We are getting into the home stretch of Cloey being here with us for the summer. A week from today we get back into the every other weekend routine. It is going to be a hard adjustment because we have had such a wonderful summer with her. Here are a few things that have been going on with Cloey in the last week or so.
* Backpack Shopping - She originally picked out a Hannah Montana backpack from Wal-Mart, but when we went to Target she wanted to check out the backpacks there and see if there was one she liked better. She did find one she liked better and we asked her if she was sure because it was just a plain purple backpack. Once asked she informed us that she is just too old for a backpack with a character on it and quickly reminded us that she was entering the 2nd grade. We got a little chuckle out of it and were also reminded that she is growing up a lot faster than we want.
* Sewing Machine - When we celebrated Emma's Baptism and Homecoming from the NICU with a party we also celebrated the fact that Emma has an AWESOME big sister. Since Emma was getting presents from some of the guests we decided to give Cloey $20 as her present. After the CDH Check-up yesterday we had to run to a few stores. Cloey decided to spend her money on a mini sewing machine. She has been having a blast sewing away. It is really cute to see her with it and she can't wait till Grandma Swersky comes so she can show her some cool things to do with the sewing machine.
* Missing teeth - Cloey is now missing one of her top front teeth. Her smile is adorable with her big missing gap. She is very proud of her tooth being out and it had been a long time in the making. It seems like it had been lose forever.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
CDH Check-Up
Emma had an AMAZING CDH check-up yesterday. Her surgeon was so pleased with her progress that rather than her going back in 3 months she goes back in 6 months now. She also did not have to get an x-ray yesterday because of her progress(he doesn't want her to have to be exposed to so much radiation since she already has been). Jason and I left the check-up and felt absolutely blessed. Our baby girl who had to fight so hard to live was able to have a check-up and prove to everyone that she is a fighter and will beat all the odds and live a normal life. We still feel so blessed to know that she is doing so well. God bless all of you and thank you to all of you because your prayers have gotten us where we are today with Emma.
After Emma's check-up we headed up to the NICU to see if any of Emma's nurses were working. We were able to see one of her favorite nurses Karen and also saw one of her respratory therapists Alice. It was great to be able to let them see how much progress she has made. One of them even commented that Emma could be such an inspiration for other babies in the NICU to show just how far they can come.
Emma waiting for her check-up
Emma with her Peds Surgeon Dr. Kane
Emma visiting with one of her nurses from the NICU
After Emma's check-up we headed up to the NICU to see if any of Emma's nurses were working. We were able to see one of her favorite nurses Karen and also saw one of her respratory therapists Alice. It was great to be able to let them see how much progress she has made. One of them even commented that Emma could be such an inspiration for other babies in the NICU to show just how far they can come.
Emma waiting for her check-up
Emma with her Peds Surgeon Dr. Kane
Emma visiting with one of her nurses from the NICU
4 Months
Sorry the 4 month picture is a little late, but I just uploaded them to my computer. Look how big our baby girl has gotten.
Emma at 1 Month
Emma at 4 Months
Emma at 1 Month
Emma at 4 Months
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Our Testimony
We all say that we believe in God and that we are faithful people. Sometimes though we need a reminder of how important our faith is in our everyday lives. We can tell you that we were reminded of that importance on March 31, 2010.
Before delivery it was commented that I had had a great and healthy pregnancy. This statement would quickly be changed. Within hours of our beautiful baby being born we were presented with the news that she had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia or CDH as we would quickly learn it was called. We were then told that the situation was grim. It would not be until later that we would learn that Emma’s chance of survival was 50%. Our baby was being rushed to the NICU at UVA and the prayer began.
Much of the night Emma was born is a blur to us. One thing we do remember is Michael coming to the hospital after we had found the news and praying with us. During that time of prayer we felt a renewed relationship with our faith. We suddenly were given the feeling that things would be alright if we put our faith in His hands. These feelings made us decide to put everything in the hands of our faith.
Within days Emma had family, friends, friends of friends, and complete strangers following every step of her progress across the country with the help of technology. This technology would also allow for our 6 pound baby girl to get others to pray and be reminded of the importance of their relationship with their faith. At one point people who never pray began to pray.
While machines allowed our baby to breathe, medicines worked to keep her blood pressure stabilized, and numerous doctors, nurses, and respitory therapists worked around the clock with Emma we kept praying. Life in the NICU was a rollercoaster. One thing we did on that rollercoaster was pray. We prayed for all the good things that had happened and we prayed when things weren’t looking good. We learned to use our faith during good times and bad. This faith would be what got us through 32 long, stressful, and joyous days.
