Oscar's Odyssey/Stella's Story

It has been a few days since I wrote which is good because that means it has been quiet in our home and with Oscar. We had an OB appointment Wednesday, September 27, after school and all was well. I am measuring exactly 28 weeks and Oscar's heartbeat was found right away and beating steady at 145 bpm . I got my flu shot and my goodness my arm was sore until today. I feel kind of bad Theodore is going to have to get the shot this year. I am hoping he will not be nearly as sore as I was. My OB said all seems to be going as usually and said due to this being a high risk pregnancy we will begin non-stress testing in the next few weeks. This means I will come in weekly along with my appointments and just get hooked up to the baby monitors for 20 minutes or so. This will allow for Oscar to be monitored and make sure there are no sudden changes with him. Some other news I have been loved greatly this week by some colleagues/their families at work. I was given two gifts and the funny

Our sweet Oscar will be 27 weeks on Wednesday, September 20. One thing Brian and I wanted to do was get bracelets to help individuals to remember to pray for Oscar and our family. We have partnered with  Threads of Hope, Inc.  to do a  Love Project  with Oscar's bracelets. This means that 100% of the funds from #OscarStrong bracelets will go straight back to the work Threads of Hope is doing in the Philippines. You may be asking why Threads of Hope. Well...Threads of Hope was a booth at Bible Missionary Conference at Beulah Beach this summer.  If you read our story from the beginning at this conference on July 23, I said to Brian, "I think something is wrong with our baby" and then on July 24 my feelings were confirmed with a call that we needed our anatomy ultrasound bumped up and some additional appointments scheduled that day too. 1. to see the genetic counselor and 2. to have a consult with the MFM doctor as well. Threads of Hope not holds a place in my heart and is a

I am always thankful for the weekends as a chance to reset and refresh before another work week begins. Although I feel the weekends go by way, way too fast. This weekend's productive was not nearly as high as the last, but we were able to celebrate my Father-in-law's Birthday and enjoy time with family which is so sweet for the soul. Theodore and I also got to go to my best friend's, Larisa, daughter's first flag football game she cheered at. We are blessed to have family and dear friends close by that are with us through the ups and downs of this life. We also have prayed lots this weekend and I have been leaving the Weather Channel on in the background with reports about Hurricane Irma. Brian's grandparents live in Naples along with his 2 uncles and their families. Brian also has cousins that live in Naples and West Palm with their families. My brother, Jeffrey, lives in Orlando with his wife, son, and daughter. I heard from Jeffrey a little before 9pm and he sai

To everyone that has prayed for Oscar. Please keep praying. Today at his fetal echo cardiogram we found out he has Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). What this means is that there normally is a pulmonic valve that opens and allows blood to exit the heart through the right ventricle. Oscar's pulmonary atresia valve is permanently sealed or absent. Along with that, the main pulmonary artery is very small about 1/4 of the size it should be and it is much smaller than the Aorta. Oscar also has fluid surrounding his entire heart which was not there on the August 1 ultrasound. His heart function is okay, but it is not good. During the 2 hour fetal echocardigram there were also signs of fetal arrhythmia of Oscar's heart rate dropping lower and more quickly then it should. Going forward we need your prayers for our son's heart. We believe in a God that heals and does miracles. We don't know if Oscar being born alive is going to be that miracle we are gi

Theodore will be 3 in November, and he has never been away from Brian and I for more than a few hours outside of our work day. It was weird last night waking in the middle of the night and looking at his monitor and realizing it wasn't on. Along with not rushing out of bed this morning to warm his sippy cup of milk and get him to snuggle for a few minutes before the day began. These two days have been a blessing, but not one I need to repeat monthly Nana :-). They have allowed Brian and I to get some much needed house projects done along with allowing us to talk and talk a lot. After a work day and getting your son to bed a serious conversation with your spouse at 8:30/9:00pm isn't the way I want to end my evenings regularly. I joined a group on FB, Trisomy 13 Life - Living with Patau Syndrome .The group's administrator sent me examples of Birth Plans that have been written by families with a child with Trisomy 13. I began writing Oscar's, and it was hard. It makes it a