Grant's Journey

Whew! We just got back from our two day hospital stay and I am exhausted. I have to admit that we have been thoroughly blessed for these excursions... driving from Logan to Salt Lake multiple times in a hurry during the winter could be a recipe for disaster but we have been blessed with clear roads and no snow each time we have had an appointment. This week we barely made it as we drove home in a rain storm all of the way and only once we hit Logan were the roads slick from freezing. No wrecks and our little car is still kicking, so we are good to go! Yesterday, we met with Dr. Pinto (cardiologist) and had a second fetal echo. Our biggest prayers were that Grant would cooperate so we could see his aorta. While the tech was scanning me, he decided to roll away from her and so the pictures we were getting were not clear enough to check everything. With all my best parenting skills, I firmly told Grant that he needed to move or else mommy would eat spicy foods and make him miserable later...

This week is another big week for us in regards to Grant's arrival. On Tuesday, I have an OB appointment in Logan and then Wednesday-Thursday, we will repeat our two day Hospital stay. Wednesday will begin with an appointment for AFLAC supplemental insurance (and those who have a family business, we might be calling on you to sponsor us in this because we can only qualify for the policies if they are purchased under a business that we are "employed" by... otherwise they can discriminate on pre existing conditions... more to follow on the benefits we found in supplemental policies). Our insurance appointment will be followed by a lovely cardiology appointment, another fetal echo (where they will try to confirm the size of Grant's aorta and make a plan for surgery), a visit to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) so we can see what reality will bring shortly, a tour of the Ronald McDonald House, a view of the RV pads (which would be a great solution is we can find s...

I have been reminded by a few friends that I have yet to post any pictures on this blog of Grant's room! Since we finally have a separate bedroom for the crib, it is nice to try and by normal and prepare for him. We had a minor setback this week with the freezer (affectionately called a changing table!) next to his crib dying on us and coming home to ROTTEN food, but luckily, the smells seem to have come out of most everything now. I have to give a major shout out to my mom, Amy, and Kyle's mom, Jerolyn, for their handiwork. I have been a little preoccupied and so short of picking out fabric and offering opinions, these beautiful things are their work! Isn't this great! My mom pieced this adorable crib quilt and then our sweet neighbor Marilyn quilted it... and it is all quilted with hearts! Very appropriate for our little heart guy! I love the bumper pads too! Jerolyn stayed with us for a week and I put her on Curtain duty... cute huh! Our yard sale crib that had green sla...

Christmas was a wonderful break for Kyle and I. It has really not felt like much of a holiday season this year with so many other events to anticipate. This was a much needed break! We had a lot of fun with our family and felt total jubilation at the news that Kyle was offered a full time position as a government finance and controls specialist. This new job means full time salary and government insurance coverage once he starts his job in May. What a relief to us, however, we are learning that this tremendous blessing is also requiring us to walk by faith yet again. Grant's current insurance plans (we have two) are both Utah policies and will not cover providers and check ups out of state. Since Kyle will not start his job until May 26th and my doctor is planning on inducing me mid March, this will hopefully allow us to have time for recovery and stabilizing while living at least in the same state. Then, because the second surgery will likely come between 4-8 months, we are antici...

We have safely returned from our two day hospital tour. It has been very informative, exhausting, and much more pleasant than I thought it would be! On Wednesday, we arrived in Salt lake and had to fight traffic for 30 minutes before we actually made it into Primary Children's. We went in for our first fetal echo and they spent about 2 hours with me on the table watching his heart, taking measurements, and NOT TALKING TO US! It was so aggravating, but the cardiology fellow and the tech are not able to give you any information at all. They were impressed with Kyle and I and our demonstrated knowledge of the ultrasounds. We were able to identify and even show the fellow which direction he was laying and which side they were looking at... looks like we have some good experience in this now! Finally, the cardiologist, Dr. Pinto came in and after reviewing with the other team, she still spent another hour looking at his heart personally and attempting to get the perfect angle to view so...

We have been able to enjoy a relatively easy week... my only doctor's appointment this week was with our normal OBGYN (who I LOVE! What other doctor will call you personally after a normal appointment and specialist appointment just to make sure that you are processing everything ok and that you have a chance to get your questions answered that you forgot to ask in the initial 2 hour appointment!!...maybe he secretly wants to be a therapist! We love Dr. Kirkman!). Luckily, we had no major developments this week and Grant's heartbeat was deceptively clear and strong. I am just so grateful that we have had the time to get an early diagnosis and that we can know about his heart now instead of being life flighted a few days after birth and being simply terrified. Knowledge is truly power! I still get teary when I see the life flight helicopter at our local hospital. About 18 months ago, I took a roommate to the ER in the middle of the night and as we were walking in, we saw a tiny ...

Just a little post to let you all know that Kyle and I are really holding up ok. I knew that my first post would probably have people thinking that we were wrecks and though in some moments, that is true, in general, we are living life. We have both been at work/school full time this week and have been very distracted. Probably one of the best things is being able to look at the Intermountain Healing Hearts website and the Heart Hero's website. These two sites offer support and help families like us to connect with other families whose children suffer from Congenital Heart Defects. Several of these families also have HLHS babies which is an awesome support to look at their blogs, email, receive blog comments, and just generally to get a more clear picture of what life will bring in a few months. Some of the photos are a little hard to take...a little baby with a literal ROOM full of equipment just to keep them alive and little babies restrained and strapped down so they do not move...