.

P.S. There isn't a way that I can respond to comments (at least not that I have found) so I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have posted comments on this site. We have been encouraged by your words and it makes us feel good to know that you are there.

Donor's

If you don't already know, one of the options for Damon once he is born is a heart transplant. The other is surgery to correct his heart. While Jeremy and I are hoping and praying that surgery will be the best choice for Damon, we wanted to say a few words about organ doning.

First let me tell you that if the transplant option turns out to be the best choice for Damon, his wait in the hospital will be about 3 months. The cardiologist told us that is the average wait so it could be more or less time. Damon could not be put on the transplant list until after he is born and they find out what blood type he is. Once he is on the list, he has to wait until he is at the top before he can receive a heart, and then the heart has to be a match for his tissue and blood type.

I especially have had a hard time with the thought of a transplant because in order for that to happen, someone else's baby would have to die. That is not fair. I just pray to God that if that is the outcome, it will be a baby that would've grown up in a home where no one loved it, or it would've been abused or something. It's a terrible thought to have I know, but I can't bear the thought of a baby dying that comes from a loving home with parents that love it as much as we love our boys.

With all of that being said, if our son has to have a transplant and receives a heart from another baby, how can we not be organ donors ourselves? I already was, just coincidentally, but Jeremy is going to become an organ donor also. It is a personal choice you have to make so we cannot tell you what is best for you or your family, but what a blessing it would be to be able to save someone else's life by being an organ donor.

On a happier note, Damon wasn't moving very much today and I was starting to worry (surprise, surprise) and I was lying on the couch and I lifted up my shirt and touched my belly and said "Damon, move for momma." He started doing his regular gymnastics routine. :~)

God bless you all!