4 Month Check-up

Here is Abby, looking in the mirror at our pediatrician's office and smiling at her daddy. We think she knew that she wasn't getting my more vaccinations until after her surgery, which lead to her good mood. Other than hating Tummy Time, Abby is hitting all of her milestones (other than for weight, of course) and doing great. Thanks for the good report, Dr. John!

Blood and Platelets

Our little rascal has turned out to be O-, a rather rare blood type. She's a universal donor but can ONLY accept O- blood. Children's Hospital allows for a direct donor program so you can give blood that will be directly banked for Abby. If you would like to help us in this way, you need to give October 7-9 at Children's Hospital. There are some other details, so contact us if you want to give. At this point, a friend of our neighbor who randomly also happens to be a family member of a dear friend has decided to give on Abby's behalf. We've never even met Cortney but we're extremely thankful. You ROCK!

The other issue is platelets -- and ANYONE can give these. Grant will be giving platelets and we need a few more people to do so as well. Again, let us know! Those of you prego and nursing moms out there -- not only can you not drink wine and eat soft cheese, but you are exempt. Whew!

The Hope of Her Heart

We've got two weeks to go.... Here is a picture of Abby's heartbeat, in utero at 6 weeks. On that day, when we heard her actual heart beating for the first time, we suddenly had hope that we would one day meet this child. Here is Abby's heart today -- you can see that one chamber is larger than the other (a result of blood flooding that chamber due to the hole) and the actual VSD (hole) is right there toward the top of the muscle that separates the chambers. I've taken great solace in knowing that this wasn't overlooked by God. This was planned by Him all along and is perfect in it's imperfection. If we are going to thank Him for the good things in our lives, we also must thank Him for the trials and heartaches. Years from now, when Abby has a wonderful scar to show off (but not to any boys, ah hem...) we pray that every time she looks at it, she will know just how deeply God loves her.

The Swine, Their Flu & A Muslin Blanket

My germaphobic husband is really brilliant sometimes. Did you know that a thin muslin blanket can protect you from someone coughing Swine Flu all over your daughter? That's right! We used it as our super-human protective shield as we ventured through Children's Hospital when we met our surgeon and also when Abby got her blood drawn. Here is a picture of Abby... behind the muslin shield. You can only imagine his horror when I wore open toed shoes to the hospital! The GERMS! He has lots of other germ-adverse tricks up his clean sleeve. Just ask him. But don't ask him to shake your hand during flu season. He won't do it unless he's actually seen you lather up. He's told many a doctor to take a hike when they extend their hand upon entering the room pre-wash. You've all been warned. Now you can't take it personally.

Quickie

Just a quick update to let you all know that Abby weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz today. She's been hovering between 11 to 13 ounces for over a week now so thank you for praying! 

The Heart Patch

Here is a little picture of a heart with a VSD. Many of you have asked me what the "patch" will be made of that is going to fill in the hole in Abby's heart. Well, instead of Gore-tex (which is often used because it doesn't break down -- I'm sure our landfills love the stuff!), our surgeon uses the pericardium -- a fluid filled sack that surrounds the heart. I love that Abby will have some of her own tissue filling in that hole, along with a few slippery stitches that "slide right through the heart" our surgeon said. The surgery should take 3-4 hours if all goes well. Seeing that Abby is a small baby with a large hole, the big concern is that she doesn't get "heart block" as a result of nicking the "electrical center" of the heart that runs right along where the patch will be sewn. The hard thing is that the surgeon won't know if she's hit it until Abby is closed up and recovering. The good news is that even if it does get nicked, 95% of the time, it resolves itself. Still, this is our biggest concern and prayer request at this time.

The Biggest Question

The biggest question we've been getting is why now? We had previously told people that Abby would have surgery sometime before she is one -- so why is she having surgery at 4 months? 10 pounds is the magic number for surgery, so that was our goal -- feeding her round the clock in an attempt to get her there. Ideally, that would've meant that either her hole would begin to close or we would discuss surgery when she was 7 or 8 months old. Once she stalled out at about 8.5 pounds, our cardiologist started moving us toward surgery. In talking to the surgeon, we realized that kids who start losing weight are those that have the most trouble -- so at that point, surgery couldn't happen fast enough for us. Abigail's body is expending it's energy in keeping her blood pumping as best it can. Hopefully, not only will she want a cheeseburger after surgery but a chocolate shake too.

In light of that, here are our biggest prayer requests...

--No sickness up until the surgery day

--No reaction to the anesthesia

--Skilled hands and wisdom for the surgeon

--A great nurse for care in the ICU (Abby will have one nurse for awhile tending to her)

--Textbook surgery without complications

--No heart block as a result of nicking the electrical center

--Quick healing

--An opportunity to be a light of hope to other parents in the ICU

Ice Cream & Bananas

We didn't let Abby stick her face in the ice cream bowl (although I wish we could for the high-fat content!) but this is what happens when we try to give her high-fat breast milk from a syringe -- she blows bubbles. (You might have to click on the above pic to see it up close). Time for a new approach! I know starting solids early is very controversial... but we decided to try it for a few days and see how she does since her weight is just hovering. We understand that it is very important that she doesn't start to lose weight before surgery. Here is her first attempt at bananas. She's not so sure....

The sticker

We went to Children's Hospital last week to meet our surgeon and Abigail got her first of many stickers, showing where she "belongs" once inside the hospital. After seeing all of the children there with life-threatening diseases and things they will battle for their entire lives, we feel blessed that Abigail has something that surgery can most likely take care of.