Bath Time!!

I just HAD to post this adorable picture of Ella after her bath tonight. There will be lots of updates tomorrow because I'm talking with her doctor in the morning. We did find out tonight that they want her to do a sight test before she leaves the hospital, so start to pray for those big eyes!!

Update...Tuesday...5pm

Well, just got home from seeing our little angel. She passed her hearing test today...YEAH!! Both ears hear perfectly well...that is a HUGE blessing and answer from God.

She also sucked pretty good on the pacifier today, so hopefully we'll be doing bottle feeds by the end of the week. PLEASE pray for feedings!!

The bumps/infection on her left wrist was looked at by a doctor today, and although I don't understand the diagnosis...they are putting a hot compress on it every 6 hours and it seems to already be doing better.

Again, God is so good to us, thank you for your prayers and support...it is amazing more and more every day.

Love,
The Mitchells

It's Tuesday morning after Memorial Day weekend. Joe and I spent the entire weekend, literally, at the hospital. Since he usually only gets to see Ella from 8p-10p during the week it was nice to have our family together and hanging out, eventhough it is at the hospital.

• Ella had a spinal tap/lumbar puncutre last Friday. The results came back negative for the infection (PRAISE GOD!!) but there is still some "goo" left over and more white blood cells and protein than they would like...SO, we are doing the antibiotics for another week. This also means she'll probably have another spinal tap towards the end of this week, but if it's super clear then we'll be off antibiotics by next Sunday.
• Also, thanks to your prayers Ella is starting to take a pacifier. It's a VERY SLOW process and pretty frustrating at times, but she is sucking 3-4 times in a row, which is a start. We do oral stimulation every day to try and work on her reconnecting that automatic reflex.
• Her arms and legs seem to be more reactive and reflexes are getting better. They have been weening her off meds that sedate her so she's becoming a lot more alert.
• Ella has a spot on her left wrist that is concerning Joe and I so we are having the doctors take a look at it today, I'll update you if there is anything to report.
• Please pray for her left hand, sounds funny, but she holds her thumb inside when she makes a fist...so they have this thing called a "thumb loop" to keep it from being inside. The thumb being inside the fist is a sign of neurological damage...which is concerning.
• Oh, and we got to give Ella a bath this past Saturday and we get to do it again tonight...Joe did most of the work and he's doing GREAT as a dad!!
• Also, she weighed in at 6 lbs, 15 oz...so she's doing really good in her weight.

People have asked about time frames for everything, and when she'll be home...HA, ME TOO!!! The doctors always give the longest date out...she'll be on meds at LEAST until next Sunday. She also needs to start to feed by at least a bottle (and hopefully breast) so that is our prayer right now.

Thank you to the people who have commented on the site, sent emails, prayed, and sent letters. It has been amazing to watch God work in our friends and family. We love each of you, even those of you who we have not met and may never meet...thank you for praying for our little girl and our family.

Here are some pictures (the fun part!!):

Just adding pictures

I'll send an update when I have some time to sit down and write, but here are some pictures...including those of her in her new "big girl" bed!!

Here are two pics from Wednesday:













My daddy loves me SOOO much!!














Here's my Big Girl Bed and here I am with mommy.

Updates from Tuesday

Tuesday was a day learning about development. Last night while we were talking to Ella's PT (Physical Therapist) we found out that just a week ago they were actually talking about the fact that she might be confined to a wheelchair or need positioning devices to help her, short and long term. It was looking last night like they were seeing HUGE improvements in her motor skills and her muscle tone. I never thought about the muscle tone of a baby, but it's VERY important for early development. It still looks like she might be a little behind in some skills (rolling over, crawling, walking, etc.) but she should be able to do them all eventually. Joe keeps saying that even if she has any "special needs" that she will be perfectly the way God intended her to be from the beginning. We also worked on some oral stimulation last night to get her moving in the right direction towards feeding. I honestly fear that we are still quite a ways off from knowing anything, and it's a huge concern of mine right now. We obviously can't take her home till she can feed or we'll have to have a tube to her belly that we just feed her through. PLEASE pray that she starts to show signs of suck/swallow/breathe and that she swallows safely. One of the big concerns with feeding is that the brain remembers to shut off the airway and allow the food to go down the correct tube...it's scary to think that while feeding she could choke bc of the damage to her brain. There are still SO many prayers needed. We are out of the woods as far as the infection itself, but the effects are still unknown.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful baby:



Above is daddy singing bible songs to Ella...she loves it when he sings to her.

