Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers as we continue through this pregnancy. I've lost track of the doctor's visits over the last month but the receptionists recognize us by face and know our names! It has been a little while since the last email and that is actually good news!
We just got back from our fourth fetal echocardiogram and things continue to look positive. It is a reality that Grace has complete heart block. On one echo, our second one, there appeared to be some connection between the upper and lower chambers of the heart but that has not been seen the last two echos. That aside, everything else seems good.
Grace is at about 1.5 pounds and is exactly the size she should be for her age. We are at 24 weeks now. Also, all other development including the heart looks good. They were concerned that this arrhythmia could cause the heart to enlarge but that has not been the case. They also were monitoring the valves closely for leakage (regurgitation they call it) and there are no indications of that either. In fact, the valves continue to look really good and are not leaking at all. The other issues they would look for if there was problems were a change in the heart rate on either the upper or lower chambers and it all is steady.
Starting at 26 weeks they were going to move us up to two visits per week (one echocardiogram and one ultrasound) but they think that keeping each at every other week alternating should be fine. If things continue to be so steady they may even move it to once a month for the rest of the pregnancy but they won't decide that until next month. The doctor was also encouraging about the possible rash that might develop after birth. In his experience most of it is not "worst case scenario." It is a minor issue that clears up without any scarring whatsoever.
On a personal note, he has seen this situation before and does not think that it should be a determining factor on us deciding if we want more children after this. Obviously the risks are higher but after going through all this with Grace we will know what we are up against. They are some indicators that taking a steroid early in the pregnancy might possibly help but there isn't enough clinical research to determine this definitively one way or another.
On another personal note, Jennifer and I celebrated our first anniversary by taking a few days at the Hotel Del Coronado. As you may have heard, we had to cancel our summer vacation plans and stay local but that is the place to be if you are going to be local!
One other thing, many of you wrote Target about their credit card practices. I want you to know that all of you who received a response received the exact same response. It comes across like a personal letter but it is actually a form letter with a person's name on the bottom. Several of you have forwarded it in addition to receiving one myself. They are all identical to the word! The only difference is someone else signs their name to it. I don't know if that is real or computer generated too. Suffice to say, this must happen enough that they have a form letter response. I hope the credit card companies make Target pay for the fraud in the future. That is the only way that they will change their practices. The cops know who stole my stuff but there is no way I'll get it back. However, this guy is a pro who has the Fitness Club/Target plan down. Because of my case they have tied him to about 8 or 10 others! He's going down! I'll give Prison Fellowship a head's up in a few months.
I will write again in a few weeks unless something changes.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The Lord of Bingo
I hate bingo. Let me just start out by saying that. Growing up we would play bingo in the Catholic school and I despised the game. I don’t like games of “chance” to begin with but I am particularly bad at bingo. In 36 years I have never won a game. I am not exaggerating. I have never won, not even once. In my Spanish Class we would play bingo in Spanish. I can lose in two languages. I don’t understand how everyone else can have a row covered and I don’t even have two or three covered but it happens time and again.
These last two weeks have been some of the most trying in my life. I have had a new found sense of my inadequacy to really change much of anything in life and my absolute dependency upon God. We still don’t know what is going to happen with our unborn baby or how the situation is going to turn out. We have had to cast ourselves upon the mercy and grace of God and trust that He will work the situation out to His glory for His purposes. One of the struggles in situations like this is to remember that He is absolutely in control of everything. Nothing happens apart from Him.
The day after Jenn was released from the hospital we had to go back the following day (Sunday morning no less!) to have more testing done. We had planned for months to drive up to Knott’s Berry Farm amusement part to meet Jenn’s family for her dad’s company picnic. With all the medical situations we debated if we would even try to go. We decided we would wait until after the Sunday morning tests to decide. Reluctantly we decided to make the drive up there to meet her family.
