Asher Daniel Chappell

update on the baby

Well, I think this baby was more premature than everyone thought. I think the Doctors said that they thought that he might have been about 6 weeks premature. So that being said, he is still in the hospital learning how to be a newborn. We don't have much more information than that and I'm learning to be okay with those facts... or the lack thereof.  

So, maybe later this week we'll be cuddling a little one or it might be next week. We're trying to write and see if we can visit the mom this coming weekend. So much is lost in communication when you can't talk face to face. But I know she'll be needing some love and tenderness as she's probably still healing from childbirth and grieving not having him close by. 

So, we wait. 

I'll keep you posted.  

Life as we know it is about to change....again!

Last month God brought my parents together with some long time family friends for a sweet time of fellowship. During that time they found out that their granddaughter was about to give birth to a baby boy and needed a home for him because of some choices she had made and she was serving time in prison and didn't know when she would be getting out.  

My mom called us and just asked us to think and talk and pray about this little one in need of a home. So we did. And we decided that this was truly a baby in need that we could provide a home for. It would be a foster situation but not through the state. The baby's mom might be eligable for parole this summer and if that were the case and she felt like she could parent and it were deemed so then she would be able to regain custody of this little one. If not, then we would have first option to adopt. In situations like this, things can change on a dime and that's why I've waited until now to even share this on my blog. So, just know that all this can change and that's okay,  but I know that no matter what this family needs our prayers!

The baby was born last Friday October 16th and due to being three weeks early is having some breathing and eating problems but is slowly but surely gaining weight and learning how to suck. He is still being cared for in the NICU and we've been praying for him and checking on him every day. Nothing was for sure and to some extent still isn't, but we found out today that his mommy wants us to be his foster parents and to have legal custody of him until she knows what life holds this next year for her. 

So, again, in a matter of weeks God has brought a tiny helpless one into our lives to embrace and love. Does this loving bring risks with it? Yes. Will it possibly bring heartache as we care for him only to reunify him with his mother? Yes. But is there great reward as we truly care for the helpless? Yes. Will this further teach us great dependance upon God for daily strength? Yes. Could this baby be used of God to change his own mother's life? Yes. Could this baby grow up and change our lives? Yes.   

I leaned over the other night and asked Dan if we were crazy for considering this. And he thought a minute and said, "Casey, if this is Crazy then I'm okay to be Crazy! Sometimes the way God calls us to live out the Gospel is Crazy."  

So, Just as I asked you about a year ago to pray that God's will be done in this new baby's life. I ask you again. Pray for him, for his lungs and sucking ability, Pray for his mommy who not only had to leave the hospital alone but go back to a place that is a difficult place to be. Pray that God comforts her as she morns, Pray that God is her strength as she faces her past and rights the wrongs she has done, Pray that while in Prison God would continually show her that He is true freedom and true forgiveness of sins. She does claim to be a believer and is showing signs of growth. So she has a lot of time that she is able to devote to her new life with Him. Pray she will use that time well.  Pray for us as we prepare in all ways for another baby to come live with us. 

We have all we need to care for him and with Zoe about to get off formula we will be able to not have to overlap that expense. 

So, just Pray and Encourage us in the coming weeks. So many of you know the joys and the energy needed to raise two small children. We will be needing those reminders that it can be done. Dan's parents will be here in a few weeks and with my parents and family near by I know that this child will be loved by many and well cared for. 

We will keep you updated and hope to provide photos and his birth announcement with his name and stats very soon!!!  

Full Amnio Results

We talked with the genetic counselor yesterday and got the full results of the amnio testing. And she said that despite what she and everyone highly expected that Amnio results came back totally normal and didn't have ANY chromosomal abnormalities! So even though it's hard to not know why our baby had the omphalocele and heart issues, it's great to know that this shouldn't effect any future pregnancies. It's hard to not have answers for these things... but it's good to know that God doesn't make mistakes and He knew exactly how Asher was being formed in the depths of my womb (the hidden parts as mentioned in Ps.139). I have to trust His ways though they are not my ways.

Asher's First Few Pictures

Asher Daniel Chappell!

