Well, I decided to start this blog to keep everyone up to date on what is going on in the Alabama Donahue's house. I will post pictures and updates and hopefully this can help bridge some of the miles between us.

Here is a little background on our current situation. This has been consuming our lives for months now.

Chris and I decided that the 2 beautiful girls that we have were enough for us right now and so to not make any permanent decisions I got an IUD in October 2003. God had other plans...after 2 and a half years I found out I am pregnant with our 3rd. Things were a bit scary in the beginning as I thought several times that I had miscarried...and my gut tells me I did miscarry a twin. But the precious little one inside me was fine. I had problems until about 13 weeks when things finally calmed down and we could all take a deep breath. Chris picked out names...Azriel Marie and Aiden Jeremiah...I agreed. Things were good for about 4 and a half weeks when at 17weeks 4 days my water broke.

We were told that 75% of women go into labor within 24 hours and 95% go into labor within 2 weeks. Our biggest obstacles would be labor and infection at first...if we could get past 24 weeks (viability) then our biggest obstacle would be whether this baby would have lungs that work as it is the amniotic fluid that assists in lung development and I have none. If this baby was born before 24 weeks there was nothing they could do.

Well, I went home on strict bedrest and prayed. People from church cooked us meals at least 4 days a week, did our laundry, helped with the girls. I don't know what we would have done without them.

I made it slowly but surely past 24 hours...2 weeks...finally I made it to 24 weeks (viability), and into the hospital I went.

I have been in the hospital for 5 and a half weeks and it has been a long road. I have been on IV antibiotics, magnesium sulfate for contractions, a Foley catheter so they could monitor my kidney function. they stopped all that after the first 2 weeks....I felt like I had broken out of prison...I finally without all that stuff could go into the restroom, and even take a shower...even if I do have to sit in a shower chair.

Things were calm for about 2 weeks after that and Dr. Bailey came in one night and I told him I was having back pain...he ordered an ultrasound of my gall bladder. We all thought he was nuts...my back hurts from being in bed for 3 months. As nuts as we thought he was...the ultrasound found a very large blood clot in my inferior vena cava extremely close to my heart. I thank God for guiding Dr. Bailey's hand in all this. I was immediately rushed over to angio and an IVC filter was inserted through my jugular and through my heart to stop the clot from breaking off and entering my heart, lungs or brain. This procedure was done with no sedation and the nurses couldn't figure out why I was having contractions and a panic attack...gee I wonder why...haha. After all this I was told I will be on anticoagulants for 6 months and the ones that are safe during pregnancy and nursing are Heparin and Lovenox and both are 2X daily shots in the stomach...WOO HOO!!! 4 days after that I failed my gestational diabetes tests and have to have finger sticks 4X a day to monitor my sugar levels.

Dr Bailey feels like I am trying to take very path I can to get the end of the road. I promised him I would have liked the straight and narrow much better.

So, I will be 29 weeks tomorrow. A miracle in and of itself. Dr. Bailey will deliver the baby...which is a girl...Azriel Marie...at 32 weeks. However, if I go into labor before then or get an infection we will deliver earlier.

I still have no fluid...the fluid the baby makes all leaks out. So PRAY PRAY PRAY that Azriel...which means "Helped by God"...will have working lungs and we will hear her beautiful cry when she is born.

Pray for Chris, who is for the first time having to run an entire house all by himself. He is doing wonderfully. The girls are doing well. Friends and family are helping tremendously. I don't know how we would be doing this without our church family. Chris sleeps here at the hospital with me 3 nights a week and I know that is no fun or him...but he is very generous with the foot rubs...haha.

That is just a quick update on what has happened so far...I will try to update this blog as often as possible.

We love you all, Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Lisa