24 Weeks

24 Weeks

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start. I have worked the last few days, but now I will get to be off for two days. Things have been going well. Today I plan to decorate for Christmas and spend some time with a friend. Tomorrow is our fetal MRI. Please say a special prayer that things will be better than expected. We should get the results by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. On Friday Ellis was able to feel Gavin for the first time. It was exciting for me and for him as I have wanted him to be able to have that experience. I have attached a few pictures that we've taken around our house lately. Enjoy your week. Will post again soon.

Love to All,

Melissa

Philipians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Thanksgivng!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great day. I started cooking in the morning and Ellis and I prepared our own Thanksgiving lunch for the two of us. We had a great meal together. Later in the afternoon we went over to Ellis' moms house and spent time with all of Ellis' family. We enjoyed our time over there. We played Phase 10 and enjoyed the company of everyone around us. This year I am especially thankful for a God who hears and answers our prayers, my amazing husband is always there for me, and my wonderful friends and family who continue to amaze me with the care and compassion that they show us each and every day as we go through the scares and struggles of Gavin's health. I am so blessed to have the amazing support system that I have and to know that even in the darkest moments our friends and families are praying for us and our willing to do whatever they can do to help us get through it. I have been off for the last three days and Ellis hasn't had school. We have actually been able to spend a lot of time together which is always great. We love to be together and to actually be able to do things that we enjoy and not have to worry about school or work. The only thing that would have made our Thanksgiving better would have been to be able to see my parents and Gerrit and Rusudan. We look forward to the time when we will see each of them again. I hope you all enjoyed your time together with your family. Remember to take time to thank God for your blessings not only this week but everyday as we have so much to be thankful for.

Love to all,

Melissa

The Latest News on Gavin

Sorry this update is so late. It is hard for me at times to discuss the reality of what is going on with our sweet Gavin. Our last doctor's appointment for Gavin was on 11/18/10. We had a comprehensive ultrasound and the doctor noticed that not only are Gavin's arms and legs short, but so are his ribs. She is very concerned for Gavin. The small amount of good news that we received at our doctor's visit is that Gavin did not have any hydrocephalus. He does still have the Dandy Walker Variation, but it hasn't changed in size. The doctor is perplexed at what is going on with Gavin because he doesn't fit many different syndromes that have some of these characteristics. She is now concerned that Gavin has a form of skeletal dysplasia. We sent off some of my blood even though skeletal dysplasia is usually not genetic and also some amniotic fluid to look for three different types of skeletal dysplasia. If these tests come back negative it just means that Gavin doesn't have any of the three types that the doctor thinks are most likely for him due to our history and his anomalies. It doesn't mean that he doesn't have a different form of skeletal dysplasia. This was a hard doctor's appointment for us as they all seem to be hard lately because our doctor told us that there is a lot about Gavin that we will not know until he is born. This is very scary for us, but we continue to remember that God is control. There will be a plan to have the NICU at his delivery because the doctor is worried about Gavin's airway at delivery. The doctor also found that I have polyhydramnios which is too much amniotic fluid. We will continue to monitor this, as this is something else that could cause problems for Gavin and I. Please continue to pray for us. I do pretty well most of the time, but do have days where I am extremely scared for our sweet Gavin. We continue to pray that God will do more than doctor's could ever imagine for our sweet baby. I know God never gives you more than you can handle, but I lately I have felt that He comes awfully close. I'm very grateful for my amazing husband and wonderful friends and family who have been there for us. I will have an MRI on 12/1/10 to look at Gavin's brain and spinal cord. Please pray that we will get good results from this. We should also get the results from the skeletal dysplasia tests by next Friday. Thanks for all the prays and support.
Love to all,
Melissa