We can see God’s blessings in many ways during our NICU stay. Day 1 Emma was stabilized; Day 7 Emma had a successful surgery, Day 16 we held our baby for the first time, Day 19 a machine is no longer needed to help her breath, Day 32 we went home. While there were all of these big blessings in the NICU we also began to see the little blessings in life as well. These were things like her opening her eyes, her ventilator settings being lowered, tubes and wires being removed, being able to start giving her a bottle, being able to give her a sponge bath, gaining weight even if it was an ounce and those little smiles she would give. Seeing these big and small blessings allowed us to take a new outlook on life. In our world we no longer look at it as if the glass is half full or half empty – we feel blessed knowing that there is something in the glass. The only reason we can have this outlook on life is because of the strong relationship we were able to renew with the Lord.
We now are home and have made sure not to forget about that renewed relationship we gained on the night of March 31st. We can be reminded of this by the 3 inch scar that runs across Emma’s belly. To the medical field the scar represents a Left Diaphragmatic Hernia Repair. To strangers it is a horrific experience for such a little baby. To our family and friends it is a reminder of a baby being in such a fragile condition and the experiences that Jason and I had to endure. To us though the scar is a reminder of many things. It reminds us of the fight our little girl put up, the support we had from family, friends, strangers, and all those people helping Emma. It reminds us how much we need each other during good times and bad. A reminder that the little things in life are no longer worth stressing over. Mostly it is a reminder that prayer is a powerful thing, miracles do happen, and faith will get you through anything good and bad. So when we get stressed in life or need to be reminded of the importance of faith we think back to that first time we saw Emma with a machine to let her breath, wires to monitor her progress, and tubes sending medicine to help stabilizer her.
It has taken a few months but with us being able to use prayer to turn to Jesus with our burdens we have finally stepped away from the guilt we have felt since we heard the news on March 31st. We are done blaming ourselves for what happened to Emma. We know now more than we have ever known that God has a great plan for us. He knew we could handle the birth of a child with CDH for many reasons. We have a great support system that starts with our parents. He knew we would be strong and fight for whatever it took to keep our baby healthy. He needed another family to share a positive story about this birth defect that happens in 1800 births a year, yet many do not even know what CDH is. He knew our little 6 pound baby would put up the fight of her life and beat all the odds.
We are thankful to baptize Emma today and raise her in a home were the importance of faith in your life is taught because without faith we would not be where we are today.
Before delivery it was commented that I had had a great and healthy pregnancy. This statement would quickly be changed. Within hours of our beautiful baby being born we were presented with the news that she had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia or CDH as we would quickly learn it was called. We were then told that the situation was grim. It would not be until later that we would learn that Emma’s chance of survival was 50%. Our baby was being rushed to the NICU at UVA and the prayer began.
Much of the night Emma was born is a blur to us. One thing we do remember is Michael coming to the hospital after we had found the news and praying with us. During that time of prayer we felt a renewed relationship with our faith. We suddenly were given the feeling that things would be alright if we put our faith in His hands. These feelings made us decide to put everything in the hands of our faith.
Within days Emma had family, friends, friends of friends, and complete strangers following every step of her progress across the country with the help of technology. This technology would also allow for our 6 pound baby girl to get others to pray and be reminded of the importance of their relationship with their faith. At one point people who never pray began to pray.
While machines allowed our baby to breathe, medicines worked to keep her blood pressure stabilized, and numerous doctors, nurses, and respitory therapists worked around the clock with Emma we kept praying. Life in the NICU was a rollercoaster. One thing we did on that rollercoaster was pray. We prayed for all the good things that had happened and we prayed when things weren’t looking good. We learned to use our faith during good times and bad. This faith would be what got us through 32 long, stressful, and joyous days.
We can see God’s blessings in many ways during our NICU stay. Day 1 Emma was stabilized; Day 7 Emma had a successful surgery, Day 16 we held our baby for the first time, Day 19 a machine is no longer needed to help her breath, Day 32 we went home. While there were all of these big blessings in the NICU we also began to see the little blessings in life as well. These were things like her opening her eyes, her ventilator settings being lowered, tubes and wires being removed, being able to start giving her a bottle, being able to give her a sponge bath, gaining weight even if it was an ounce and those little smiles she would give. Seeing these big and small blessings allowed us to take a new outlook on life. In our world we no longer look at it as if the glass is half full or half empty – we feel blessed knowing that there is something in the glass. The only reason we can have this outlook on life is because of the strong relationship we were able to renew with the Lord.