We got to hold her...

I thought I would send some pictures of us holding her last night. God has been so good to us!!

Updates:

• Ella got her IV line to her belly taken out at 3pm yesterday and Dabney (the nurse) called to let me know it came out with no bleeding and her new IV line into her hand went in with only one prick. She has a splint back on her right hand where the IV is, but only so she doesn't pull it out since she's gotten more active.
• She starting to make more noises, but still no real crying or even loud grunting...but we are getting there. Funny how you WANT them to cry until they do!!
• We got blood culture results back and it's been 5 days with no growth so her blood seems to be clear...we have another spinal tap (lumbar puncture) probably on Thursday to check her CSF (Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear bodily fluid that occupies the subarachnoid space in the brain (the space between the skull and the cerebral cortex—more specifically, between the arachnoid and pia layers of the meninges). It acts as a "cushion" or buffer for the cortex. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_Spinal_Fluid) which is where the disease has been hanging out.
• When they did Ella's MRI last week they found an enlarged blood vessel right smack dab in the middle of her brain. This has nothing to do with the infection, and we wouldn't have found it unless she ever had an MRI. However, the neurosurgeon would like to do an angiogram (AN-jee-o-gram): An x-ray of blood vessels; the person receives an injection of dye to outline the vessels on the x-ray.http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q=http://www.spineuniverse.com/community/cancerdictionary.html). We won't know more about this or need to make decisions till a few months after her current infection has cleared and we'll keep you up to date on findings.

Current Prayer Requests:

• That Ella starts regulating her own temperature.
• She start to grow and put on "good" weight, not water weight.
• Learn to suck/swollow/breathe...HUGE before she can go home...got a call from the nurse this morning and she is starting to hold a pacifier in her mouth correctly, but we are still a long way from being discharged.
• Patience and Understanding...I, personally, am getting so frustrated and ready to bring her home and just get on with our lives on a normal basis (although "normal" will even be different)...just pray that I am still and listen to God...He's been so faithful to us, prayer that I can be as faithful to Him.

Update from the weekend...

I'm not as good at this as my sister, but I'm gonna try and give you guys an update.

Here is where we stand as of yesterday:

• They are increasing her milk intake (still through the feeding tube) 5 ML every feeding and decreasing the rate of her IV fluids and lipids as she goes up on the milk feedings. Her tube is through her nose now so that she can practice having a pacifier during feedings to relate a fully tummy to the sucking reflex.
• Taking her off the Keppra (Keppra is best used for partial-onset seizures—that is, seizures that begin in a limited area of the brain. Sometimes these seizures spread throughout the brain (generalize). Usually, Keppra is added when another seizure medicine is not controlling all seizures, rather than being used by itself. Keppra generally is not effective against absence seizures and infantile spasms. It may be somewhat helpful in treating myoclonic seizures. ) today, Monday, but she's still on the Phenobarbital (Phenobarbital, a barbiturate, is used to control epilepsy (seizures) and as a sedative to relieve anxiety. It is also used for short-term treatment of insomnia to help you fall asleep.)
• The IV line that is currently in her belly button (bc it's the best and least invasive place for them) is coming out today...so hopefully we'll be able to hold her now!! PRAISE GOD!! The only things that she has left to take through IVs is her antibiotic (down to only one) and her phenobarbital.
• She is having even less tremors the last 2 days, but they are still pretty evident and are still not completely diagnosed.
• At 3 of her feedings (which are a 3, 6, 9, and 12...so 8 times a day) we get to do "range of motion". Joe has had so much fun getting to do this bc we get to touch and play with her. He massages out her hands, stretches her arms up and across and over and down...talking to her the whole time. Then he moves on to her legs and gives them a good stretch at each joint. It really is fun to watch him interact with her.

