Her story so far...

This pregnancy was a surprise.  I had started to sell baby things and had applied to go back to school.  We still wanted more children and had started to talk adoption but after a lot of discussion we decided to consult with our dr. about possibly trying fertility treatments for one more kid.  (As a side story, Gabe had been asking and praying for a sister since September.)  A couple days after the decision to contact a dr.  we discovered we had been pregnant through the whole discussion!

The pregnancy had been easier than the boys' and I was feeling great. I was being followed by a high risk dr. because of  Zach's prematurity (32 weeks), but the dr. thought that was a fluke and that we had a great chance at a full term baby. We were extremely surprised on Monday, July 30th when an ultrasound showed that I was seriously dilated.  I went into the hospital on bed rest and on August 1st had surgery to stitch close the cervix.  I went home on strict bed rest after 2 ultrasounds showed the stitch was doing its job and all was stable.  

On August 10th, at a follow-up appt. our OB discovered that I was again dilated despite the stitch.  I had 24 hours of steroids (to strengthen Sarah's lungs) and magnesium to help slow any contractions (I wasn't having any) and to help prevent bleeding in the brain for Sarah were she to be born in the next week.  I remained in the hospital on bed rest, with my feet higher than my head with the goal of reaching 28 weeks.  

Early Monday morning (August 13th), I started contracting and, just as with the boys, they came fast. I was again started on 24 hours of magnesium which slowed the contractions but I continued to have a few strong ones each hour.  On Tuesday, August 14th, at the end of the 24 hours, Pat was concerned that I was getting sick because I had chills, hadn't moved for much of the past 24 hours, was drifting in and out, and had stopped talking.  =)  Sarah also was showing some signs of distress: she hadn't been moving as much and her heart rate, while still in the normal range, had dropped from where she always had been.  They were worried about infection and felt that we should get Sarah out before she got sick and I got sick.  They broke my water and Sarah was delivered a couple hours later at 24 weeks and 4 days gestation weighing 1 lb. 11oz..  Our Dr. said we should have "no regrets" since we had held her in for 2 extra weeks but between breaking the water and the delivery there were definite signs that showed things were not good.  

Sarah was delivered crying and making noise and after 10 minutes they put her on a respirator.  She is big for her gestational age and her first day seemed "critically stable"--critical because machines were keeping her going but stable because she was responding and staying stable while on the machines.  

Since then: On Wednesday night we received a call in the middle of the night that Sarah was being prepped for surgery because an x-ray showed air in her abdomen and they needed to remove it and find/repair a hole in her stomach or intestines.  A short bit later follow-up tests showed that the initial x-ray's "air" was just shadows of Sarah's arms.  Good news but she also had been struggling on the respirator and had been put onto a higher powered one-a step backwards.  

Early Friday morning when we called to check in on her they had just finished dealing with a pulmonary hemorrhage where Sarah had been "teetering" and almost died.  A pulmonary hemorrhage almost always goes hand-in-hand with a brain hemorrhage and further tests showed that Sarah had suffered a major one.  She has brain damage and only time will tell how that will manifest itself.  We were told that her critical level was even more critical because she wasn't staying stable while on the machines.  

Over the last day and a half she hasn't had any more traumatic episodes like that, although its quite possible one can happen at any moment.  Her blood pressure was low and they are giving her blood transfusions to keep it up.  She also has one lung that is over inflating (think balloon that could pop) and the other that is slightly deflated.  Those are definitely concerns but overall the past couple days have been relatively quiet, though stressful (i.e. every time the phone rings, we startle).  

PLEASE PRAY: 

• For Sarah to stabilize on the machines
• For them to wean her to a normal respirator and off the high powered one
• For Sarah's body to be strengthened and respond well to the treatments
• For the four of us at home as we are stressed and try to balance life with the boys and Sarah

THANK YOU: 

• for meals, encouragement and offers of help (next post will lay out ways you can help)
• for offering to visit Sarah and us in the hospital--we appreciate your love and concern.  The hospital has a policy that visitors can come back to see Sarah only when Patrick or I am present.  Again, while we appreciate the love, we would like to limit visitors to just us, grandparents and our pastor at this time to keep her room calm and not too stimulated as well as keep possible germs to a minimum.  We'll let you know when this changes.  

We love you!

P, H, G, Z & S