"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonderful deeds." Psalm 9:1
I am steadily amazed at the Hand of the Lord. It awes me to see how intricately involved He is in every aspect of my life... What a thoughtful, kind, and loving Father He is and at the same time the Sovereign, Holy King of all eternity. It is more than my mind can comprehend, and I love that. In my daily routines of wanting everything in order and in place, I am so grateful that He cannot be grasped. Though you can learn more of Him as you walk this life, you will never comprehend Him in His fullness until you see Him face to face. His will is full of surprises and blessings and it rests on His promises to those who are His.
Yesterday I woke up with sinus congestion and a sore throat. As the morning went on, I decided to call the friend that was suppose to ride with me to Roanoke and tell her I thought it would be best if I went alone. I honestly just didn't feel like talking... not that I was emotionally down in anyway, it simply hurt my throat. Isaiah has had the crud too, so a couple hours in the car by myself sounded relaxing. She was exhausted so it ended up being a blessing to her as well.
Our car is in the shop so I had borrowed a friend's car. When I got in, she had an old school Christian artist in the cd player. It immediately made me smile and I sang my heart out the whole way there...(my heart, not my voice!) I got to my first appointment a few minutes early so I started going through the mail I had grabbed on my way out the door. As I opened the mail, the Lord had sent such an encouragement and gift to me that only He could give. It was of such a personal nature that only the Lord could have known or moved in such a way and it touched on so many different levels in my life. Again- I continuously stand in awe of the Lord. I sat in my car crying my eyes out and overwhelmed by the Lord's kindness, grace, and goodness to me. Before I ever even stepped foot in the first doctor's office the Lord had set my heart and eyes so completely on Him. He had wrapped His arms so tightly around me and I am not sure my feet ever touched the ground as I stepped out of that car. I am His daughter, what an honor!!!
The first visit with was with the pediatric cardiologist. The aortic stenosis isn't severe enough to be of much concern. However there was a small amount of fluid around Sadie's heart which was not there a month ago. It wasn't enough fluid to be of a huge concern in of itself, but because it is a new issue that has developed, it will need to be monitored. The aortic coarctation, common to Turner's, is of the most concern. It is difficult to diagnose before birth, but after birth it can go from minor to serious very quickly. Because of this my cardiologist feels confident that I should deliver at UVA or Duke. This was honestly an encouragement to me because Sean and I have both been feeling led in that direction. We want to take every precaution necessary. If Sadie does need immediate surgery, I would hate to deliver in Roanoke and then have her taken 3 hours away from me while I was still in the hospital. And... if time is of the essence, we don't want to take any chances of her having to be moved to a place where she can receive the surgeries she may need. I left the cardiologist feeling confident that the Lord had been leading us in the right direction and was giving us confirmation.
Next I went to the perinatolgist. Normally they take me right in, but this time I had to wait for an hour and a half. There was a young girl that was pregnant with a baby with chromosome issues and had miscarried half way through her pregnancy. The nurses were so apologetic for my wait, but as soon as I was told the reason, I didn't mind the wait. As I sat there, I could feel Sadie moving around and was grateful. I was reminded that it could have been me, yet the Lord had had mercy on me.
From the ultrasound, we discovered that Sadie's kidney, which was already taking up half her abdomen, had almost doubled in size from the last visit. Part of that is simply due to the fact that as Sadie gets bigger, so will her kidney... So it wasn't as alarming as it may sound, but is obviously still an issue. Because it is still growing, it will more than likely have to be removed fairly soon after birth. Another issue of concern was my amniotic fluid. This is something that they have been monitoring, but up until this point has been completely normal. However from my last visit my amniotic fluid had dropped by nearly half. If it continues to drop, I will have to deliver early. Therefore the perinatologist wants to begin to monitor me more closely. I have an appointment to go back to see her next week and she is also going to get the ball rolling with the staff at UVA. She is going to set up an initial appointment so that I can go meet the staff and so that they can examine me and Sadie. From there, the doctors at UVA will decide to what degree they want to take over care. It is possible that they would want to take over completely or they may see fit to allow me to continue to go to Roanoke to be monitored until time of delivery. The details of how all this will unfold are still in the Lord's Hands. These are all questions that I can't yet answer. There are many variables in the eyes of man, but the Lord has set my path firmly in His will. I will let you know when my UVA appointment will be as well as update the blog with any other information that I may get along the way. Since I will begin going to the doctor on a weekly basis, I will also begin updating the blog on a weekly basis. Just know that Sean and I are still at peace and trusting in the Lord. We are not anxious or worried in anyway about how things will unfold. There is no safer place than in His will.
(P.S. For those that have been praying for the mother of the unborn Turner's baby, continue to pray. Sean has spoken repeatedly with his coworker. However we have discovered is is one of those situations where it is a "friend of a friend". So we aren't sure that the woman has received or will receive our contact information. We continue to pray knowing that the Lord is in control.)