• We are also getting to change her diaper and take her temp when we are there for feedings. Joe has gotten to change a couple...really good practice. Somehow he has managed to not have to do any of the dirty ones...that will change when we get home!!
• She is getting "tummy time" after some of her feedings so she can practice raising her head and strengthening her upper body muscles.
• Yesterday we came in and she was in a cute pink outfit...I'll post those pics.

Your prayers have been answered in so many ways. I can't even find the words right now to express this. As I look back over each day and the prayers that were lifted up I can SEE God's answers. They weren't always as fast as we wanted them or exactly as we wanted them, but as each of you (and others) were on your knees it was so obvious what God was doing. I know that my prayer life has never been stronger, but also never been more real. God asks us to seek him and to honestly search for him with all of our heart...I think he got our attention these last 12 days. He desires for each of us to come to him daily and all day long with the same urgency that we came to him for Ella...I hope that through this trial of ours it has showed you the majesty of God and the love of Christ. Please continue to pray for our family. Not only for medical reasons, but just bc we are a new family trying to follow God and his will for the 3 of us. Likewise we will pray for you all. Maybe not by name, but God knows who has lifted us up and will bless you for it.

Here are our current prayer requests:

• For a poopy diaper (that's a prayer that makes me smile). As Ella is getting all of this milk straight to her tummy we haven't seen any come out. We know it's not in her tummy bc they check before each feeding, so just prayer that it's all functioning correctly and she starts to wake up her bowels.
• That we CAN hold her today. It's amazing how your arms can literally ACHE to hold your child. I haven't held her next to me since that Wednesday night she was born and I'm so ready to just sit down and get to rock her.
• That the tremors continue to fade and become a non-issue. I'd like for them to not cause her any pain, and you can't really ask a baby what's uncomfortable and what hurts.
• For Joe and I please pray for rest, patience, peace, true understanding and trust. We know that God is in control, I don't think we could handle this all otherwise, but just giving Ella to God with open hands is sometimes rough. Please continue to just life us up as we learn to be parents and learn that she is a gift from God and is ours, but only through Him.

Just some pictures...

I am just posting some pictures...I'll send updates and a letter shortly...

love,

Joe, Andrea and Ella

Ella Update as of Saturday 1 p.m......

Ella is doing pretty good. She is free and clear of a lot of her cords now. The ventilator has been removed, PRAISE GOD, she is breathing on her own. Her MRI came back pretty good. She has some bruising on her brain and swollen blood vessels. They are hoping she will have no permanent damage but it may take a few years before they really know anything. Ella is opening her eyes and having a little more interaction with us. Joe got to take her temp and change her diaper yesterday. Andrea should begin nursing soon. She also got to give Ella a little sponge bath yesterday and Being able to pick her up was a great feeling for Joe and Andrea. Ella is looking good and truly a miracle baby. Just please continue to pray for this family and the road ahead.

Ella needs your Prayers.....

Please say a prayer for our little Ella today. She is going to have an MRI today to check her brain due to some twitching she has been having. Please pray it is a temporary side effect and that there is not permanent damage. I am going up to sit with Andrea as she is VERY scared for her baby girl right now. The MRI is scheduled around 3:00 p.m. today. Please continue to pray for this family as it is still a long road to get Ella where she needs to be. Thank you all for your continued love and support- Sara

Ella Update as of Wednesday 10:30 a.m.....

Well just a quick update Ella is doing well. She seems to be making GREAT progress. Andrea is feeling much better and had a clean bill of health today when she went in to see the doctor. God has his hands on all three of them and his hand has the power of healing. Andrea was getting ready to go in and see Ella, and she was so excited. She has not seen her in almost 48 hours. I went and saw Ella last night and she was doing just great. She is moving around and really starting to wake up. She has been doing range of motion to loosen up her joints and is getting a massage each day to work out some of the fluids and toxins. We ask you to continue praying for Joe, Andrea, and Ella as recovery is a slow process. We all know she is a miracle baby and has already begun her life with a true testimony of Gods grace. Ella is honestly the strongest little girl I have ever seen and a true blessing from God. We are blessed to have her in our lives and can't wait for her to come home. In His Grip- Sara

Ella update Monday 12:00 a.m.....

