Brody's Preschool Graduation

Last Friday, Brody graduated from Giant Steps. Brody has attended Giant Steps since last November. It's been such a great program for him. His communication skills have improved so much. -I can't say enough about the program. Thank you Miss Amber and thank you to all of Brody's aides and therapists. -You guys are wonderful. :)

Our 10 Year Anniversary!

Aaron and I celebrated our 10th anniversary yesterday! It blows me away that we've been together that long. -It seems like yesterday we were dating. (That's my deep thought for the day)...Anyhow, we decided to take our kids to the zoo. We had a great time. The zoo was a little bit crowded and it was really hot, but I'm glad that we went. Later in the evening, my sister-in-law Kenna offered to watch our kids. Aaron, Alyssa, and I went out to dinner. We went to Sizzler and had steak and shrimp. -YUMMY! It was really good.
I love you Aaron! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life (And Eternity) with ya!

Good Things Come In Groups

Alyssa Walker

Our Baby Girl Has Arrived!

This past month has been such a roller coaster for me. I've been so worried about getting our little girl here safe and sound and at the same time trying to balance my family and work. As many of you know or have read from my past blogs, our little girl was affected by genetic condition called neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. This condition is very similar to RH factor, but the platelets are affected and the onset occurs while they're in the womb. I've been receiving 6 hour IV infusions 2-3 times a week since I was twenty weeks, and was never given a "guarranty" if the treatments would even work. These treatments are very costly and it's been a battle trying to get my insurance to pay for them. Last Friday I went to St. Mark's and The American Red Cross and I had some blood work done. The American Red Cross took my blood, filtered out the platelets, and then gave me back what was left over. The whole procedure only took a few hours -Which I thought was pretty amazing.

On Monday I went to St. Mark's to have a cordocentesis and an amniocentesis. Both procedures consisted of long needles, an ultrasound machine, and me baring all from the waist down (So much fun). They did the cordocentesis first. They were able to get the needle into the artery of my baby's cord. They drew some blood and then quickly infused the platelets. Then they did the amniocentesis (Twice I might add) to check to see how well our little girl's lungs were developed. After these procedures, I began to have contractions pretty regularly. Whenever I had a strong contraction, our little girl's heart rate would drop really low. My doctor felt that there was no way our little girl would be able to handle full blown labor, so we decided to do an emergency C-section. Alyssa was born at 3:17 pm. She weighed 5 lbs and 14 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Her platelets at birth were 223,000, so I think it's safe to say that the IVIG treatments/transfusion were successfull. Alyssa is doing great and we are loving every minute with her!

Andrew's Last Baseball Game

Squeeky Clean

My Baby Is Two Years Old!