Happy Birthday Evan!!

It has arrived...
October 19th, 2007 in the late afternoon hours, found me saying farewell to a nurse, Julie, who was uncomfortable with some signs I was showing that we may not be able to stop my labor any longer. She was going home for the day and stopped by to check on me, and discovered it was possible my water had broken. She did the test three times, and two times it came up positive for amniotic fluid. She left, telling the night nurse what she thought, and I'm not sure what happened in the next few hours...except that I had visitors, Jeremy and Amanda Garner, and I think maybe some others but it is hard to recall. But anyhow, at 11:38pm they were wheeling me out of my home for the last two weeks. I had called my parents and Mandy, my sister-in-law, as I had been talking to her when they said they were trying to figure out what to do.

I guess the time that is kind of fuzzy is when my doctor came to see me, she was at another delivery at Dupont Hospital, and ran to Parkview main, then back to Dupont, then back to me. During that time, a neonatologist, Dr. Gilmore, came to speak with Paul and I, and a nurse, Laura, came in. Dr. Gilmore went over virtually everything that could happen to Evan. Paul was upset when she left the room, but I said that there were only three things she said that scared me at the time, out of the entire 45 minutes that she spoke: cerebral palsy, hydrocephaly, and I can't really remember the other. But after she had spoken to us, my doctor, Dr. Blackmon, came back in and asked us if we'd made a decision. We said we weren't sure. She said the main reason she was concerned about the situation was that since he was so small, if my water were to break and he tried to come before they could take me to surgery, his umbilical cord could slide out first, which would bend it in half, cutting off any oxygen supply to his brain. As soon as she said this, I was on board. I did not realize that this was a risk the entire time I was lying there! Then she didn't know if it should be done that night, in the middle of the night, or wait until the morning. She checked me one more time...pulled the sheet up and took one look and said...that's it...I've made my decision. And now we're back to the part where they wheeled me out of the room.

I was so calm. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Jesus was walking right beside me the entire time. I had such an overwhelming feeling of peace about the whole thing. When they took me in, I knew about everything that would be happening to me. I had fretted over any needle being in my spine (epidural or spinal block) for the entire time I was on bedrest. I had wanted a totally natural delivery. But at that moment, I think I was comforted not only by the staff, my doctor, Paul, and of course the promise we have in Christ, but that I knew that in just one more day, I would not have to have that catheter in anymore!!! (I'm serious, people! It was that bad!) The spinal block was not a nightmare, but I did hate it and wish to never have any needle in my spine for ANY reason EVER again. I laid there and joked with the anesthesiologist, Dr. Blackmon, Paul, and nurses, and asked her while she was down there if she could do a tummy tuck. And she did!

When Evan Paul was born, at 1:06am, October 20th, 2007, he cried and was flailing his arms and legs like crazy. All I wanted was to hear him cry at that point, and it happened. Sometimes it doesn't, I'm told. But he wailed until they put the tube down his throat to bag him until they could get him on the ventilator in the NICU. They told me he weighed 2 lbs. 1 oz. and was 14 inches long. I was ecstatic. Most people hope for a 7-8 pound baby...I was hoping for at least 2 pounds! I was hoping to make it to 26 weeks...I made it to 26 and one day. Every day is counted in those situations.

But, enough about that day...fast forward to this day!! We have the happiest, healthiest (aside from a touch of asthma) little boy ever! We credit that to the Parkview NICU, our nurses, and our neonatologist, Dr. Gilmore.

We have had a great year with Evan and pray for so many more!!!

Pictures to follow, from his first birthday party at Grandpa Steve and Grandma Rhonda's house!