We now are home and have made sure not to forget about that renewed relationship we gained on the night of March 31st. We can be reminded of this by the 3 inch scar that runs across Emma’s belly. To the medical field the scar represents a Left Diaphragmatic Hernia Repair. To strangers it is a horrific experience for such a little baby. To our family and friends it is a reminder of a baby being in such a fragile condition and the experiences that Jason and I had to endure. To us though the scar is a reminder of many things. It reminds us of the fight our little girl put up, the support we had from family, friends, strangers, and all those people helping Emma. It reminds us how much we need each other during good times and bad. A reminder that the little things in life are no longer worth stressing over. Mostly it is a reminder that prayer is a powerful thing, miracles do happen, and faith will get you through anything good and bad. So when we get stressed in life or need to be reminded of the importance of faith we think back to that first time we saw Emma with a machine to let her breath, wires to monitor her progress, and tubes sending medicine to help stabilizer her.
It has taken a few months but with us being able to use prayer to turn to Jesus with our burdens we have finally stepped away from the guilt we have felt since we heard the news on March 31st. We are done blaming ourselves for what happened to Emma. We know now more than we have ever known that God has a great plan for us. He knew we could handle the birth of a child with CDH for many reasons. We have a great support system that starts with our parents. He knew we would be strong and fight for whatever it took to keep our baby healthy. He needed another family to share a positive story about this birth defect that happens in 1800 births a year, yet many do not even know what CDH is. He knew our little 6 pound baby would put up the fight of her life and beat all the odds.
We are thankful to baptize Emma today and raise her in a home were the importance of faith in your life is taught because without faith we would not be where we are today.
We are back
Sorry about the lack of posts in the last week, but as explained before Jason's Granny who he was very close to passed away on Friday. We have been spending a lot of time as a family working through the loss of this very important person in our lives.
So what have we been up to lately:
-Saturday Mom and I worked away at making cupcakes for Emma's party. We were trying to be fancy with the swirling of the frosting but that didn't go to well. We did make a pretty arrangement of cupcakes in the shape of a cross. After spending the day baking away I didn't think I would want to see cupcakes or frosting again.
- Sunday Emma was baptized. We had lots of family and friends there to share this special day with us. Jason and I shared our testimony before Emma's baptism - I will post it on here for everyone to view. After her baptisim which she was a very good girl for we had a potluck at church. Lots of yummy food and good fellowship. Then it was time for her party. We had lots of great people who helped us through everything come and celebrate Emma's big day. After the party the day caught up with all of us and we were very tired.
- Monday - We had Jason's Granny's funeral. It was a nice service and we know it was just how she would have wanted it to go. The girls stayed with a friend during the service. This was the first time Emma stayed with someone other than family. I knew she was in wonderful hands, but I still had some issues being away from her. After the service we picked the girls up and headed to Jason's parent's house for a luncheon with all of his family. It was nice to spend time with family, but sad because we were there mourning the loss of Granny.
- Tuesday - We did one big special thing with Cloey before she starts back to school and we get on our every other weekend schedule. We all headed to Chuck E. Cheese. We all had fun playing games and Emma seemed to enjoy people watching. After time there we headed to Target to get a few more school supplies. Emma needed to eat so we made a stop at Chick Fil A for some shakes while Emma ate. It was a great day as a family.
- Wednesday - Cloey and I went to work in my classroom and Daddy worked on his final exam.
- Thursday(today)- We spent the morning running errands and then came home and relaxed. This evening we had family pictures done and I think they are going to turn out great. Emma got a little fussy because it was hot, but otherwise it went very well.
- Tomorrow we are headed to UVA bright and early for an annual CDH check-up with Emma's surgeon. Please pray everything looks great!!!
Once I get the memory card from Mom I will post some of the baptism pictures.
So what have we been up to lately:
-Saturday Mom and I worked away at making cupcakes for Emma's party. We were trying to be fancy with the swirling of the frosting but that didn't go to well. We did make a pretty arrangement of cupcakes in the shape of a cross. After spending the day baking away I didn't think I would want to see cupcakes or frosting again.
- Sunday Emma was baptized. We had lots of family and friends there to share this special day with us. Jason and I shared our testimony before Emma's baptism - I will post it on here for everyone to view. After her baptisim which she was a very good girl for we had a potluck at church. Lots of yummy food and good fellowship. Then it was time for her party. We had lots of great people who helped us through everything come and celebrate Emma's big day. After the party the day caught up with all of us and we were very tired.
- Monday - We had Jason's Granny's funeral. It was a nice service and we know it was just how she would have wanted it to go. The girls stayed with a friend during the service. This was the first time Emma stayed with someone other than family. I knew she was in wonderful hands, but I still had some issues being away from her. After the service we picked the girls up and headed to Jason's parent's house for a luncheon with all of his family. It was nice to spend time with family, but sad because we were there mourning the loss of Granny.
