What a Blessing!

I made a few phone calls today regarding our living arrangements for May. Ted had mentioned Homewood Suites, because it would give us more room as well as alot of amenities. I called 3 different locations within a close distance of the hospitals. I believe the Lord allowed us to come in contact with Tange, the lady that assisted me at the Peachtree location. She had an experience similar to ours & was very sympathetic to our situation. She was going to speak with their Director and call me back; in the meantime I got rates from the others- nothing to be too excited about, but a little discount. Tange just called me back and offered us their biggest suite- a 2 BR/2 BA (King, 2 Queens + pull-out sofa in the LR) with a full kitchen/dining area (stove, full refrig., & even a dishwasher) as well as living room for a fraction of the cost- about 1/4 of what it would have been at the other locations. Of course, this will still add up, but there are many perks: free parking (many places in ATL, you have to pay to park); the size and amenities within the room, free breakfast daily as well as free dinner Mondays thru Thursdays, laundry facilities, free wireless internet, & entertainment for Ted & the girls- pool, fitness center, b-ball court & his daily newspaper. The free meals as well as the furnished kitchen will help us keep food costs down, & I like the idea of being able to sit down together at the table to have a family meal. I am excited about having plenty of room for it to be comfortable for us to all be together during our stay in Atlanta, and we will have plenty of room for mom &/or Juliane (or other visitors) to stay with us during their visits. She already reserved a room for us on the 1st floor, so it would be convenient to come and go.
This was such a blessing to us. We know God is going to take care of Mitchell, and He cares about the details of our arrangements. We had been discussing different options and trying to figure out the best thing to do; Today we felt like we had the answer.
Now we need wisdom in deciding the best thing to do for the girls- I am very torn about leaving them in Pensacola for the delivery, but we want to do what is best for them and us. They will be with us by the 22nd after Madison gets out of school, but grandma has also offered to be with us in Atlanta for a couple of weeks which would allow them to come sooner.
Thanks again for praying for us!

More Favorable than Typical

We had our doctor's appointments here in Atlanta yesterday. Glad we didn't have to drive right back as we've had a busy week.
My doctor is not working the date we originally planned to deliver, so we are scheduled for May 20th at 6:45 a.m. with a 5 a.m. arrival at the hospital. Praying we make it to that date and don't have an earlier surprise.
Our Cardiology visit was with a different doctor in the same group; we really liked him and were pleased with his findings:
The HLHS hasn't changed- the left side just failed to develop properly; but we do have several things to be thankful for-
According to the doctors, he is a good candidate going into the surgery as well as for a good prognosis following.
Here are specifics of the positives:
The right side of his heart is strong, and the tricuspid valve (on the right side) is working as designed without any regurgitation or backflow. (We can anticipate that he could be a healthier HLHS kid because of this.)
The Pulmonary vein is adequate in size without any obstruction or resistance- If this had been small as they were evaluating at the first Atlanta appt, it would have made his situation more critical after birth.
He has a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) as well as an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). This is important, because these openings between the ventricles and the atria will allow a passive flow of blood after birth. We have known that the VSD was adequate, but we have had a varied report regarding the ASD. My Pensacola Perinatologist as well as this new Pediatric Cardiologist in Atlanta agreed that the ASD is widely patent without obstruction.
We can anticipate the delivery as well as a few days at Northside for Mitchell. They will start the necessary medications after birth and transfer him to the NICU at the hospital where I will be staying; Unless we have an unexpected surprise, he will likely stay at Northside for a few days before being transferred to Children's for his surgery. This will be a good opportunity for the girls to meet their brother before he is in the CICU with all of the tubes and lines; and it will also make things easier for Ted as he would not have to be driving between 2 different hospitals in a busy place.
Thank you for praying for us & for Mitchell.
We will be returning to Atlanta the week of May 11th to wait for the big day.

Follow-Up in Atlanta

Friday, March 27th we will be going back to Atlanta for follow-up. We'll take the girls with us this time and stay thru the weekend to try to figure out our plans for when we go back in May.

New Nephew- Jon's a Dad!

Nolan arrived February 20, 2009

7# 9 oz.
20" long.


Becky & Nolan are home and doing well.

Perinatal Visit

Just a quick entry to note a positive report- We followed up with our local Perinatologist yesterday afternoon for another fetal echo. According to him, the 2 new things that the Cardiologist was concerned about are OK- He said that the Atrial Septal Defect was adequately patent as well as the pulmonary vein. This should make the HLHS repair more typical. Of course, they will know more after he is born, but it was good to hear and see.
Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement.

Update after Appointments in Atlanta

We had a long day yesterday in Atlanta and made it home about 10 last night. We're both feeling a little drained today, but I wanted to give you a little update.
I guess we didn't learn a whole lot that we weren't already aware of- the Pediatric Cardiologist repeated the fetal echo and confirmed the defect as well as detected a couple of other specifics not identified before. I won't give you all of the technical diagnoses, but it could potentially make things more critical and the surgery more urgent. It is possible that the pulmonary vein is small (based upon resistance heard by doppler)- this makes it urgent that the surgery is done right after birth. Due to his position and size, they could not get a good view of another portion of the heart that needs to be open to allow blood flow after birth. If this is not adequately patent, they will take him for a heart catheterization immediately after birth to balloon the opening and better prepare him for the surgery. With a typical Hypoplastic Left Heart, once they are on the necessary medications they can usually wait a few days to do the surgery.
All of the doctors were very nice, and we were impressed with the facilities. Our surgical consult was with the head of the Cardio-thoracic department, and he is assigned to us; unless something changes, he will be doing the surgery. This was encouraging as he has alot of experience in this area.
The plan is for us to go back to Atlanta in 6 weeks for f/u appointments and then at 38 weeks- around May 12th to deliver close to 39 weeks.
We were reminded that we have to take 1 day at a time; The whole picture can be a little overwhelming. We can't think about the potential complications and health risks in the future. While we were at the Children's Hospital, we received a tour of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. There were many babies post-op some type of heart surgery. It's a little difficult to see them with all of the necessary support, but they wanted us to know what to expect.
We appreciate the continued prayers for Mitchell. We are praying that he will be prepared to handle this surgery, and the physicians will be able to complete an optimal repair.

We appreciate all of the emails and cards of encouragement. Thank you for praying for Mitchell and for our family.
Ted & I will be leaving Tuesday afternoon to drive up to Atlanta for our appointments on Wednesday; the girls will be staying with grandma. We're thankful for all of the help here. Mackenzie gets to have a play day with her friend on Wednesday; and Juliane will pick Madison up from school the times we have to be away. We're hoping to make it back shortly after they get home from church. This 1 night trip is a good trial, especially for Mackenzie. We're a little concerned about how she will do over the next few months when we have to leave the girls in Pensacola; She is (and we are) a little attached. Bethany watched the girls yesterday, so we could have a date; when we got home, Mackenzie gave us each a big hug and said, "I missed you!". I know her big sister will be a big help.

We will update you on any news we receive from these appointments.

Psalm 62:5: "My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him."