A Note from Mom

Well, this is my first official post. Our dear friend, Londa, created this blog for us and has done a better job explaining what's happened than I could have. I'll maybe take an opportunity to fill in the details...

Tuesday evening, April 25, I went in to be induced. On Wednesday, the 26th, she was born at 6:41 pm. When she was born she had the cord wrapped around her neck pretty good which prevented her from getting that first good cry out. I was able to hold her for about a minute before they began assessing her and treating her. Because she didn't get that good cry she had "wet lung" and was put on oxygen right away. She was on oxygen all night on Wed., and then late Thursday morning they decided just to do an ecocardiogram (sp?) to make sure everything was okay. The results were sent to Mayo to be read here in the next few days. Well, the tech must've seen something because the results were read that afternoon, and as Aaron and I were eating supper, one of the doctors came and explained a little what was wrong with Payton's heart and that she would be airlifted to Mayo within the next few hours. Needless to say this was a bit of a shock for us. There was a narrow spot in her aorta, but while a baby is in the womb, blood is pumped through a duct which closes when the baby is born and has those good cries when coming out of the womb. Having the cord wrapped around her neck is what saved her life because it prevented the duct from closing.

Payton's helicopter lifted off around 9 pm, and I was discharged early from the hospital at 10. We drove to Rochester that night and got here around 2am. Aaron and my dad went directly to the hospital where they found out they'd be operating the next morning. We got to the hospital at about 8 on Friday morning and at 9 were sending her off to the OR to a very critical surgery. There are no words for the fear and terror of sending your less than 48 hour old baby into major surgery. Along with fixing the aorta, they closed 2 holes in her heart and closed that duct that was still open. We ended up having one of the best surgeons in the country which was a blessing, and overall the surgery went well. Londa posted the arrithmea (sp?) that happened Fri. night and terrified us again for the day - so far the worst day of my life.

Sat. morning they took her back to surgery to close her up (not uncommon to leave babies open after open heart surgery because the pressure from extra fluids, ect. is too much). Sat. night was another scary night because her blood pressure was low and so they opened her again. Her current status is that they will close her tomorrow morning first thing. Probably around 8-9. Please pray for Payton tomorrow. This is another long day of waiting and making sure she does okay after they close her up. Three things to pray for specifically - no infection, no complications, and good response being closed.

Aaron and I are overwhelmed at how many people are praying for us and for Payton. It's humbling to see how many people care and are supporting you (even people we've never met). We're beyond grateful and know that your prayers are what's keeping her going. Please keep praying - we need them desperately. We'll try to keep you posted in the upcoming days and get some pictures up :). We think she's just beautiful :).