Monday, September 24, 2007

Prayer Request

I recieved this in a email, please pray for her and her family.

It's a girl!
We do have some concerns with the ultrasound though. It looks like she might have a cleft lip. We are pretty devastated with this news as we know what lies ahead for us and Little Girl! We've been through this condition before- most of you know, (name removed), our first born has a cleft as well. (name removed)'s is submucosal meaning it is not visible. Her upper palate underneath the skin is not formed correctly and is weaker than the average person. To look at her you'd never know, but it has caused a great deal of speech issues, ear infections, ear tubes, etc. It's been a long road, but SHE is doing great, still in speech, and has just blossomed this year!

The type of cleft (name removed) has- "partial cleft" is really rare. Lots of kids affected by this have a full cleft and palate-it's the most common type of cleft. We will not know whether or not this Little Girl will have a cleft palate as well until her she is born. The doctor did see the lip at 20 weeks via ultrasound and we will do a 3D on November 5th to see if we can view the extent the cleft. It is more rare to only have the cleft lip, but we are hoping and praying that she will only have a cleft lip, this would eliminate any speech and feeding problems and would be a one - two surgery fix and a scar. It is our hope that because the cleft (name removed) has is "rare" that this little one will also have the "rare" cleft.

If the cleft involves the palate, then we are looking at many, many surgeries over the years- 10-20 surgeries. We know that her first surgery will be around 6-10 weeks depending on how she gains weight. We will soon be visiting Cleft clinics here to interview the surgeons and palate teams.


We still hold out hope they are wrong and we are praying for a miracle. The Dr. said he saw it but was unable to show us due to baby not cooperating and sucking her thumb and fingers. Please pray that when we have our next ultrasound that it is not there or I am also praying that it is just the lip and not lip and palate.

Thanks for all your prayers in advance!


Saint Anthony, Performer of Miracles
Dear St. Anthony, your prayers obtained miracles during your lifetime. You still seem to move at ease in the realm of minor and major miracles. St. Anthony, Performer of Miracles, please obtain for me the blessings God holds in reserve who serve Him. Pray that I may be worthy of the promises my Lord Jesus attaches to confident prayer.

1 comment:

Fowler family said...

Hi,

I just thought I'd leave a little comment. My heart goes out to you during this difficult time. Just one year ago, I was in a very similar boat. My first son was born with a cleft and during a 20 week ultrasound on November 3rd of last year, we found that my second son too would be born with a cleft. It was incredibly devastating, but things have gotten a lot easier. Your 2 children will have a special bond with one another. I am sure a lot of people tell you that as comfort, but honestly, they will be able to understand each other in a way most children can't. Please email me if you need to talk. Sincerely, Anna.