We waited 7 months before being able to get pregnant with our daughter Katie Joy who was born on April 15 at 5:50 (not 6:50) pm weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz. We were ecstatic in hearing that finally we were going to have another child. 7 months isn't long in comparison to some but we weren't expecting a delay by any means. The pregnancy progressed as normal with a few hiccups of high blood pressure, controlled by diet and the possibility of diabetes which God healed and/or protected me before diagnosed. I've felt really healthy on the whole. At 20 weeks we had an ultrasound with a tech who said if she was a betting lady she'd say it was a boy 75 percent sure of it. (HA!)
April 15 I had a similar thought process from when I went into labor with Ada... "I think I'm in labor but I'm not sure." Before calling the dr I did the dishes, laundry and even went with Jeff and Ada to Kroger to get a few things. The dr sent us to the hospital where everything changed.
The first issue was the resident dr reading whether or not Katie Joy was head up or down. I was 6cm dialated and fully effaced; ready to have a baby! Three nurses/drs looked at the ultrasound to decide where her head was. An ultrasound tech came in and measured everything and found her head was up towards my chest instead facing down to the floor....aka she was breech. Several nurses and drs were in and out, an obgyn surgeon came in and started giving us a run down of c sections. Then our dr came in. ( we really trust and love our dr.) He began by reaffirming I will need a csection, he is understanding and very supportive of the fact we really wanted a natural birth. He told us then the ultrasound showed that she has fluid on her brain. He explained a little bit that I honestly cannot remember and then left to give us time to be together for a minute. It hit me then that he was saying she might not live. As Jeff held me we cried. We had no words. Forever I will know the strength of my husband and how amazing he is. I will never be able to express my sincere and very deep love for him. He is my very best friend.
April 15 I had a similar thought process from when I went into labor with Ada... "I think I'm in labor but I'm not sure." Before calling the dr I did the dishes, laundry and even went with Jeff and Ada to Kroger to get a few things. The dr sent us to the hospital where everything changed.
The first issue was the resident dr reading whether or not Katie Joy was head up or down. I was 6cm dialated and fully effaced; ready to have a baby! Three nurses/drs looked at the ultrasound to decide where her head was. An ultrasound tech came in and measured everything and found her head was up towards my chest instead facing down to the floor....aka she was breech. Several nurses and drs were in and out, an obgyn surgeon came in and started giving us a run down of c sections. Then our dr came in. ( we really trust and love our dr.) He began by reaffirming I will need a csection, he is understanding and very supportive of the fact we really wanted a natural birth. He told us then the ultrasound showed that she has fluid on her brain. He explained a little bit that I honestly cannot remember and then left to give us time to be together for a minute. It hit me then that he was saying she might not live. As Jeff held me we cried. We had no words. Forever I will know the strength of my husband and how amazing he is. I will never be able to express my sincere and very deep love for him. He is my very best friend.
They quickly prepared everything for my surgery. Within the hour I was numbed and being worked on. We heard her cry the most beautiful cry in the whole world. The nurse stepped back to let us know it was a girl. SURPRISE! We have had her name picked out for some time so we were ecstatic. Then the nurse told us then she has spina bifida and it looked severe. After being sewn back up while Katie Joy was being taken care of and assessed we were taken to a recovery room where we stayed for a few hours without her. The NICU dr came in and explained a lot but all I heard was that she was living and was not fighting for her life. They wheeled my bed into the nicu where we really got to meet her. The next few days consisted of drs and nurses and information piled high and family and friends and texts, lots of crying but most of all my darling daughter alive.
Today they stitched up the tissue around Katie's spine so that it isn't exposed anymore. The surgery went well and she is sleep smiling through a lot of her morphine. This was the first big trial and it is progressing well. Praise God. He is good. He has comforted us and provided for us through people and His holy spirit.
Ada Jewel and Katie Joy are my daughters, they are beautiful. Completely different births, completely different hair color (Katie has -dark- BROWN hair!), but the same sweetness. Katie Joy makes 4. We are a family of 4.
Words spoken to us for or about Katie Joy:
Mommy (me) really felt the impact of Psalm 139. God has known Katie's frame well before any of us. She is wonderfully and fearfully made.
Daddy has felt a lot of peace and is almost excited to be entrusted with her. He feels that God will use this for His glory just like the man born blind that Jesus healed. God didn't punish him or his parents with his blindness he was blind to be healed so people knew that he was the great I am.
Kara and Kirk both had a strong sense that James 1 was meant for us to know and be comforted by.
Many have proclaimed and declared complete healing and the ability to walk
**It is important to Jeff and I that people understand we have strong faith Katie will walk, but also have a lot of peace if she doesn't. This isn't a strong battle for us, either way God is good and powerful. Because people like her and others like Nick Vuijcic show the intense beauty of God's creation and the incredible overcoming power the God can give during trials Katie could be used by God if she allows herself to be. More than praying for healing pray that she knows and is obediant to her heavenly Father for her life is amazing.
