A Dad First

What We Do and Don’t Know…

This just showed up in my Facebook timeline.   With having only 9 days to go (assuming Evanna sticks to our timeline…), the reality is really starting to hit in a major way.   And this could be part of that reality…one of the many medical things that we cannot know until after she is born. […]

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The Current Question…

The current question, and I believe it’s a sincere one, is: How are you (or you guys) doing? The answer, also a sincere one, is that we are doing ok overall. Really. Main thing now is working on the logistics of everything: when the kids are coming up, when they get to see JoAnn beforehand, […]

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My Prayer for Evanna…

From the onset of the news of something being wrong and through the weeks that followed until we had an actual diagnosis, I never had the near-stereotypical breaking down and pleading with God for a particular outcome. There was no wailing, no begging, no attempted deal-making with the Creator. And I don’t mean that to […]

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Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus…

  This is a great illustration I came across from Cincinnati Children’s on two of Evanna’s conditions: the spina bifida and the expected hydrocephalus (and as I’ll explain below, also indirectly illustrates the Chiari II malformation).   Normally-developed baby on left; baby with both conditions on the right.   For Evanna’s spina bifida, her lesion […]

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A Busy, Busy Day…

Wednesday this week will be a very busy, busy day…and will give us insight on what Evanna’s clinic days may be like in the future when she goes up to Seattle Children’s. The schedule will be something like this: 10:30am – Leave house; drive to Seattle 12:15pm – check in for ultrasound 1:30pm – walk […]

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A Staggering Stat…

I read a stat this evening that really staggered and upset me. Maybe I should have expected it, considering where we find ourselves as a country. Upwards of 65% of babies diagnosed with spina bifida are terminated…aborted…ended. 65%. It breaks my heart. There are so many things I want to write about that, and for the […]

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Monday’s Little Scare…

Subtitled, as promised: Because This Pregnancy Hasn’t Been Eventful Enough… Monday morning, while I’m working at client’s office in Tacoma, I get a message from JoAnn. She was experiencing some symptoms (I’ll spare you the details) that were cause for concern. Possible pre-term labor. So she called the MFM, and they wanted her to go into […]

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Even Better Than God’s Promises…

In the Christian faith, much is made of God’s promises. And rightfully so. But sometimes we go a little overboard. Do a Google search and you’ll see all kinds of lists and categories of promises, or which promises to remember when you’re going through which kind of trial. All of that is fine and good, […]

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And UW Medical Center’s Response…

Late this afternoon I received the reply from UM Medical Center’s Patient Relations (at 4:27pm, to be exact). Original email and info from previous post here. It could be summed up in one word: bureaucracy. But that would make for far too short of a post, and I wanted to share what their response was after […]

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A Date and Disappointment…

Yesterday we had our initial consult at UW Medical Center in Seattle, which consisted of an ultrasound (they require their own, and apparently aren’t on the same system as Franciscan in Tacoma, so they get the reports, but can’t view the images…necessitating the ultrasound the verify the information in the reports). Regardless, it turned out […]

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