Well it is midnight and I am just getting a chance to get this thing updated. Ella is doing well and not much has changed today. She looked great tonight and I even caught her yawning. She sucks on her ventilator and will stretch her little limbs when she feels the need. She has been taken off of one of her sedation meds and is slowly being taken off of the other one. She is slowly becoming alert although still clearly sedated. They have lowered her antibiotics. Her spinal tap came back good although it did have a few white blood cells and bacteria in it, doctor is not concerned. They will begin to wean her off of her seizure medication in the next day or so. She has good urine output but needs to increase to take down the internal and external swelling. She is moving around more and they are trying to get her to wake up a little to really breath and urinate on her own. They should start giving her Andrea's milk tomorrow. These are the doctors specific prayers: that the infection stays under control, that she will not have seizures while coming off of her seizure medication, starts to breath well on her own so they can remove the ventilator, starts feeding well and soon directly from Andrea. She is NOT considered life threatening anymore it is now just a matter of time to recover. He prays Ella has no long term side effect, mainly neurological. Please also pray for Andrea as she seems to have some unknown infection as well and has to stay away from Ella for 24 hours while taking antibiotics. If she is not better at that point they will admit her into the hospital to treat her. Pray she breaks her fever which has been as high as 102.4 today. She feels miserable and keeping her from her little girl only makes it worse. Pray for her healing as well as rest for Joe and Andrea. I will probably begin to send updates once a day now, so do not worry if you only see one a day. Thank you all for prayers and support- Sara

Ella update Monday 12:00 p.m.....

Well there aren't a lot of updates since yesterday. They are not doing Ella's CT brain scan today. No results on her chest x-ray at this point. Her blood culture has come back negative for 72 hours now, this doesn't mean she doesn't have the disease anymore it jus means it isn't multiplying. She is doing good and making a lot of movements. She wrinkled her nose at Joe today which he just loved. We have a few specific prayer request. One is that Andrea get better. She has had a few minor complications with her healing due to Ella not being able to nurse. Pray for her recovery. Pray for Joe and his lack of rest. He is planning to go back to work on Wednesday and needs to get plenty of rest so he can be 100% when he gets there. Prayers for Ella are that she start to urinate more. She has to produce twice as much urine as a normal baby in order for her swelling to go down. Pray for her swelling on both the inside and outside to go down as it is all a snowball effect in her recovery. She can not be taken off of the ventilator until her swelling inside goes down. We ask for prayer that her bowel's start to sound better soon so they can start feeding her Andrea's milk, which she needs to build her strength and continue to get better. Please also begin to pray that there are no long term effects. We know she will have many specialist to see until the age of 3 and we just pray she not have anything long term to see them for. We thank you all for love and support and will keep you all updated- Sara

Ella Update of Sunday at 10:00 p.m......

