Alright, so this is one of the hardest posts I've ever written. So, before I even begin I want to say who I am and what I believe. I write this strongly rooted in faith, I believe that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible for God. But I also write this as the logical person that I am. I believe that God sometimes has greater plans than my finite mind can conceive. I have experienced this as a child and an adult... I do not know the mind of God. I do not claim the mind of God. I also am an optimistic person, yet still logical, which may seem cynical. So, in describing myself I sound almost like an oxymoron. But just to be clear, faith comes first, then logic. Hope is always first, followed by what I see and have experienced.
If you know me, you would know that I have been married for almost 10 years. When I married my husband, I married his family and was so very blessed because I married into a family that loved me as much as I loved them. Ten years ago I met my husband, his family and his little sister. Hannah was 12 at the time, she was the little sister that I always wanted. Over the last 10 years we packed all the sisterly love of a lifetime into 10 years! And I love her so much today, she has grown into a pretty awesome lady. She got married about 3 years ago to her high school sweetheart, Josh, and just over a year and a half ago they had their first child, Ella.
Hannah and Josh are currently 21 weeks pregnant with their second child. About two weeks ago they went into the doctor for a routine ultrasound and found out that they were having another little girl. We are all so excited for the little addition to their family, but when doing the ultrasound they found something that they wanted to take another look at. So, last Friday Hannah and Josh went in for another ultrasound. At this ultrasound the doctor found something alarming, there was a mass on Baby's neck, and they were quick to give our parent's to be a scary prognosis.
The appointment was made to get a better look and find out more at the University of Washington. Yesterday, Monday June 9th, Josh and Hannah went in for further testing. At this point they were told that Baby has a Lymphatic Malformation, don't bother googling it there's not much out there. This is a very rare thing for a baby to have and there is no known cause for this malformation, the doctor's see one or less of them every year, with mixed outcomes. What you do need to know is that this makes Hannah's pregnancy a high risk pregnancy. It is a very scary place for a mother and father to be, it's very uncertain and there are many things that they and the doctor's will be finding out as they go along. One thing that is certain at this point is that she will be delivering at the UW and that her pregnancy from this point on will not be "normal." Also, once Baby is born, she will take up residence at Children's Hospital for a few weeks or more depending on her condition.
Their next appointment will be in three weeks on Monday, June 30th. At that point the doctor's will do another ultrasound and probably some other tests. They have shared a few different scenarios with Josh and Hannah but at this time it is undetermined what the course of action for their unique case will be. As we face each appointment we will know a little more, as much of it depends on the growth of the mass. The mass is currently 1 inch in size and Baby is approximately the size of a banana. As a visual, the mass currently extends from Baby's collarbone to her jaw line and is not obstructing any vital organs at this point.
Where does that leave us? It leaves us on our knees. We serve a God who loves to make the impossible possible. God is the great physician, he can heal our little girl. We are praying that the mass will not grow. We are praying that if it does grow that it will not grow fast. The longer Baby can be inside Mama, the better... Baby is not strong enough to be a preemie and face the challenges of having a lymphatic malformation. We are praying for God's hands to be with the doctor's and that they will have the wisdom to do what is best for both Hannah and Baby. We are especially praying for God's protection over Hannah and Baby. We will keep you updated as we go along.
I would pray that you would be sensitive to their family as they are on this journey, it is not an easy one. And I would pray that you would too continue to rejoice in addition to their family. Every baby no matter how they come into the world, whether they live to be 90 or 9 minutes, is a life changing blessing. We are praying that Hannah and her daughter will both live to see 90!
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