WARNING: Surgery Info & Graphic Pictures

Here is a little medical education and info about Macy's upcoming surgery. Most of you know that Macy was born 6 weeks early. I had a lot of complications, and obviously, Macy was not doing well either. At 1 day old, we discovered Macy had a heart defect. To everyone's surprise, she was off of oxygen and breathing on her own in a little over 1 week. She wasn't even 4 lbs at that point!

At 3 weeks old, we noticed Macy had bilateral hernias, and they needed repaired before she could go home. The doctors informed us that as soon as she had healed up from the hernia surgery, we would be going home. God must have been watching over our little angel on February 22, 2006, because during this routine hernia surgery, it was discovered that Macy's airway was the size of a pinhole. Doctors do not know how she was able to breath on her own for so long. They postponed the hernia repair, and placed a tracheostomy tube into Macy's neck.

In this picture, I have highlighted, in gray, where Macy's trachea was narrowed.


During her surgery on April 6th, 2007, Dr. Miyamoto removed cartilage from Macy's ribs and placed it in her neck in order to make her trachea the correct size.



On June 12, 2007, Macy was decannulated!







On Monday, July 6th, Macy will head to St. Vincent Hospital to have her stoma (hole) closed. Actually, there is a little more to it than that. Dr. Miyamoto will first perform a bronch to check Macy's airway. After viewing her airway, he will cut out all the scar tissue that Macy still has on her neck and in her trachea. Macy's neck is similar to a pierced ear. When you pierce your ear, wear it pierced for an extended period of time, and then remove it, it usually never closes. You will continue to have that hole for the remained of your life because the skin has healed all the way through. Macy neck has done the same thing. She needs fresh, raw skin that can heal correctly and quickly.

After Dr. Miyamoto cuts away the scar tissue, he will then place the smallest trach made in her neck. The trach will remain in her neck overnight in order to allow some healing, and will then be removed the next morning. Once the trach is out, and Macy continues to do well, we should be heading home. Just like any surgery, there are complications that can arise. Macy will need lots of prayers!

Below are some pictures showing how Macy's neck will look after the surgery is over. It will heal from the inside out, similar to how a hole from a chest tube heals.

This is similar to how Macy's neck will look 2 days after surgery.



This is similar to how Macy's neck will look at about 20 days after surgery.


Tomorrow, we are heading to the lake for a nice relaxing long weekend filled with family time, since Monday morning we will once again be living the hospital life. Luckily this time it's just an overnighter!

Diva or Tomboy????

After hours and hours of contemplating what outfit to wear during dress-up play, Macy decided on this little number below. And to top it off, she posed in her sassiest pose ever!

Diva?????


What does beg after beg at the store, and plea after plea at bedtime get a cute, sassy 3 year old? This!!!

Tomboy?????



So, the question stands, do I have a diva on my hands, or a tomboy?????

RIP Michael Jackson

When I was a little girl, I had a poster of Michael Jackson hanging on the wall in my bedroom. I truly believed I would marry him someday. I also used to dance around the living room in circles to "Thriller" for endless hours.

A couple of months ago, I found a a group of inmates from the Phillipines, that reside in a detention and rehabilitation center, on YouTube. Most of the inmates participate in a form of exercise where they recreate and/or choreograph dances to some favorite songs. It is amazing to me that they can all work together so well without any violence to create these dances. Huge audiences from all over go to see them perform. Here they are, performing Michael Jackson's Thriller! And NO, that is not a woman in the halter and jeans, but what a great actor!

Dear Eliot

If you have never seen 99 Balloons, here it is. Pause the music we have playing on our site, grab a box of tissues, and press play. This family is a true inspiration! I have seen this video story numerous times.....it touches me so deeply every single time I watch it. Okay.....I have to stop typing....I can't see the screen anymore!

99 Balloons


Every day is a blessing!

Brown Cow!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, especially my husband. If you have ever seen my husband in action........you can't help but rank him at the top of the "Best Daddy" list. I love you Jeremy!

So in celebration of Father's Day, we had a lot of family over for a cookout. Since the weather has been in the 80s and 90s, Macy and I decided to wear sun dresses. Being the not-so-confident pregnant woman that I am, I asked my husband for his opinion on the dress that I chose.

