Update on baby Kate...

Thank you for your prayers for our friends' baby Kate....I have had several people ask how she is after reading the blog....I am posting the update email from her mom...she explains everything much better than I ever could...

So sorry this email is coming to you late! It's been a long couple of days! For those who have not heard, Kate's surgery had a couple surprises, so she's still in the hospital for tonight.

The surgery went really well. She went in and went to sleep well (in the anesthesiologist's arms while he sang to her! Gotta love children's hospitals!), and the procedure was going along as planned. About halfway through, the nurse came out and said that they were going to have to make a larger incision due to the fact that her intestines had a lot of air and weren't cooperating. So they sewed up the incisions at her belly button and lower left abdomen, and enlarged the one on her upper right abdomen. Upon doing so, they discovered that she had a Meckel's diverticulum, which is a nipple-shaped mass that occurs when the connection between the intestine and the umbilical cord doesn't close off during development. According to the surgeon, it can become an ulcer on the intestine and bleed, or even cause the intestine to swallow itself! Not good! Usually, the Meckel's diverticulum, and the part of the intestine it is on, are completely removed and the bowels resewn together. Fortunately with Kate's, they didn't have to remove the surrounding intestine, but were able to get the entire diverticuli. The surgeon also said that it looked like there had already been some minor twisting of her intestines, due to the fact that some of the surrounding lymph nodes were swollen, but nothing major.

The only things long term that we'll need to be concerned about are the internal adhesions that form when surgery is done on the abdomen, and the fact that there is still a risk, albeit a very low risk, of the intestines twisting. Fortunately, babies heal really well, so complications from internal adhesions isn't likely, and if there is any twisting, at least we'll immediately know what's going on and can get her the proper help faster.

Initially, he had suggested this surgery just as a precautionary measure, to be on the safe side. Afterwards, he said we avoided a couple dangerous situations! So, so amazing! When the nurse first came out and told us that they were having to make a larger incision, it made me nervous. However, they never would have found the Meckel's diverticulum if they hadn't - it never showed up on any of their Xrays (and it's not as big as I imagined - no more than 2 inches)! And according to the surgeon, that was almost a bigger deal than the malrotation. Also, he said he wasn't sure he would label her as situs inversus. According to him, if no one had told him she was previously diagnosed with this, he never would have thought that she was. He said her liver is just shifted a little bit midline, but the rest of her organs are right where they are supposed to be. This really gives us even more hope that Friday's cardio appointment will return with normal results.

Thank you so much, all of you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your prayers and encouragement! It definitely wasn't the easiest thing we've ever done, but it wasn't as scary knowing that God is in control and that He is faithful! Brett was even surprised at how well I did! I only shed a couple of tears when we had to hand her over to the anesthesiologist. Even when we saw her afterwards, and she was coming out of sleep, it was more a sense of relief and joy than sadness and heartbreak. God is so good! He definitely carried us!

I would just continue to ask for prayer for her recovery. She's not sleeping well, since hospitals aren't exactly the quietest places on earth, with nurses coming in and out (who are doing a magnificent job, by the way! Truly, another great blessing!), and having to share a room with another patient. Hopefully, we can come home soon and she can get the rest she needs to get better. The surgeon believes we'll be released tomorrow or Friday.

We'll continue to keep you updated as she comes home and we have this final appointment with the cardiologist. Again, I can't say thank you enough for everything all of you are doing! Brett and I have said over and over again to each other how we truly believe we are experiencing the peace that passes understanding. Hopefully, we can be a light to those around us in a place that can sometimes be very dark for people. We are so thankful for the hope we have in Him!

Much love to all! God bless!
Jessica