Prayers Answered

Prayer is a powerful thing. I have been mocked before when sharing the good things that have happened in my heart and my life due to prayer, but until you can completely hand over your life and everything in it to God, you may not fully understand the power of prayer. My personality is the type to worry and try to control, but a few years ago I finally handed every last bit of control I was holding on to over to the Lord. It is the trials in life like this where, when we hand over everything to God and trust Him to take care of us regardless of the outcome, we see miracles performed and prayers answered. We have received hundreds of messages just letting us know that there are so many people praying for us. God heard every single one of our prayers and is continuing to answer them!

We went to see Dr. Haeri today, and he said Emma is looking as good as can be! The shunts are still in place, and we could barely see any fluid left in her belly. Her lungs have fully expanded, and her heart is still beating strong! The doctor believes it will turn out to be an issue with the lungs that was causing the hydrops, and that there shouldn't be any issues with the lungs after Emma is born. We just need to pray that the shunts stay in place for the next few weeks, because this is the most important time for lung development.

When I am 24 weeks along (after April 6), Dr. Haeri will inject me with steroids to speed up Emma's lung, brain, and intestine development. At this time, we will also meet with the head of the NICU at North Austin Medical Center so we can learn more and understand what to expect when Emma is born. Her delivery will be a scheduled C-Section around 36 weeks, because we want to make sure all of the doctors are there that need to be, and we don't want to risk me going into labor in the middle of the night.

Not only am I thankful for this miraculous turn of events, but I am also very thankful that God is continuing to carry us through this journey. Since Justin has been off work this week taking care of Laney and me, we have had some great quality time together. Also, right when our medical bills are starting to pile up, Justin was offered a better job with a pay increase. God knows exactly what is going on and what will happen in the future, and we have complete faith that He will continue to provide.

We appreciate your continued prayers for the shunts to stay in place and for Emma to stay put until she is strong enough to come out and meet us!