Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Abi & Hunter

I just had to post this picture of Abigayle & her cousin, Hunter.
Aren't they just the cutest little things?

Friday, February 15, 2008

Aicardi Syndrome

Yesterday was an important day for us, Abi had her visit with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist. We showed up a little late, but we were still able to get in and see the doctor. They had to put those drops in Abi's eyes that made them dilate and get huge. We sat there for about an hour or so waiting until we actually had Dr. D come in and examine her eyes. It didn't take very long for him to see what he was looking for. Jayme asked him if he found anything and he said he'd tell us after he wrote some notes. Right then we knew it was what we feared. He dictated a note to Dr. L, the neurologist, and then he hit us with the news. Abigayle was born with Aicardi Syndrome. Even though we knew it was coming it took the wind out of our sails to actually hear it. He allowed us to sit in the room for a moment to be by ourselves. I haven't done my research on this yet, but I know it isn't the greatest news for us. Abi may have some physical set backs, and some other issues we may get to deal with later on, but on the way home from SLC it hit me. We have been blessed with one of the most special of our Heavenly Father's children. She has the opportunity to come here on earth and receive a body, but she won't have to deal with having to overcome the choices between good and evil, because she has already proven it before she was sent to be here with us. I know that even though it may not be how I wanted it to be for her, it is how her Father wanted it to be for us. She is our ANGEL.
Posted By: Dave

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Priceless...

I have been sitting here on this darn computer most the night finishing up some Primary work that I have neglected for the past 2 weeks. And, I got thinking about my two beautiful girls and what wonderful blessings they both are in my life. I love them with all of my heart & would do anything for them!
Tonight, I was getting Lyvie & Abi ready for bed, and could not help but take some pictures of them.
I am so grateful for Olyvia. She has so much spunk & personality! Every day I learn something new from her. She has become our "little miss independent", which makes us smile! I love that she wants to try new things. She is an awesome big sister, & wants to help dad & mom out all the time! She loves her "Abi girl", & is always making sure she is taken care of.
Speaking of Abi, I know she's only 6 months old, but these past 6 months we have learned so much from her! I love when she wakes up in the morning (or from a nap) & to see that bright, beautiful smile. Sometimes she acts like she has got so much to tell us. She has such a sweet spirit about her. She loves to cuddle (she got that trait from me), which, Dave & I LOVE to cuddle her back. She also loves Olyvia! Never fail, Lyvie makes her smile & laugh.
Tonight, before taking these pictures, Lyvie was making all sorts of noises & talking in baby talk to her, & Abi thought she was so funny! I wish I would have recorded it. She just laughed & smiled! She has a permanent grin any time Lyv is around!
How I love these little girls! They are my world! I seriously could not imagine life without them. They have brought so much joy into mine & Dave's lives. We are seriously so blessed. And I know with all the stress that has been going on, that the Lord really knows us. We are not alone. We have felt Him numerous of times. Right now, as I type this blog, I feel a sense of peace and comfort. He knows me. He knows Dave. He knows what we can handle. And when times are hard, that is when we really need to lean on each other. Families Are Forever! I am so grateful for that knowledge. We have a long road ahead of us, but we will make the best of it. And we will make each day special. And a day to remember!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Visit to Primary Children's Medical Center

(This is Abi & her Moose the nurses gave her from PCMC. )

We just want to update everyone on our visit to Primary Children's that we went to on Monday. First off, it was a very good experience. Dave & I left there feeling a little more optimistic then we thought we would be. The staff there are amazing! They made us feel like we were the only ones that mattered. They were very thorough with little Abi & so sweet to her. The Neurologist looked over her MRI & did say she was for sure missing her Corpus Callosum, but she could still live a normal life. She would just have to learn differently. They couldn't get all the information from the EEG. They just had the dictation on what they found out about her EEG. They wanted to see the EEG itself, & dumb me, forgot the cd that had all that information on it. So, when Dr. L (the neurologist) came in to see Abi, she was having a seizure. It was good for her to be doing that so he could see exactly what she was doing. He then issued another EEG to be done right there. And usually when Abi has one seizure, she has another within that hour. They got her all prepped for that & we all were able to get a snooze in while the she was testing. And just as the nurse came in to take all the electrodes off of Abi, she started to have another seizure. So, she kept them on & you could see the lines just shoot up every time the seizure would hit. Dr. L was in another room watching on a computer of what was going on. They were able to prescribe her some seizure medication & we were able to get her on them the next day. I just hope & pray that she will grow out of these seizures and not have go through them the rest of her life. They take a lot out of her. I did ask the Dr.'s assistant if they were concerned if she had Aicardi Syndrome. She was surprised that I had known anything about that. I have done my research!!! Anyway, they are concerned, but she said she doesn't match all of the criteria. They want us to set up an eye appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist. What they will do there is look behind her eyes to see if there are any lesions or deformities. This will help determine if it IS Aicardi Syndrome, or IS NOT!!! She said that she doesn't look like she has anything wrong with her, and she doesn't act like she does. They said it is hard to determine if she is behind on anything because every baby is different in developing. The brain does not fully develop until around age 2. So we have got an appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist for Thursday, February 14th. Valentines Day!!! Dave & I are so anxious to get down there & get it over with. We are praying that they find nothing wrong with her eyes. So there is the update on what has gone on so far. I will continue to keep you all posted. Thank you all for all your prayers and concern. Continue to pray for Abigayle. We love you all!

Video of Abi & her seizure

This video, is the first video we ever captured of Abi having a seizure.  We were lucky enough to capture it while we were in the Doctors office at PCMC.