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:19-23
I am steadily amazed at the Hand of the Lord. It awes me to see how intricately involved He is in every aspect of my life... What a thoughtful, kind, and loving Father He is and at the same time the Sovereign, Holy King of all eternity. It is more than my mind can comprehend, and I love that. In my daily routines of wanting everything in order and in place, I am so grateful that He cannot be grasped. Though you can learn more of Him as you walk this life, you will never comprehend Him in His fullness until you see Him face to face. His will is full of surprises and blessings and it rests on His promises to those who are His.
Yesterday I woke up with sinus congestion and a sore throat. As the morning went on, I decided to call the friend that was suppose to ride with me to Roanoke and tell her I thought it would be best if I went alone. I honestly just didn't feel like talking... not that I was emotionally down in anyway, it simply hurt my throat. Isaiah has had the crud too, so a couple hours in the car by myself sounded relaxing. She was exhausted so it ended up being a blessing to her as well.
Our car is in the shop so I had borrowed a friend's car. When I got in, she had an old school Christian artist in the cd player. It immediately made me smile and I sang my heart out the whole way there...(my heart, not my voice!) I got to my first appointment a few minutes early so I started going through the mail I had grabbed on my way out the door. As I opened the mail, the Lord had sent such an encouragement and gift to me that only He could give. It was of such a personal nature that only the Lord could have known or moved in such a way and it touched on so many different levels in my life. Again- I continuously stand in awe of the Lord. I sat in my car crying my eyes out and overwhelmed by the Lord's kindness, grace, and goodness to me. Before I ever even stepped foot in the first doctor's office the Lord had set my heart and eyes so completely on Him. He had wrapped His arms so tightly around me and I am not sure my feet ever touched the ground as I stepped out of that car. I am His daughter, what an honor!!!
The first visit with was with the pediatric cardiologist. The aortic stenosis isn't severe enough to be of much concern. However there was a small amount of fluid around Sadie's heart which was not there a month ago. It wasn't enough fluid to be of a huge concern in of itself, but because it is a new issue that has developed, it will need to be monitored. The aortic coarctation, common to Turner's, is of the most concern. It is difficult to diagnose before birth, but after birth it can go from minor to serious very quickly. Because of this my cardiologist feels confident that I should deliver at UVA or Duke. This was honestly an encouragement to me because Sean and I have both been feeling led in that direction. We want to take every precaution necessary. If Sadie does need immediate surgery, I would hate to deliver in Roanoke and then have her taken 3 hours away from me while I was still in the hospital. And... if time is of the essence, we don't want to take any chances of her having to be moved to a place where she can receive the surgeries she may need. I left the cardiologist feeling confident that the Lord had been leading us in the right direction and was giving us confirmation.
Next I went to the perinatolgist. Normally they take me right in, but this time I had to wait for an hour and a half. There was a young girl that was pregnant with a baby with chromosome issues and had miscarried half way through her pregnancy. The nurses were so apologetic for my wait, but as soon as I was told the reason, I didn't mind the wait. As I sat there, I could feel Sadie moving around and was grateful. I was reminded that it could have been me, yet the Lord had had mercy on me.
From the ultrasound, we discovered that Sadie's kidney, which was already taking up half her abdomen, had almost doubled in size from the last visit. Part of that is simply due to the fact that as Sadie gets bigger, so will her kidney... So it wasn't as alarming as it may sound, but is obviously still an issue. Because it is still growing, it will more than likely have to be removed fairly soon after birth. Another issue of concern was my amniotic fluid. This is something that they have been monitoring, but up until this point has been completely normal. However from my last visit my amniotic fluid had dropped by nearly half. If it continues to drop, I will have to deliver early. Therefore the perinatologist wants to begin to monitor me more closely. I have an appointment to go back to see her next week and she is also going to get the ball rolling with the staff at UVA. She is going to set up an initial appointment so that I can go meet the staff and so that they can examine me and Sadie. From there, the doctors at UVA will decide to what degree they want to take over care. It is possible that they would want to take over completely or they may see fit to allow me to continue to go to Roanoke to be monitored until time of delivery. The details of how all this will unfold are still in the Lord's Hands. These are all questions that I can't yet answer. There are many variables in the eyes of man, but the Lord has set my path firmly in His will. I will let you know when my UVA appointment will be as well as update the blog with any other information that I may get along the way. Since I will begin going to the doctor on a weekly basis, I will also begin updating the blog on a weekly basis. Just know that Sean and I are still at peace and trusting in the Lord. We are not anxious or worried in anyway about how things will unfold. There is no safer place than in His will.
(P.S. For those that have been praying for the mother of the unborn Turner's baby, continue to pray. Sean has spoken repeatedly with his coworker. However we have discovered is is one of those situations where it is a "friend of a friend". So we aren't sure that the woman has received or will receive our contact information. We continue to pray knowing that the Lord is in control.)
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:19-23
