Here's the game plan.......

Saturday, April 19, 2008:

This is our first official time blogging so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully, we will master the art of blogging quickly and be able to update several times a week. Brady is growing up and changing so quickly we want to keep all of our family in the loop on his many adventures. So far, he has been a very mellow baby. He has more patience than I ever dream of having myself. Deep down I really believe that he has some understanding that I am not 100% able to care for him right now. Through all the many nights I have had to spend away from him, he has never forgotten my voice. I must say, I can speak to him and he lights up.......and as a result, melts my heart. He truly is our miracle baby and I give him credit for saving my life and helping me become a healthy person. My family is my inspiration to continue my fight against life's hurdles.

I am sure that everyone is probably familiar with my situation but I will sum it up for you.....Brady is what we like to call a blessing, he was unplanned but very welcome in our life. In my mind, I wanted to wait about a year before we started trying to conceive. Well, God had other plans and along came Brady. The first 26 weeks of our pregnancy were a dream. I didn't have the morning sickness, edema, cravings, or any other of the annoying symptoms of pregnancy. However, around the 26 week mark I experienced an abnormal amount of pain and discomfort. The doctors advised me that it was a normal condition called round ligament pain and that I was fine. I had numerous test and trips to the doctor with the same intense pain that never left my right side, but time and time again I was told the same diagnosis. Amazingly, I learned to deal with the pain. I knew in my mind that it couldn't get any worse and had to end sometime.

About 5 or 6 weeks later, I started having contractions and once again Matt drove me to the hospital. The gave me tributeline to stop the contractions and gave Brady a steroid shot to help with the development of his lungs. They were hoping that it would buy me some time and wanted to hold off the real deal until the 36 week mark. It was at this point I was on bed rest and encouraged not to overdo things. Well, we held things off until the 35 week mark.

I remember as if it were yesterday.........I was watching the season premiere of American Gladiators and about 8:45pm, my water broke. The contractions had been getting stronger over the course of the evening but I had blew them off as Braxton Hicks contractions. After quick phone calls to my Mom and Laura, they confirmed that my water had broken and I was in labor. Game on........Brady is on his way!

Labor was a dream. We arrived at the hospital around 10pm and they confirmed that I was in labor and we were going to be parents sooner than we expected. Nothing too exciting happened besides the actual birth. I had the wonderful epidural and even drifted off to sleep. The nurse woke me up about an hour later and told me it was time to push.....so I pushed for about 15 minutes and voila, Brady was here! He weighed in at 4 lbs 10 ozs and 19 inches long and seemed to be in good shape. I got to hold him for a very short minute before he was whisked away to the NICU.

The following day, I seemed to be doing good but my health slowly started to worsen. My stomach continued to swell. I actually looked more pregnant after the delivery than I did before. Something wasn't right and the doctors began to get worried. The quest for an answer began.......

Over the course of the next few months, I had every procedure and test ran on me. I had so many issues and things kind of looked grim at some points. I had acute renal failure, acute heart failure, 3 chest tubes, severe edema, several abcesses, numerous infections, and about 16 units of blood. Eventually, they decided I was doing well enough to go home. Of course, it was short lived and I returned to the ER less than 48 hours later with severe abdominal cramps that were equivalent to labor contractions. This was the trip that we finally got some answers and a gameplan was put into place. Dr. Koltun, immediately suspected that I had Chron's Disease and probably was suffering from perforations in my bowels. He placed me on some steroids and TPN to try and raise my nutrition levels before surgery. He removed about 6 inches of my bowels and redirected them out of my side so my digestive system could heal. I was given a loop ilieostomy and the promise that it would be reversed in the future. I am now well on my way to recovery and things look very good. Despite the minor setbacks we have occured along the way, we still remain positive and thank God every day for the progress that I am making. Like I said before, I am not a 100% but I am improving every single day.

I have learned so many important lessons through this ordeal. I have been reminded of what a loving, supportive family I am blessed to be part of. I have renewed faith in prayer and miracles. God has given me strength that I never imagined I would be able to have. He has allowed me to maintain a positive spirit and constant hope for a happy ending. The amount of prayers that have been prayed are beyond my belief and I am still overwhelmed with the amount of love that people have shown me. I am forever thankful for everyone who has said a prayer, sent a card, or simply thought of my family. Thank you so much....