Tomorrow at 12:30 Lucy and I will be getting our first MRI. I've heard that MRIs are horrible if you're claustrophobic. Thankfully, I am not! I'm not expecting it to be too annoying other than laying still on my back for quite a while. At 3:00 I will meet with Dr. Kao, the pediatric cardiologist, to take another look at Lucy's heart.
Here are some things to pray for:
1. That the MRI would show us that Lucy has a good amount of lung tissue and no other new issues!
2. That her heart defect would be gone (the doctor said she was only 90% sure about what she was seeing!) or at least better that they previously thought.
3. That I wouldn't develop pre-eclampsia (Mosaic Trisomy 16 tends to have a 1 in 4 chance of causing pre-eclampsia in the mother).
4. That Lucy would continue to grow and stay in as long as possible to give her more of a chance when she does come out!
Thank you all so much for praying for us! Amanda, a sweet friend from our church, gave me a list of names of people from our congregation who will be praying for me from the time I enter my first appointment until the last one is done. (And she is due to deliver her baby girl this coming week!) I am so grateful to her and to all of the people who are devoting time in prayer for us. It is truly a blessing! Also, thank you so much to all of the strangers, turned new friends who have been so willing to share their lives and stories with us.
I was feeling pretty down last weekend about things and started to panic a bit. I was thinking about things though and decided that I've got to stay calm for several reasons: for my family, for my sanity, and because it is commanded of me by God! I started thinking about my son and how upset he gets when I take him to get shots. He gets REALLY mad when they give him the shot and looks at me like I'm so mean. He has no concept of the value of vaccination or preventative care. All he knows is that the person who is supposed to love and take care of him is allowing him extreme (but very temporary) pain. I allow him that pain because I know that it is worth it in the long run, and I don't try to explain to him the value of it yet, since I know he is not developmentally able to reason that far into the future. I think as humans we have to remember that God, our Father, is not stuck in time or space and is able to see what is best for us in the long run. Sometimes what is best involves periods of pain, sadness, loss, hardship, etc, but many times it is exactly these things that remind us to trust in Him and not in our own strength. That's what I'm hanging on to for now. I know I have yet to come to the difficult part of this journey, but I'm going to come back and read this and remind myself, because I know it's true.
Here's my verse for this post:
"So never worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
I absolutely admire the tenderness of your heart and your attitude. Thank you for showing us how we all should be! Love y'all!
ReplyDeleteDear Becky,
ReplyDeleteThe MRI thing scared me... until I walked in to the Children's Hospital and saw all those sick KIDS who did things like MRI's all the time. Then I decided I could at least be that brave. :) And you shouldn't have to have your whole head in the machine, which is what would have made me feel claustrophobic. I was in up to my forehead which meant I could tip my eyes up and see out - helped me a lot, that and having my husband at my head talking to me. It'll be over before you know it.
Praying for good news from your MRI and echo. I'll look for your update.
Hugs.
Corinne (mama to Samuel)
I'll be praying fervently for you and Lucy all day tomorrow! I once heard a sermon about how we think God doesn't answer our prayers, but the real problem is that we don't have enough faith in our prayers. If we pray audaciously and are audaciously faithful, God is big enough to answer our prayers audaciously.
ReplyDeleteYou can totally do the MRI! The hardest part for me when I had an MRI was staying still and the noise. Don't dwell on how long you have to be still because it could overwhelm you. And be sure to take music and headphones with you. They let me listen to my iPod and I put on an album that I knew I would totally occupy my brain. And it helps transport your brain to somewhere besides an MRI machine.
I love you and already admire you for your strength and faith on this journey!
Allison
I will be praying for you and Lucy. May God give you all the strength you need as you walk with journey. I love that verse! The most important thing I learned on our journey was just to trust in him and always have hope. I met a woman whose child was given only a 1% chance of survival - who is now a healthy boy with NO issues. Or Angel Bella's mom whose baby with CDH and Trisomy 18 who was told to abort because "these babies don't make it" but she survived over a month and looked like she was going to be able to go home - only to pass due to a medical error. I know that story had a sad outcome, but it still gives me hope that one day a baby will prove them WRONG - because our God is bigger than anything anyone can imagine. Medicine only goes so far, and the rest is faith and what God is doing behind the veil. Whatever they say - just remember at the end of the day, it's not their story that is being written and we don't know what God has planned here. Each of these babies is SO different. There is one mama in the hospital right now and her babies defect was HUGE - they had to use the biggest Gortex piece- but her baby is super stable and doing amazingly well. Another verse that one mama told me was her mantra in the NICU is "Be Still, and know that I am God." I love that and it helped me too...
ReplyDeleteLove,
Liz
mama to Finley - L-CDH Survivor
www.finleyanabelle.wordpress.com
Thank you all for your prayers!! Liz, I really needed to hear what you had to say in your comment. It was a rough day today, but you are right. God knows better than any doctor or machine, and no matter what I just need to trust Him.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful that God gave me the right words to say at the moment. Will be praying fervently!!
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