When we arrived lunch was already over and they were starting to play bingo. Fortunately Jenn’s mom made two plates of food for us before they closed the food line. All 500 employees and their family were gearing up to play. A bingo card was thrust into my hand that I reluctantly accepted. It wasn’t gambling since there was no buy in and it was the way for the company to give prizes to employees and family.
I don’t get it. It was like my childhood all over again. People were calling out bingo and I barely had any numbers even blocked off. For an hour we sat there and I lost game after game. The closest I came was having two of five in a row. Most of the games had a $50 prize. Two had $100 and one was $250. After an hour they mercifully announced they would have one more game for the grand prize of $750 and it would be four-corner bingo. Which meant you would block out each of the four corners in order to win.
The first number was O-61. Wait a second, that’s my upper right hand corner. The second number was B-3. Huh? That’s my upper right hand corner. The third number was B-1. Unbelievable, that is my lower right hand corner. My heart began to race and my palms were sweating. He called off two more numbers and then he called out O-68. BINGO!!! I HAVE BINGO!!! I couldn’t believe it. I must have made a mistake. I reluctantly ran up there to have the judge look at the card. If you are wrong they spray you with a giant squirt gun. I pictured myself walking around drenched all day. The judge read off my card, I had won $750 paid out all in singles!
As I walked back to my seat I sensed the Lord saying, “David, if I am in control of a bingo game I am in control of the situation you are facing with Jenn and your unborn daughter.” In His own gentle way the Lord reminded me that He is in control of my life even if it takes a bingo game to remind me.
I guess bingo isn’t that bad after all.
These last two weeks have been some of the most trying in my life. I have had a new found sense of my inadequacy to really change much of anything in life and my absolute dependency upon God. We still don’t know what is going to happen with our unborn baby or how the situation is going to turn out. We have had to cast ourselves upon the mercy and grace of God and trust that He will work the situation out to His glory for His purposes. One of the struggles in situations like this is to remember that He is absolutely in control of everything. Nothing happens apart from Him.
The day after Jenn was released from the hospital we had to go back the following day (Sunday morning no less!) to have more testing done. We had planned for months to drive up to Knott’s Berry Farm amusement part to meet Jenn’s family for her dad’s company picnic. With all the medical situations we debated if we would even try to go. We decided we would wait until after the Sunday morning tests to decide. Reluctantly we decided to make the drive up there to meet her family.
When we arrived lunch was already over and they were starting to play bingo. Fortunately Jenn’s mom made two plates of food for us before they closed the food line. All 500 employees and their family were gearing up to play. A bingo card was thrust into my hand that I reluctantly accepted. It wasn’t gambling since there was no buy in and it was the way for the company to give prizes to employees and family.
I don’t get it. It was like my childhood all over again. People were calling out bingo and I barely had any numbers even blocked off. For an hour we sat there and I lost game after game. The closest I came was having two of five in a row. Most of the games had a $50 prize. Two had $100 and one was $250. After an hour they mercifully announced they would have one more game for the grand prize of $750 and it would be four-corner bingo. Which meant you would block out each of the four corners in order to win.
The first number was O-61. Wait a second, that’s my upper right hand corner. The second number was B-3. Huh? That’s my upper right hand corner. The third number was B-1. Unbelievable, that is my lower right hand corner. My heart began to race and my palms were sweating. He called off two more numbers and then he called out O-68. BINGO!!! I HAVE BINGO!!! I couldn’t believe it. I must have made a mistake. I reluctantly ran up there to have the judge look at the card. If you are wrong they spray you with a giant squirt gun. I pictured myself walking around drenched all day. The judge read off my card, I had won $750 paid out all in singles!
As I walked back to my seat I sensed the Lord saying, “David, if I am in control of a bingo game I am in control of the situation you are facing with Jenn and your unborn daughter.” In His own gentle way the Lord reminded me that He is in control of my life even if it takes a bingo game to remind me.
I guess bingo isn’t that bad after all.
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