Gracie

Things didn't go quite as smoothly as we'd hoped today with the specialist. Here's the scoop - I'll try to write this as clearly as I can.

What's Going On?
Two to three months ago something happened to cause a severe hemorrhage in Gracie's brain. The bleeding caused clots, which then caused blockages in the ventricles and prevented fluid from circulating like it should.

How Did This Happen?
At this point we have no idea. There are several different potential causes:

•  it could have been caused by a genetic issue,
• an infection (which I don't have any history of),
• an autoimmune disorder that can effect the blood, like Lupus,
• or trauma (Serious trauma like a car accident or being hit in the stomach with a baseball bat - nothing like that has happened)

 They did pretty full screen of tests on me to try and find the cause. Grace will have the same slew of tests when she is born.

What Does This Mean?
We won't know until after she's born. It could mean that she'll have some extra care when she's born then be completely fine. Worst case scenario could mean that she would be prone to seizures or have cerebral palsy.

What Happens Now?
The doctor determined that it is best that we have Grace as quickly as possible to start fixing the problem. So Saturday morning I will be going to the hospital for a c-section. Since there are so many unknowns still, they were concerned that a regular delivery could cause more damage. I'll be going to a bigger hospital where a team of doctors will be waiting to take care of Grace. I'll be in the hospital until at least Wednesday. They do not know how long Grace will have to stay.

After the delivery, it depends on how Grace responds as to what will happen. They'll run all the blood work, do an MRI and other tests to determine how severe (or minor) the damage is and go from there.

How Is The Family?
Jeff and I are pretty numb. We're still counting on the best case scenario for Grace, but this all has happened so quickly we feel like we've been hit by a truck. My emotions change from minute to minute from ticked off, to sad, confident - but mostly scared. There are just so many unknowns right now that I feel like we can't prepare for anything. And I can be somewhat of  a control freak, so not knowing does not work well for me! Riley knows the baby is coming Saturday and is excited. I tried to tell him that the baby might be sick and won't be able to come home right away, but I don't think he got it. Brenna doesn't get it at all. :-)

That's all I can think of for now. I'm going to zone out in front of America's Funniest Home Videos for a bit and then start getting stuff ready for the big day.

The doctor told us that if we believe in a higher power, to ask for His hand in this, because that's all we can do at this point until she's delivered. So, if you'd please have a chat with the Man upstairs on our behalf, we'd be very grateful.