While upstairs getting Macy dressed, I asked my husband what he thought of my dress.

Me: "Do you think this looks okay?"

Jeremy: "Yeah, I like it!"

Me: "You would tell me if I looked like a fat cow wouldn't you?!?!"

Jeremy: (chuckle) "You don't look like a fat cow!"

Me: "Are you sure?"

Jeremy: "It looks good."

10 minutes later walking down the stairs with my daughter

Me: "Do you like wearing your dress?"

Macy: "Yes, I pretty."

Me: "Is Mommy wearing a dress too? Do you like Mommy's dress?"

Macy: "You look like a cow!"

Me: (wanted to laugh, wanted to cry, mouth hanging down to the floor) Speechless!!!

15 minutes later, while Macy is going potty on the toilet

Me: "Go potty so you can help Mommy in the kitchen."

Macy: (Smiles, looks at me with the most loving look a child can give, grabs a hold of my dress strap) "I like your cow shirt!"

Can't the fat pregnant lady get a break??? Thankfully today was Father's Day and not Mother's Day!

I'll leave you with a few pictures.

My baby bump! (16 weeks)




Macy entertained everyone with some piano music....and yes, she loved the taco dip!



Macy also rocked out with a guitar!


Then...she put Daddy and Papaw in time-out for picking on Mamaw.


Too much fun!!! Have a great week!

Well.........

We had a huge let down today at the doctor's office. We had out appointment with the specialist whom was to perform the ultrasound. Don't worry, my urine was great, my blood pressure was good, and the baby sounded great! Yes.....SOUNDED! We never got to see the baby. Our specialist said she does not want to do an ultrasound for 4 more weeks. She said that the baby's heart is the size of a dime right now, and that it will be too hard for her to see. In 4 weeks, she will be able to see the heart really well, and will even be able to perform a fetal echo right there in the office. She said the office staff sometimes gets confused about what is actually taking place. If I knew who it was I talked to that said, "you are going to have an in-depth ultrasound", it think I'd kick her in the knee.

Anyway, the doctor informed us that the genitals of a boy don't actually fully develop until 17 weeks, and those of a girl don't fully develop until 22 weeks. Therefore waiting until July 15th will give the heart a chance to get larger and the baby a chance to fully develop before finding out the gender. We were very disappointed, but we understand why we are waiting. She said depending on how well she can see the heart, we may be sent to Riley for an echo anyway.



But, she felt my belly and could tell that the baby had its head up and butt down. She listened to the heart for a while and said it sounds really good. The heart rate was in the 150s. We are happy everything is still looking great, and we can't wait until July 15th. Nothing like thinking you are going to find out the sex of your baby, and going home with nothing!

Boy or Girl?

Well, with the "Peanut Poll" entering its final hours, it looks like majority think we are having a boy this time. The poll is currently 23 to 16.

With the "real" test less than 24 hours away, I thought I would run some fun tests just to see what they tell me.

Old Wives Tale Quiz

I took a 15-question quiz. According to my answers, here is what they came up with:

"Congratulations!

You have a 33% chance of having a boy.
And you have a 66% chance of having a girl."



Chinese Gender Predictor

There are lots of versions of the Chinese Gender Chart, so I used the first version I found. Since I was 27 when we conceived, and we conceived in March.....the chart predicts I will be having a girl!



The Pendant Test



Jeremy held a pendant over my hand and belly. If it swings back and forth, it's a boy, if it swings in a circular motion, it's a girl. Well, when we held the pendant over my hand, it swung back and forth (it's a boy)! When we held the pendant over my belly, it swung in a circular motion (it's a girl)!

People Predictions

My gut tells me we are having a boy. My doctor (according to the heart rate) thinks we are having a girl. Jeremy's Aunt Melanie (the baby guru) believes we are having a boy. My friends think Jeremy is destined to be stuck in a house full of women.

Who knows?!?!?! Hopefully our ultrasound will reveal the truth tomorrow! We will update tomorrow after our appointment. It will probably be in the evening, because our appointment isn't until 4 o'clock. Pray that we have a strong, healthy baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!