Meet Maggie

Hello again,
It's Fran updating for Kelli one more time. Kelli is on her way home from the hospital right now. She wanted you all to meet Maggie. She said she'd try to write a entry soon. Here is her little girl, Miss Magdalyn Grace.

She's Gone

I don't have all of the details yet, but Maggie went home to be with the Lord a few moments ago. Please pray for Kelli and our family as we grieve the loss of this beautiful baby girl.

***Update***
I just spoke to our mom and she said that Maggie's organs failed. Kelli is with Maggie now. Her photographer is on her way back to the hospital to document their time together. Please continue to pray for Kelli.

Kelli, we love you so very much. Maggie was one lucky little girl to have you for a mommy.

She's Here!

Magdalyn Grace was born at 8:53 a.m. central time this morning. As of now, I do not have weight and length for her. She came out pink and crying which are both wonderful signs that she is strong. They immediately took her over to the children's hospital for observation. The nurse said someone should be down within the hour to update Kelli on Maggie's status.

Kelli is doing well. I spoke with her briefly on the phone. She is uncomfortable due to the c-section, but in good spirits and hungry. She didn't get a chance to see Maggie before they took her away, but the photographer (Michelle) took several pictures and apparently captured a great one of Maggie that she was able to show Kelli. I can't wait to see photos of this sweet baby girl!

No one is saying at what point Maggie will have her pacemaker placed, but I'm sure it will happen sooner than later. Maybe she'll surprise us all and be healthier than anticipated. Wouldn't that just be fantastic?!

So for now, we wait. Keep praying!

Today's The Day!

Today is the day we've all been waiting for. Miss Magdalyn Grace will join us today!

This is Fran, Kelli's sister, updating her blog as the day's events unfold. I live in Indiana, so I unfortunately can't be there today. I will be getting all of my information from our mother via the phone and then passing it on to you.

This is what I know so far:

Kelli arrived at the hospital this morning at 6 a.m.. They started her IV and attached fetal monitors to her. She is scheduled to go back for her spinal and c-section at 8 a.m..

The photographer that she is using from Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep arrived a few minutes ago and is taking photos and discussing plans. The doctor is allowing the photographer into the OR to capture Maggie's first moments of life which is such a sweet blessing to Kelli.

I will post more as the news comes to me. Mom said that Kelli is remarkably calm, but eager to meet her little girl. Please continue to lift Kelli and Maggie in prayer.

Not today, maybe tomorrow (well, not ACTUALLY tomorrow.)

It appears that the Albuterol has finally started working. We went to see Dr. Tabor today and her heart rate was up up up. It was at about 120, which is twice what is has been.

However, her abdominal fluid was also up. This is not good because the longer there is fluid there the worse the risk of either her heart or her liver going into failure.

I'm having mixed feelings about not delivering today. I thought that I would be relieved, but I'm not. I thought I would be happy that the Albuterol is working, but I'm not. All this waiting and not knowing is starting to make me very anxious. I'm getting worried that we're going to wait too long and it will be too late.

In other news, I had a maternity shoot with Michelle Clynch from Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. She was amazingly wonderful and sweet. At this time I don't have her personal website address though I'll be sure to update as soon as I do!

Also, I was going to wait till I had a picture of it to show off, but I'm not sure when I'll get the pictures from the shoot. I received a GORGEOUS necklace that was made for me by DeAnna Cochran. She does amazing work and it is for an great cause so I suggest you all go check her out! You can see more her her work here. She is an amazing woman and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Back to business -- My next appointment is on Monday. I'm almost HOPING that he decides to deliver that day. As I said I'm getting anxious now and I am feeling like extra "cooking" time is no longer worth the risk.

As always, I'll update again when I get back on Monday -- or I'll try to have someone update as soon as they can.

Love love love!
--Kelli and Mags

Where's my decoder ring??

I saw Dr. Tabor this morning and as usual he was brief and cryptic. Dr. Tabor used the phrase "in case we have to deliver" in reference to my Thursday morning appointment. The medication they have me on doesn't seem to be making the difference they would like, so I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to make Thursday the big day.

I'm absolutely terrified and trying to keep calm...but I'm not ready for this day to be here yet. Right now I feel like she's safe and warm and I can protect her...like I am helping. However, if they take her then it's up to God and their (hopefully) very capable hands.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this week; there's nowhere else I'd rather be!

-Kelli and Mags

Still cooking

I went in today to see Dr. Tabor. He has upped my dosage of Albuterol from 1 cc every eight hours to 2 cc every eight hours. Wish me luck!

About a month ago there was approximately 3 mm of fluid in her abdomen. Since then it has gone up and down quite a bit. When I asked him today he said that it was at about 4 mm. I noticed that it looked like quite a bit less than on Monday. He told me that he thought it had been at about 6 mm on Monday; however after looking at the chart he told me it was actually at about 9 mm. No wonder he looked so panicked! So her fluid is back down (though we aren't sure if this is the Albuterol or God or both!) and still cookin'.

I'll see him again in a few days and then again later next week. Hopefully he'll continue to give us the green light for more time.

After several suggestions I have contacted an organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Emailing them turned out to be MUCH harder than expected. It made me feel like I have given up on my darling girl; which of course is the furthest from the truth. I'm hoping for the best and putting my trust in the Lord, but I suppose I still need to be as prepared as possible for the unknown.

