Dan, Molly, Maizie & Jemma: Upcoming Surgery

So I have totally been lazy in updating my blog... sorry! Aside from more doctor visits life around here has been pretty normal... at least as normal as life every is. Maizie and Jemma are both getting bigger everyday and keep me on my toes. I honestly can't remember what it is like to go to the bathroom without little fingers under the door and someone yelling to let them in..... I wouldn't trade it for anything though!

Jemma's heart has been hanging in there and the doctors are surprised with how chubby she is getting. Jemma is in the 80% for weight and they said that most heart babies don't look her size until they are much older than 4 months. That's my girl!!!

Anyway, Jemma's pulminary artery is still really narrow and the time has come for surgery. She will go in for open heart surgery on November 29th and I am really nervous. I wish that I could trade places with her and have the surgery instead but I know I can't. They said if everything goes well she will be out of the hospital in one week.

The surgery will consist of them closing the hole in her heart, removing a extra piece of muscle under her artery, cutting the narrow part of the artery open and patching it to make it wider, and replacing her pulminary artery valve. There is a small chance that they won't need to touch her vavle and if they don't then this will be Jemma's only surgery for her heart because the patch on the artery will grow with her. If they have to replace the valve though then more surgeries will happen as she grows because the artificial valve can't grow or something. The doctors said that 95% of the time they have to do something to the valve so only a small percent need one surgery and most need more as they grow. The doctors won't know which category Jemma falls under until they are in surgery. I know its a long shot but I am praying like crazy that Jemma can beat the odds and they wont need to touch her valve.

While she is in the hospital they will do a CT Scan of her head so we can finally know whats going on in there. I would explain it all again but instead I will say if you are curious then just look at the post before this one.

I have a feeling that things are going to get a little crazy around here so I probably won't update my blog until Jemma is on her way to recovering.

With Thanksgiving coming up Dan and I would like to add how thankful we are to all our family and friends who have helped us. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support! We know that the power of prayer is real and feel so blessed to have so many people who love us and our girls. Please keep Jemma in your prayers and I will try to post updates.

Here are some family pictures my sister-in-law took of us. I would have posted more but the computer is not letting me and I don't wont to sit here for another half hour trying.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!