Mommy's Letter to William Ethan Morgan

My dear sweet baby Will,

I loved you before you were even conceived.  I will never forget the moment I knew you were growing in my belly.  I was singing and dancing and could not wait to share the news.  I thanked God for you every day and focused on loving every moment that we had to share.  My heart grew over the past 10 months to allow me to experience a love that I never knew possible.  Each day my love for God grew because of the miracle he allowed us to share.  I had more love for your father who cared for the two of us with more dedication and concern than I had ever seen.  I had more love for you who brought more joy into my life than I ever knew possible.  Yes the past 10 months have been the best 10 months of my life.

I know that you are with God today.  I may not understand his plan but I do know that if he needed someone full of love he choose the right boy to help him.  Your daddy and I love you so dearly but that is just the beginning.  You have grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and even perfect strangers who have been moved by your journey.  You, my sweet precious William, have in your short little life been loved more than many who have very long lives.  You have inspired so many of us to be better people and to make the most of the lives and our physical health that we sometimes take for granted.   We are so very proud of you.

I am your mommy and you are my son - the son that I prayed for and loved while you were here on earth.  I know that I will long to have you in my arms until the day I see you in heaven.  Until then, I must accept that you are with God in a much better place.   As hard as we tried to keep you to ourselves it looks like God too knew that you were an amazing person even before you were born.

Daddy and I will always love you.  

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Early Morning Update....

We are still here... and still waiting for Baby Will.  We had a mix-up with the Epidural, and after pushing for 2 hours, the epidural interfered with the contractions, bringing this whole party to a halt before Will's arrival.

We had to stop our delivery, turn down the doses of the epidural, and wait for the medicine to wear off a bit.... and we were almost there!  

But, this is just a delay...  we expect to restart the pushing in the next 30 minutes...

BTW:  Heather is sooo tired... I wish we could just let her sleep for a couple of hours.  She has been up nonstop for 24 hours, and its been 48 hours since she had a decent night sleep. ;-(


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3:27AM Video Update from Matt

9 Centimeters Dilation, its time for Will to arrive!!!



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Monday, August 18, 2008

Our CDH Battle: Next Steps after Will arrives


Heather is doing great... she continues to make amazing progress.

Lets turn our attention to Baby Will for a moment... and his next steps after delivery. We are excited to meet our son in person, but we are expecting quite a fight when he arrives. For those who have just started following us, Will has right-side, liver-up CDH. His right lung is severely impacted by the presence of his liver, and his left lung has been impacted by a shifted heart. Luckily, our son has no other illnesses or abnormalities.

When William arrives, he will likely be delivered in critical condition, unable to breathe and in pulmonary distress. He will require immediate medical intervention.... by skilled experts who know how to deal with this problem.

This is the moment... this exact moment... is why Heather and I have uprooted our life and moved 1000 miles North to Philadelphia. CHOP is 1000x more qualified to deal with this condition than our home town of Atlanta.

Let me walk you through the next steps for William, and how CHOP has planned the approach for Will:



See this Window? You may ask... "Why is there a window between two rooms?"... well, this is the magic of CHOP's SDU. Inside this window is a life-saving NICU stabilization room, equipped with the latest equipment dedicated to stabilizing our son. This window is right next to Heather's birthing bed side. At the time of Will's birth, this room will be filled with 15 (yes, fifteen!!) doctors that are part of the CHOP CDH response team. These NICU staffers will be responsible for by-passing Will's problems and preparing him for his corrective surgery, and his three month visit at the CHOP NICU.



We opened the window earlier, and took this picture of Will's lifesaving bed. This bed is already primed and ready for our son. The CHOP CDH team has been in-and-out of this room all day, ensuring it is equiped for Will's specific condition. You can see the incubation technology, medical sensors, the gastric-de-gassing technology, the infant heater, oxygen, vacuums, ECMO on standby, etc. This environment is 100% sterile... and is literally an arm's length of William's birthing place. Once Will is stable, he will be transfered into the formal CHOP NICU, which will be his home for the remainder of his fight.

So... for the rest of the delivery, we will focus on Heather (of course), but we will update the blog on Will's first steps into his personal fight.

Updates soon...




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Update: Epidural In - 4 Centimeters and Dilating

Heather has had a remarkable last 24 hours...  we arrived at CHOP with Heather is a "not favorable" condition for delivery.  She responded to the Cervidil to prepare her Cervix perfectly, she responded to inducement...perfectly... and she has been incredibly calm and patient throughout the day.  Now, she is not only favorable, but is "in active labor" with Baby Will's arrival coming in the next 3 to 9 hours.

This has been amazing job by CHOP.  Speaking of CHOP, there is a reason why these people have been so recognized as a leader in Children's care.  The delivery process has been managed, measured, and executed with flawless agility and care.  The big fight remains in front of us (ie:  Will's CDH), but we have utmost confidence in the people of CHOP to cure him and deliver us a healthy baby boy.  More on the CDH fight in an upcoming post....

At this time, Heather continues to make excellent progress in her labor.  She is now dilated about 4 centimeters, and she now has an Epidural administered.  Funny, as she continues through the labor process, her stack of monitors, drips, and (now with the Epidural) buttons for drug doses continues to increase.

One of the most significant drivers for Heather has been her sister...  wow... I am witnessing a relationship so deep that it defines family and love.  Cindy has been next to her all day, walking with her, helping her through the contractions...  Below are some pictures of today.



Heather and Cindy walking the halls of the Special Delivery Unit of CHOP.  Walking helps drive the delivery process... having gravity help Will make his way down the birth canal.




Another picture of Cindy and Heather, making the rounds...  (Remember, Heather has no anesthesia and is handling the contractions with a smile.)



Another picture of Heather and Cindy walking.  



Picture of the family supporting Heather.  Her father is sitting right next to her, and has been a rock supporting her.  He made the trip from Atlanta on a moment's notice to ensure he is at her side... and has stayed there (including staying at the Hospital all night tonight).  My mother, father, and brother have made the trip from Louisiana to be here for our first child to be born.






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Update: Active Labor - 3 centimeter dilation, 50% afacement

We are now in active labor, with dilation of 3 centimeters, 50% afacement, and the baby is now positioned at "zero" measurement.

This means we have made progress today, and we continue to move forward for Will's arrival.    Baby Will is tolerating labor well, which is the most important metric.

We are now getting estimates for his arrival.  Dr. Zachian is projecting about 9 - 12 hours MORE of labor, but is trying to increase the induction to speed things up.

Heather is back in bed, working at labor ... family by her side...

Updates soon...
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Grandpa Weighs In....


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Mid Afternoon Update


Heather is doing GREAT!  She is now into labor, with contractions every two minutes and increasing in intensity.  She is back in bed now, with family close by.  She has rejected all medication thus far, but we believe this trend is likely to end soon. ;-)

As she rests up, we are still expecting Baby Will's arrival today.

Oh yea, she is now on a diet of ice-chips, water, and ice-cubes.  Yummy.

Updates soon.


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