Well we have some good news, our little Ella has gone from "critical" to "guarded". You can only imagine how wonderful this was to hear, Joe and Andrea are SOOOO beside themselves. We have had such a blessed weekend and what a better way for Andrea to end her mothers day than with such great news. She will remain in NICU for at least another few weeks but we will know a better ball park towards the end of this week. Andrea and Joe are staying in a hotel across from the hospital and are taking a shuttle a few times a day. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not call their cell phones unless they ask you to as that is the hospitals direct line to them. We went and saw Ella this morning and again tonight and she is just beautiful. She looks so peaceful in her sleep. It was so neat for Andrea to touch her and she responds to her mommie touch. In fact as we would kiss her on our way out tonight her heart rate would drop to a GREAT rate, what a good feeling. So here is today's progress. She will be having a CT of her brain and an x-ray of her chest done tomorrow. We get the results from her spinal tap tomorrow letting us know the progress of getting rid of the disease allowing them to start weaning her off of her antibiotics. If her bowels sound better she will start to take Andrea's milk in the next 24-48 hours. She has not had a seizer in over 50 hours, PRAISE GOD !!! All of her vital signs are doing well. She has had both arm splints removed and no IV's in either arm now. She has had her blood pressure meds, seizure meds and antibiotics all reduced over the weekend. She is urinating like a champ but they still need her to have more wet diapers. She has gained some weight from the water retention and is now beginning to lose it. Her swelling is minimal and her skin color is pale but pink. She has had her second blood and platelets tranfusion done today successfully, and by tomorrow her color should be better. Her vital cord in her umbilical veins should be removed on Thursday or Friday allowing Joe and Andrea to have more contact with her. It will probably still be some time before we know if there is any permanent damage. Please continue praying for Ella, Joe, Andrea, and the doctors. She is not out of the woods yet, but is on her way. I will post more pictures tomorrow after I download them. Much love and thanks for all of your support- Sara

Ella Update as of Saturday 10:30 p.m.....

Well little Ella has done so well today. She has had enough wet diapers that they have stopped reporting them to Andrea and Joe. All of her stats look very good and she seems to be fighting very hard. She is still critical, but is showing improvement. She is getting another blood transfusion in the morning and a new platelet transfusion. She has used up all of the platelets from he first transfusion fighting off this nasty disease, and it is perfectly normal. They say she is moving in the right direction and we pray she will be out of critical soon. She has had NO seizers for 29 hours now and counting. She has been almost 48 hours with a negative blood culture and that is remarkable. Her doctor from Children's will be coming tomorrow to do another spinal tap to check her spinal fluids for the disease. Andrea and Joe are in good spirits although you can only imagine how hard it is to see your infant go through this. They keep eachother going and it is remarkable to watch. I got to go in with Ella tonight and took a few pictures of her and one of me kissing her litle toes. She is so amazing !!! Andrea and Joe will take more tonight and I will post them tomorrow. I got to tell Ella about all of yalls love and support and that we love her and Jesus loves her and she is going to make it through this, God does miracles everyday and she is one of them. PLEASE continue to pray for her health and mom and dad's rest as they need it very much. Still no visitors or phone calls but Andrea and Joe will let you know when they are ready. Thank you again for prayers and support- Sara

Ella Update as of Saturday 10:30 p.m.....

Well little Ella has done so well today. She has had enough wet diapers that they have stopped reporting them to Andrea and Joe. All of her stats look very good and she seems to be fighting very hard. She is still critical, but is showing improvement. She is getting another blood transfusion in the morning and a new platelet transfusion. She has used up all of the platelets from he first transfusion fighting off this nasty disease, and it is perfectly normal. They say she is moving in the right direction and we pray she will be out of critical soon. She has had NO seizers for 29 hours now and counting. She has been almost 48 hours with a negative blood culture and that is remarkable. Her doctor from Children's will be coming tomorrow to do another spinal tap to check her spinal fluids for the disease. Andrea and Joe are in good spirits although you can only imagine how hard it is to see your infant go through this. They keep eachother going and it is remarkable to watch. I got to go in with Ella tonight and took a few pictures of her and one of me kissing her litle toes. She is so amazing !!! Andrea and Joe will take more tonight and I will post them tomorrow. I got to tell Ella about all of yalls love and support and that we love her and Jesus loves her and she is going to make it through this, God does miracles everyday and she is one of them. PLEASE continue to pray for her health and mom and dad's rest as they need it very much. Still no visitors or phone calls but Andrea and Joe will let you know when they are ready. Thank you again for prayers and support- Sara

Ella Update as of Saturday 10:30 a.m.....