Our Prayers Continue to be Answered for Gavin

Earlier in the week we found out that the all of Gavin's chromosome's are normal. Praise God for the great news. During the amniocentesis they also send lab to look for nueral tube defects such as spina bifida. There are two tests that are sent. One of the tests is a positive or negative for a nueral tube defect and that test came back negative. The other test is a number. This test came back high. The doctor is "perplexed" as to why one would be high and the other be negative unless it's related to the Dandy Walker Malformation. Due to the concern I will have an MRI to look at Gavin's brain and spinal cord when I am around 24 weeks. Currently I'm 21 weeks 5 days. The doctor also said that she is going to look to make sure that the anomalies that Gavin has do not go along with any genetic or metabolic syndromes. We have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and she said that when we come we will discuss this. If there are certain genetic syndromes that they are concerned about then they can test the amniotic fluid that they already have in the lab for those. Please keep praying. I know God is hearing our prayers. We continue to get good news although the doctor's are still very concerned about Gavin. It is so hard for me, because I want someone to be able to tell me that my baby will be okay, but I know the reality is no one can tell me that. I still have good and bad days, but the good days definately outweigh the bad days. I feel like I am on a rollcoaster, that I never wanted to be on, but I know that God will and has already taught me a lot through this experience. I know without God, my amazing husband, my sweet friends and family that I would never be able to get through this. Please keep praying that Gavin will be "healed" and that other's may see Christ through this experience. I am supposed to have a doctor's appointment with my OB today. They plan to check my thyroid levels and my cervix to make sure they are both normal. I am also going to Care Now at 0800 when they open. I'm not feeling good and I think I have strep throat. I don't know if my OB will want to see me if I'm sick. I've only been able to sleep 3 hours tonight due to a sore throat and not being able to breathe very well out of my nose. Hopefully I can get some antibiotics today and start feeling better before I have to work over the weekend. Thanks for the continued prayers. I will continue to keep you posted as we go through this journey with Gavin.
Love to all,
Melissa

Simpy Fondue and Bass Hall

Last Saturday Ellis and I went out on a date. We went to Simply Fondue and to Bass Hall to see Cirque de la Symphony. We had a great time. Simpy Fondue is a really neat atmosphere. The food and the service was great. After dinner we went to Bass Hall to see Cirque de la Symphony, which was a great show. It was a cirque de solei (?spelling) with the Fort Worth Symphony playing. It was really neat. It was so nice to get out and spend the evening together. I think we've decided that we need to do it more often. I've attached some pictures. Have a great weekend.

Melissa

Pictures of Our Week

My first art project for Gavin's room

Our sweet dogs

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

20 Weeks

Just wanted to post a few pictures of whats been going on here. I've tried to stay busy on my days off so that I don't worry/stress so much about what is going on with Gavin. I've learned that I have much better days if I stay busy. I hope everyone's weekend is off to a good start. Ours is going well so far. I'm excited because tonight Ellis and I are going on a date. We are going out to dinner in dowtown at this placed called Simpy Fondue. We've never been there but have heard that it's a great place. After dinner we are going to Bass Hall. We are going to see Cirque de la Symphonie. I've heard that it's a really neat show. Enjoy your weekend. I will post when we hear about the other test results. Please keep praying!

Love,

Melisssa

God has heard our Prayers!

Just wanted to give a brief update on the latest news that we have received from the amniocentesis that I had done last week. On Monday the doctor's office called to let us know that the FISH is normal. What does this mean? This means that Gavin does NOT have Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 13, or Trisomy 18. God is so good. I know that He is hearing our prayers. We are still waiting on other results from the amniocentesis that will tell us if Gavin has any other chromosomal abnormalities. We should have those results within a week. I am still very concerned about the small amount of fluid on Gavin's brain, but I know that all I can do is pray that God will take care of it. We will have another ultrasound in two weeks that will follow up with the length of his arms and legs and the amount of fluid on his brain. I want to thank all of you for praying for us and for our sweet baby. We love him so much and know that he is already loved by so many of you. Please continue to pray as we do have a long road ahead of us. We are so greatful for all of the support from our family and friends and for the prayers from so many people that we don't even know. It means so much to us the way that so many of you have reached out to us during this difficult time. I am especially thankful for Ellis. He is my rock. He is so strong and so compassionate. I don't know how I would get through this without him. I am so blessed to have him as my husband and Gavin is so blessed to have him as a father. He loves both of us so much. I am trying so hard to be strong through this, but I'm not always successful. I have good days and bad days. I try to stay busy so that I don't spend my days worrying so much, but as hard as I can't stop thinking about this little guy. I am 20 weeks this week, which means we are half way there. Now that is exciting. I have been feeling Gavin move so much over the last couple of days. Sometimes I think he is trying to tell me that it's going to be okay. I love to feel him move around. I can't wait for the day when Ellis will actually be able to feel him. I know that will put a huge smile on his face. Hope everyone has a great week. I will continue to keep you posted on Gavin as we learn new things.
Love to all,
Melissa

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving kindness is everlasting.