Please forgive us if you get duplicate notifications.
From Chris and Charlotte Cushman –
Wanted to update our friends and family on what has been going on with us over the last 6 days.
Thank you so much for all of the calls, texts, messages and emails:)
As some of you may know we have been expecting our 8th child October 8th.
Ellie was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 in utero. It is a serious genetic disorder. We have been going to MUSC for doctors appointments with the intention of delivering here in Charleston.
Last Wednesday I came for my 37 week appointment and Ellie’s heart rate was dropping during the ultrasound. We decided that delivery was the best option since I was already in Charleston. She was not tolerating labor well and her heart rate dropped, so we did an emergency C-Section. I had massive amounts of excess amniotic fluid which was keeping the contractions I was having from progressing during the labor. They drew off 1800 cc of fluid before the induction and there was an additional 1800 cc of fluid that came out during the C-Section.
She is beautiful and was born at 6:50 pm on Sept 19th, weighing 4 lbs 7 oz. We named her Ellie Louise. Ellie means “light” and Louise is a dear family friend’s name that we wanted to honor.
She has been in the NICU since Wednesday and has been on the vent. She actually is breathing really well and could have come off, but as she is having surgery tomorrow they decided to keep her on until then.
The surgery is tomorrow and is schdeuled for 2 pm. It is to correct two problems:
1) tracheo esophageal fistula – There is an opening where there should not be between the trachea and the esophagus. The trachea should only be connected to the lungs… and the esophagus should only be connected to the stomach. They need to close up this hole so that her stomach contents do not get into her lungs.2) esophageal atresia – The esophagus is ending in a blind pouch instead of connecting to the stomach. So she has no way to receive nutrition and everything that goes into her mouth comes back up. That is why I had so much excess amniotic fluid… she couldn’t swallow it. The goal is to connect the esophagus to the stomach so that she can get nutrition through to her stomach through her esophagus. They will likely put in a tube of some kind in order to feed her.
We would covet your prayers for the following:
- That the surgeons would be skillful.
- That the stomach and esophagus would be close enough to connect.
- That they would be able to close up the hole.
- That she would be able to be weaned from the vent and breathe on her own.
- That we would be able to take her home with us and love her there.
Care for our home, children, their schooling and meals are taken care of for this week. Our number one need is fervant prayer asking our Heavenly Father to do what we cannot.
If surgery goes well, we will likely have many needs that we will need help with and we are grateful for our church, work, neighbors and friends who have come along side of us during this time. We will definately be reaching out to you for help!
We know that Ellie is in His Hands and that He loves her even more than we do. Please pray for Ellie and for us when the Lord brings it to your mind. I will keep everyone updated via FB, Prayer Chain and the Homeschool Blog as we know what is happening. Please forgive me if you get duplicate notifications.
Psalm 121I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life. The Lord will watach over your coming and going now and forever more.
With love,
Chris and Charlotte Cushman