Ella seems to be fighting even harder. She has been without a seizer since 6:00 p.m. yesterday, praise GOD. The doctors have lowered one of her antibiotics as she has received plenty of that one in her little body. A normal babies heart rate is 90-100 bpm and Ella's has gone from 170 bpm to 120 bpm, again praise GOD. The doctors have told Joe and Andrea she is still VERY critical and although we have some good news and much more hope we are not out of the woods just yet. She is still critical and critical with a life threatening disease. We all know it is going to take a lot more time to get her well enough to go home. She is a little fighter and this just shows the power of prayer is working. Andrea, Joe, and Ella ask that you please not give up on praying just yet as she needs this strong prayer in her corner. God has his grip around her and we need to continue to ask him for help and praise him for what he is already doing. We will be taking an hour of silence and prayer time this evening at 6:00 p.m., to thank God for what he has already blessed us with and to let him know we give him all of the glory. Please feel free at any point in that hour to join in. We will be doing this from across the country and across the world from our homes, work , and even stopping in our busy lives wherever we may be. Thank you again for all of the support you have shown our family- Sara

Ella Update as of Friday 11:30 p.m.....

Sorry for such a late update but it has been a very long day. Ella is doing well and is stable in critical condition. She urinated a total of 40 cc's today and that is WONDERFUL news. She is being placed on a new supplemental IV to give her protein, calcium, etc. She has had only one seizer at 6:00 p.m. since this mornings episodes. She is doing very well and we ask you to continue to pray. We have started a prayer vidual starting tonight at 10:00 p.m. We have people taking a time slot so we know someone is praying around the clock. We have it taken care of until 3:30 a.m. right now. Please respond if you would like to take a time slot. For now Andrea ask for specific prayer that the bacteria die so Ella can regain her strength and heal her body. We are all exhausted but need to continue our prayers. I will update again tomorrow. Thank you Again- Sara

Ella Update as of Friday at 4:30 p.m......

Ella seems to be doing better although still very critical. She is staying stable which for us is good news. They have now diagnosed her with Group B Strep Meningitis and they have adjusted her antibiotics to help her fight this nasty infection. Today she has had 3 less severe seizers and has recovered more quickly from them. She has urinated which is a great sign. The doctor has told Andrea he is confident they will be taking their baby girl home, although it will probably be a month or so. Please continue to pray for the whole family and especially Ella. I will update you all again this evening. Andrea and Joe ask that you Please NOT CALL OR PHONE !!!! Thank you- Sara

Ella Update as of Friday 9:45 a.m.....

I talk to Andrea at 5:45 this morning and she was getting ready to go down and see her baby Ella. She called me at 8:00 when she got back to er room and Ella did good through the night holding steady in critical. She had her blood and platelet transfusions done last night and seems to be doing fine with those so far. She has no changes, but right now nothing is better than something bad. She is a little fighter and is trying to get well. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ANDREA OR JOE, they are getting calls and their hearts skip a beat everytime their phones ring. That is the way the NICU staff gets a hold of them. They still want NO visitors as well. They will be spending as much time down with Ella today as they can. My mom and I are getting ready to head up there now and I will update as I get information. Thank you for continued prayer and Ella is definently feeling the power of prayer. Love- Sara

Update on Ella as of Thursday 10:30 p.m.....

Well Ella has taken a turn for the worse as of right now. On our way to see her tonight Andrea called and Ella had another seizer, which made her critical. It took all of a few minutes to have the seizer and took the doctors 2 hours to bring her back from a near death experience. She is not able to give the fight she needs to right now because her body is so sick. The doctors have her on antibiotics to treat the meningitis and are praying with us. At this point the power of prayer is her only chance. They have been very open with the family that she may or may not make it at this point. She needs a lot of help to continue fighting and needs the healing hand of God to make her better. She is having a blood transfusion done and they said she will get worse before she gets better. The nurse said Ella has had a lot of near death experiences today and she is having a hard time getting back to us. We will keep you all posted as we hear things. I was at the hospital tonight along with both sets of grandparents and our brother Drew. We have prayed over Ella and just continue to ask for your prayers. We did scrub in and get to visit Ella for a few minutes and she is still hanging on. Joe and Andrea continue to talk to her and cheer her on so she knows we all love her and can't wait for her to get all better. Please pray for Joe and Andrea as they need sleep and peace right now. Pray for Ella to get well and not have any life long damage from these complications. Most of all pray for the doctors as they care for our sweet baby Ella and give them wisdom and his guidance in what to do. I have had a few people ask if they can call or visit and that still remains NO. At this point Andrea wants NO visitors and NO phone calls. I am relaying messages to her and have printed out messages to take to her tomorrow to read. She said she loves you all and will let you know when they are ready for company, it will be a few days at the least. If you have questions I can answer I will respond to you otherwise I am trying to do it all by this blog as to keep everyone in the loop at one time. I am attaching a few pics to this email from a few hours after Ella was born. We will post more as we get them.
We love you all and thank you for your prayers and support- Sara