As you can see from the title our initial results are in and we are having a little baby boy! We are also overjoyed to let everyone know that the initial results show that Chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 are normal and there s no sign of a trisomy at this point! This is great news and our great God deserves all the glory for He has given great grace today! The results mean that the "lethal" issues they were suspecting, are not there. The genetic counselor told us that it is not impossible for there still to be other chromosome issues present in the full and final result. She said that the initial test showed the most common ones and since that is normal it isn't likely for it to be chromosomal but it isn't impossible. We are optimistic that Asher is just small and that the Omphalocele is causing much of the "problems" they think they are seeing.
Asher still has a long road ahead but God is still forming him and caring for him in my womb. Please continue to pray and that God would heal any heart issues that are present, heal any scoliosis or Spinal bifida that may be there, and that he would shrink the overall size of the omphalocele.
God alone deserves the glory for this day and we praise him for he is good! thank you to all of you praying with us and to those who joined us in prayer and fasting yesterday. God has heard the cries of His people! Let his glory and renown be made known today through this!

More to come......

Quick Update for Today

We went in today for my amnio and were met by the genetic counselor to go over what exactly we could expect and so forth. We found ourselves engrossed in another discussion about hospice care or aggressive treatment and really it felt like we had been there a hundred times before. We believe God has given us a real ability to speak clearly with them and to respect their wisdom but let the ethics we have in Christ shine through as well. The counselor had an intern there with her and even though she sat back and listened, she nodded her head in agreement whenever we talked about cherishing this child's life and our ethical stances... I really feel like the Lord had her there as a silent encouragement to us as we talked boldly and clearly about our desires. I wonder who she is and if she'll talk about us to whoever she comes home to at the end of the day? We so desire to not only speak for our child but impact whomever we talk with.
We went in for an ultrasound and that went well (we had an amazingly sweet ultrasound tech). Again, we saw some of the same things but were encouraged by some great pics (our baby has quite a bit of hair). We were thrilled to see and hear the heartbeat (166 bpm) and to see our baby moving all over the place. we are reminded today what a blessing it is to have each day with our baby and to know that God has sustained this little one for 36 weeks now!
The Amnio went well and fast. The whole thing was mildly uncomfortable but I feel great and I am taking it easy today. We saw three tubes of fluid go off to the lab with so many of our hopes and prayers with them. We both feel a little down today. I guess knowing that we are going to know in a few short (but long) days is kind of final. There is hope no matter the outcome but it feels a little odd today. The initial results (fish results) should be to us sometime Wednesday or Thursday. This will tell us about Chromosomes 13, 18, 21, and X/ Y (Boy or Girl-yeah!!!). The full results will be final in about 2 weeks.
Please continue to pray for us to rest in Christ and for the health of our baby. Thank you to all of you who are praying and to those who have joined us in todays fast. We love you all so much.

Casey

Four hours at UNC

We were at UNC for over four hours today and my belly has had it's fill of being rubbed and that gooky ultrasound gel. :o)
I wish I had a bunch of new and updated information on the baby to tell you but really at each appointment they would scan and then say "it could be that the baby has a defect or it could be just the baby's position or that the baby is fine and we're not getting an acurate picture of him/her." Like, the baby is still measuring small but we were told it could just be that it's a small baby or it could be that it's growth is being hindered... so they usually present worst case and best case and how they really can't say one way or the other for sure.
Dan and I both agree that no news is better than for certain discouraging news.

We met with the Neonatologist today and we spent the first 20 minutes on why we it might be "best" to choose not to have our baby be put on a ventilator if it has a Trisomy. For some reason she kept describing how "uncomfortable" it is for a baby to have that tube put in them. But we kept saying that as parents we sometimes have to do things that might be uncomfortable for our child but would always be done for their best interest. We really had to stress to her (and hopefully she understood) that we will fight against all odds for this child to live however we understand that we can't fight against God who will ultimately decide if this baby lives or dies.
I think I was just caught off guard by how overboard she went in just addressing intubation when I feel like that is one of the smaller bridges we'll have to walk over in our child's treatment.
But God really gave us the words to say and even gave Dan the chance to share how it's hard to hear them say that putting a life giving tube into a child might be uncomfortable but yet they wouldn't hesitate to counsel a woman to tear her baby apart in the womb before 20 weeks if she decided that due to the Trisomy she wanted to terminate her pregnancy... he asked her, "how is that not uncomfortable for the baby"? She admitted the inconsistency in the counsel and I think was a little more understanding of where we were coming from after that.