Dr. Tabor informed me that I will be delivering at Harris Methodist and after Maggie's evaluation she will be transported over to Cook's for her pace maker to be put in. Subsequent surgaries will most likely wait until she has gained some weight and strength.

I have a few new photos and I promise I'll get them up soon...feel free to harass me until you see them!

As always thank you so much for your support and prayers. Each of you are like a candle lighting this dark path.

Love to you all,
Kelli and Maggie

The Homestretch

I went to see Dr. Tabor on Monday. The news was not good and he didn't say much. In fact, after only a few minutes he left to call Dr. Roten (pediatric cardiologist/ surgeon). We are now trying to "buy some time". He gave me a series of two steroid shots to hopefully help her lungs develop faster. He has also put me on Albuterol every 8 hours to hopefully speed up her heart. Her heart was previously pumping fast enough to keep up with fluid, however now that she's bigger it's not enough. The medicine makes my heart race, I can't breathe and it makes me flushed and shaky. However, I'm reminding myself that it is for a good cause and that anything is worth a shot. I managed to get about 3.5 hours of sleep last night before I woke up with panic attack-like symptoms from not being able to breathe. No fun.

It's looking like the end of the tunnel isn't that far away afterall. I half expected him to send me in for a c-section this past Monday. I have another appointment tomorrow where I suspect he will take measurements and maybe even set me up with a section date for next week. I'll be getting a bag ready today to take to each appointment now since we never know when it's gonna be.

In closing, pray pray pray! It looks like she'll be here even sooner than we thought. I'll write again tomorrow if I can, and if not I'll have a family member try to update as soon as possible.

love to you all--
Kelli

What the doctors are saying these days

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated -- the holidays were crazy and also I felt that there really hasn't been much to say. I've gotten the following bits and pieces but I didn't feel like individually the warranted their own blog. From now on I'll try to be better about updating after each appointment. Thank you to each of you who has read this blog and has hounded me about updating.

I saw Dr. Tabor (my new perinatologist -- he works with Dr. Robinson) on the 17th of December and he did not have good news. He was very brief, and from what he said it sounded like he didn't expect her to make it to the next appointment. Some fluid was starting to accumulate in her abdomen and he was saying it could cause her to go into liver failure. I simply nodded while he spoke and reminded myself that God is in control and the doctor isn't always right. Dr. Tabor wanted to rule out that this was a genetic issue and so he asked if I was willing to have an amniocentesis. Less than 10 minutes later he was sticking a GIANT needle into me and stealing some of Maggie's amniotic fluid. Let me tell you, it did not feel good. There was no numbing and no being gentle; he JABBED me, no, he STABBED me. I was in so much pain and so afraid that I couldn't move. This probably worked out nicely for him. Afterwards, he told me I would get my results in 10-14 days and sent me on my way. This was probably the most horrifying experience thus far but I knew that it needed to be done and so it was.

I saw Dr. Tabor again the day after Christmas. This time he was much nicer and much more optimistic. I'm not sure if it was because things had actually gotten better or because it was the day after Christmas. Either way he was much more cheery and I appreciated it. He told us that the fluid in her abdomen was gone and that there was also less fluid around her heart. This was very different news from what he had said just a week and a half prior. I didn't ask for an explanation and he didn't offer one. I simply nodded as he spoke and reminded myself that he wasn't the one calling the shots and he certainly didn't have all the answers. The results from the amnio still were not in because as Dr. Tabor informed me "cells obviously don't grow during the holidays" (he's a very funny man with a dry sense of humor that is lost upon most people, but not on me -- he cracks me up).

I got my amnio results last Wednesday while I was out of town for New Years. All 46 chromosomes (23 pairs) came back NORMAL!!!

This brings us to today. I went in for my follow-up fetal echocardiogram. Apparently they didn't think she would make it this far, because when I got there I found out that my appointment never got put on the schedule. However, they were able to get me in about 30 minutes later and so no harm no foul.

Dr. Readinger was brief but sounded more hopeful than he did last time. He says her heart is still beating at about 60 beats per minute. They were able to see the pulmonary veins this time and they look to be functioning well. This is good because last time he could not see them (partly because she was so much smaller) and he was not sure if they were there and/or functioning. He said that things were slightly better and certainly not getting worse, so this is good news. For the most part the appointment motto was "no news is good news". We're still going on week by week. Though like I said he sounded much more hopeful. The plan is to let her "cook" as long as the fluid build up stays lows. He mentioned maybe having Dr. Tabor put me on some steroids to help her lungs mature faster so that she'll be better off if we have to deliver sooner instead of later.

I'll be seeing Dr. Tabor again at the first part of next week.

I've felt such an amazing peace in the last few weeks. I realized it does not do me any good to stress and be upset. God has a plan and in the end He knows what is best. So I'm just sitting back and leaving it in His hands.

In closing, I would again like to thank all of you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers. This whole thing has really opened my eyes to all of the wonderful people in my life. You all mean so much more to me than I can explain.


Love to you all--
Kelli


PS -- As a side note, Maggie has been CRAZY lately. She is kick kick kickin' along all the time. She's incredibly active and even the doctors have mentioned how active she is. She certainly is not letting something so silly as a SEVERE heart defect slow her down....boy oh boy am I in trouble when she learns to walk!