- Tuesday - We did one big special thing with Cloey before she starts back to school and we get on our every other weekend schedule. We all headed to Chuck E. Cheese. We all had fun playing games and Emma seemed to enjoy people watching. After time there we headed to Target to get a few more school supplies. Emma needed to eat so we made a stop at Chick Fil A for some shakes while Emma ate. It was a great day as a family.
- Wednesday - Cloey and I went to work in my classroom and Daddy worked on his final exam.
- Thursday(today)- We spent the morning running errands and then came home and relaxed. This evening we had family pictures done and I think they are going to turn out great. Emma got a little fussy because it was hot, but otherwise it went very well.
- Tomorrow we are headed to UVA bright and early for an annual CDH check-up with Emma's surgeon. Please pray everything looks great!!!
Once I get the memory card from Mom I will post some of the baptism pictures.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Sorry no posts!
Sorry we haven't posted in a few days. We have been busy while I enjoy my last few days of summer vacation. Jason's Granny passed away today so we will be busy with the family night and funeral over the next few days. We are still excited to baptize Emma on Sunday and have her party despite the current situation. We feel that her baptsim and celebration will put the much needed smiles on our face during our time of loss. We will try and post videos and pictures from the baptsim and party on Tuesday once the funeral is over. God Bless all of you and always let the ones you love know just how much you love them.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Busy Weekend
We were very pleased to have a busy weekend filled with family time.
Friday - Emma had her doctor's appointment. After the appointment the girls went back to my Mom and Dad's house while Jason and I ran some errands. We then went back for lunch and Mom and I headed to do an errand. I picked Jason and the girls up and we headed home. That evening my brother and his girlfriend got in and Mom and Dad came down so we all could have dinner together.
Saturday - We headed to Mom and Dad's house to spend time with my brother and his girlfriend again. We spent the day hanging out. Cloey went to the pool with Dad, Adam, and Angela. It was nice to spend the day relaxing with family. After dinner we headed back to our house for the evening.
Sunday - We got up and headed to church. After church we met the rest of the family at Macado's for lunch. After lunch we came back to our house and hung out. Adam and Angela stayed the night since it knocked an hour off their drive. Cloey wanted to sleep in the living room with them, but got scared when the tv got shut off and it was dark. So she ended up sleeping on her princess couch on our floor.
Monday - Adam and Angela took off bright and early. Cloey was pretty upset she didn't get to tell them good-bye. Around lunch Jason headed off with Cloey to take her to North Carolina for a week with her Mom. Emma and I stayed at home and I attempted to get stuff done around the house, but Miss Emma wanted to be loved instead. I didn't mind cuddling with her since I go back to work in a couple of weeks.
Today - I am getting some last few things done around the house and then Emma and I are headed to my Mom and Dad's house for the night. Mom, Emma, and I are headed to the outlet mall in Maryland tomorrow. Poor Daddy will be at home all by himself, but it does give him some quiet time to get homework done
Emma has physical therapy on Thursday and that is her only appointment this week. Then we have to spend some time cleaning up the house and making cupcakes for Emma's party on Sunday.
Friday - Emma had her doctor's appointment. After the appointment the girls went back to my Mom and Dad's house while Jason and I ran some errands. We then went back for lunch and Mom and I headed to do an errand. I picked Jason and the girls up and we headed home. That evening my brother and his girlfriend got in and Mom and Dad came down so we all could have dinner together.
Saturday - We headed to Mom and Dad's house to spend time with my brother and his girlfriend again. We spent the day hanging out. Cloey went to the pool with Dad, Adam, and Angela. It was nice to spend the day relaxing with family. After dinner we headed back to our house for the evening.
Sunday - We got up and headed to church. After church we met the rest of the family at Macado's for lunch. After lunch we came back to our house and hung out. Adam and Angela stayed the night since it knocked an hour off their drive. Cloey wanted to sleep in the living room with them, but got scared when the tv got shut off and it was dark. So she ended up sleeping on her princess couch on our floor.
Monday - Adam and Angela took off bright and early. Cloey was pretty upset she didn't get to tell them good-bye. Around lunch Jason headed off with Cloey to take her to North Carolina for a week with her Mom. Emma and I stayed at home and I attempted to get stuff done around the house, but Miss Emma wanted to be loved instead. I didn't mind cuddling with her since I go back to work in a couple of weeks.
Today - I am getting some last few things done around the house and then Emma and I are headed to my Mom and Dad's house for the night. Mom, Emma, and I are headed to the outlet mall in Maryland tomorrow. Poor Daddy will be at home all by himself, but it does give him some quiet time to get homework done
Emma has physical therapy on Thursday and that is her only appointment this week. Then we have to spend some time cleaning up the house and making cupcakes for Emma's party on Sunday.
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