We have some pretty sweet ultrasound images that I will post tomorrow. It's always great to see this child move inside me!

Thanks for praying!

what tomorrow holds...

Tomorrow we have several appointments at UNC so I wanted to just let you know what we're doing tomorrow and what to pray towards.

We have an ultrasound at 10:00 * pray that we'd be able to see growth and even better images of what he or she may be dealing with as far as physical defects. Also that we'd be able to enjoy watching our baby move and show us more of who he/she is.

Then we have a heart echo at 11:00 * pray that the baby would be in a position to be able to see the complete heart and be able to further see if there are any heart issues that he/she would need treatment for post birth.

After that we will meet with a Cardiothoracic NeoNatal Surgeon. * pray that we would first and foremost represent Christ in meeting with all these people. Also that we would trust Christ most and not put our hope in these individuals. But pray that Christ would work through these doctors and that they would treat this unborn life with respect and that they will be desiring in using their skills to help this little life.

Then we will meet with the Neonatologist to discuss the treatment of our baby after it's born. This might be interesting because usually it's a discussion of option A (with Trisomy) or option B (no Trisomy) and the treatment in their eyes is usually very different as we've mentioned before. * Pray that we'd be bold in our stance for life and that we would make it very clear that this baby's life is more important than our comfort or long term inconvience. That they would hear our heart in that we want to know our baby as long as we could and that we will fight the medical odds that are stacked against this child but that we know we can't fight against this child's Creator and that ultimately we know that it is He that will sustain or take this baby's every breath.

So, lots to cover but I know there are lots of you praying out there.

Thank you and we'll keep you updated!

Love, Casey

A Quick Update...

Today we went to UNC and received great care. We met with Dr. Bogess (she was great). We did receive an answer to prayer, being that they were very willing to respect our wishes as far as the vast majority of this goes. We were thankful to hear her recommend a C-Section as the type of delivery in order to protect the Ompohalocele and give the baby a better chance. She still was not very optimistic about the long term prospects but she said it could give us more time. We were also pleased to hear that The decision not to have an amnio for now was fine and that they would proceed fine without it. There would be no need to really have it prior unless we just wanted to know, because the Baby can be stabilized (hopefully) and the doctors could take 48 hours to test for the chromosomal abnormalities that they suspect. The Omphalocele can be medically stabilized without surgery for a time and then we can proceed to the next most life threatening issues which would be lung development and the suspected heart defect. I know a lot of details... We also met with a pediatric surgeon and toured the NICU (all very helpful).
So all that said we are really not all that encouraged by the prognosis and we are tired of the term "lethal anomaly" but we did get many answers today and they did take us seriously. We did hear some really good news-a strong heartbeat!! The Doctors and the center at UNC are just incredible. Our Care coordinator Maya is just fantastic at her job, we are so thankful for this much. We are strong today and I think very hopeful. Hope is scary because it increases the pain if it doesn't end well, but hope is worth it. We have a more abiding hope that is Christ and that surely helps to put this in perspective at least today. thank you for your prayers... Pray that this would not be a chromosome issue and that these other issues can be dealt with and isolated pray for our witness to the staff, doctors and nurses at UNC and for physical strength..We love you all so much!

Tomorrow to UNC...

We wanted to have everyone pray as we go to the actual Maternal and Infant Health Clinic at UNC tomorrow. We are going to be meeting with a MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) Specialist, as well as tour the NICU and visit with another Pediatric surgeon. We are apprehensive about this because, as Dan mentioned, it is so hard to hear the things that are being said about our baby. We are trusting God to give us a standing before the Doctors to hear us out and listen to our desires to fight for this precious life. We have run into the ethical battle so many times and those who desire to give life value based on its "quality" not creation. This we will fight, as a matter of God's glory in the creation of all life and the life of our baby! We will post to let everyone know how things went, we appreciate your prayers so much!

Casey