Tiny Miracles

My stepsister Keri was due with her second baby in February. However, her pregnancy was difficult almost from the beginning. Having a number of problems with the placenta, she had bleeding almost continuously. She went into the hospital about 4 weeks ago with a serious bleed and had to have a blood transfusion. They put her on complete bedrest and monitored her and the baby very closely. She eventually began having contractions which they had to control with medication. It was uncertain from day to day how long they could keep the baby in there.

Yesterday, they just couldn't keep her in there anymore. They had blown out all of Keri's veins from all these weeks in the hospital and they had to put in a central line to give her all the meds and stuff she needed. The contractions had started up again and this time they just couldn't get them to stop. It was time for baby to come. She was about 28 weeks. My mom and stepdad had driven out to Colorado for Thanksgiving with my brother and my stepdad had to catch a flight home.

Baby Marcella was delivered by C-section yesterday afternoon weighing in at 2 lbs 13 oz. While that's teeny tiny, my understanding is that's a pretty good size for a preemie. So far she appears to be healthy for her age. Of course, she has to be on a ventilator and has tubes all over, but she is trying to breathe on her own and as of now there doesn't appear to be any immediate concerns or complications. But I know that with these tiny babies they have to take it one day at a time and it can be a roller coaster ride. The good thing is that she is at one of the best hospitals in the area for dealing with these special babies.

Keri is doing okay. I don't really know much about C-sections since I've never had one, but I guess they keep the epidural in after delivery for continued pain relief? Well, Keri developed a fever and they had to take the epidural out. Apparently it is too dangerous to keep it in while you are running a fever. So they took it out and put her on a morphine drip for the pain and a strong antibiotic for the fever while they tried to figure out the cause. That poor girl has been through hell with this pregnancy and I hope they can just get her feeling better soon so she has the strength she will need for the days and weeks to come.

It is going to be a long road ahead as the baby will be in the hospital at least probably until the end of January. But in a way I am glad that part of it is over for Keri because I don't know how long someone could have continued to go on like that. They bought the baby a good 4 or 5 more weeks while she was in the hospital and seems to be in otherwise good condition for her early arrival. Those are good things that will hopefully mean less complications down the road. If there was ever a time to have a baby early, it's now, with all of the amazing things they can do for them.

This news this Thanksgiving reminded me how blessed and grateful I am for my 4 healthy children and mostly uncomplicated pregnancies. I ask you to please pray....that Keri will recover quickly and that the baby will continue to do well, grow, fatten up, and avoid complications. It's a miracle she's here. I pray that God has just one more up His sleeve.