Update on Ella as of 4:30 p.m.......

Ella has been diagnosed and she has meningitis, it is treatable. They are still not sure what form of it she has but they are cautiously optimistic. Andrea is with Ella in NICU and although cannot touch her or hold her is able to watch over her. They are still requesting NO visitors and NO phone calls. Ella is still VERY critical and needs your prayers. We are moving a step in the right direction. She is a fighter and we know our little Ella is going to make it through with the help of her heavenly father. Thank you for your prayers and I will keep you updated- Sara

Ella in NICU- Update

Ok everyone- here is the full update. Ella is not doing well at all. She is currently in NICU at Medical City of Dallas. She does not seem to be improving so we need your prayers. Here is a little bit of the run down. Ella has become pale and has a yellow tint to her skin, seizers, she is rolling her eyes and moving to one side only, she is clinching her fists and has "modeling" which is when you can see all of the veins in her chest. She is in her own room in NICU and has a team of 7 doctors and specialist and 2 nurses. They have her arms splinted to keep her from pulling out her cords when she has the seizers. There is someone from Children's Hospital coming to look at her and run her spinal tap at lunch time. She has an IV which is feeding her sugar water and is on oxygen to clean all of the acids out of her blood. The two categories they are looking at are Infection which they are already treating her for with antibiotics, or Inborn metabolic Error which means Andrea and Joes genes did not match for Ella. We pray for infection as they can treat it. If it is the other there are only a few treatments and it has to be specific to her condition. A waver has been signed for a blood transfusion if needed and we are standing by until the next doctor comes in. At this point they continue to run test and have ruled out heart and her CT came back good. Andrea and Joe have already been told they will not be taking her home with them and the nurses are trying to find a way to keep Andrea a few more days to be with Ella. If they do decide to transfer Ella to Children's, Andrea will be discharged and allowed to go with her. Andrea and Joe request NO calls and NO visitors at this time. We will let you know when that status changes. Please pray for everyone including the doctors, Andrea, Joe and little Ella. We have to have faith God will pull her through. Andrea is physically doing well and seems to be emotionally hanging in there. Please pray for comfort and peace of mind. Thank you for your prayers, love, and support- Sara

Wednesday, May 10th 2006!!!

Well, we are happy to announce that our due date has technically changed. Dr. Oliver decided today that he'd like to induce us NEXT Wednesday, May 10th!! We will go in for a final check up and report to Labor and Delivery on the 9th, and then Wednesday morning show up...and we'll be leaving with a little girl.

I had a sonogram today and she weighs approx. 6 lbs, 13 oz...so she'll be around 7 lbs next week. She is in position and ready to go.

We'll keep you all updated and informed as we get closer.

Please pray for all 3 of us as well as our families as we go through this new experiance. God has been SO faithful thus far and has answered our prayers, please keep us in yours. If you are looking for specific things to pray for it would be:
the umbilical cord not get wrapped (which today wasn't near her neck at all)
that she be positioned perfectly
for labor to go smoothly
Joe and I to have a peace about everything
and mostly pray for Ella's heart, as God prepares for her to follow him

Thank you to all who have loved, prayed, and supported us through this pregnancy, we're almost there!!

Love,
Joe and Andrea


Here's group "Roughton" picture from my mom's birthday dinner: