Abi & Hunter

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

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

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!

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. 

When it RAINS, it POURS!

Well these last few weeks have been a bit hectic at the Richards home. It all started out with our washer leaking water. So, after 3 weeks of waiting for the man to come fix it, he finally showed up. Anyway, come to find out the hoses were loose on the back of the washer, and the problem was quickly solved.
Then, we ended up taking Abigayle to the Dr. because we have gotten more concerned about her "tics/habits" that she was having. Dave & I both felt that they were more than tics, that they might be seizures. She started having 4 episodes a day & there were 2 different kinds of "episodes" she was having. So we brought it to her pediatricians attention. He was concerned as well, and ended up ordering her to have and EEG & and MRI.
Continuing on with the week, Tuesday, our oven started acting funny & we cannot bake anything. It beeps uncontrollably & we cannot push any buttons. So we have just unplugged it.
Also, early Tuesday morning, & I am talking 3 AM early, I woke up to Lyvie laying in bed with me saying she didn't feel good, & then throwing up the rest of the day. Got to love the pukes. Funny story: When Dave got home from work, which was 4 AM. I was up with Lyvie trying to keep her from throwing up. Anyway, he told me to go back to bed & he would rock her back to sleep. Well Lyvie looked at Dave & said, "I need to spit". And Dave kept saying "What", he couldn't understand what she was saying. And as she continues to tell him she needs to spit, he continues to ask her what she was saying. So I decided to get up & go tell him what she was trying to tell him, and just as I was walking out... Dave hollers at me & tells me...'No more Sprite for Lyvie!' By the time I get out there and get a close look at what is going on, Dave has puke all over his face & it's stringing down his cheek & onto his clothes. If he would have just listened to her the first time when she said she needed to spit, this would not have happened.
Okay, now with Wednesday. We had to be over to Logan Regional Hospital with Abigayle by 7:30 AM. Abi was getting an EEG that day, so she had to go sleep deprived. She only could sleep from midnight to 4 AM. It was so sad! The test only took about 45 minutes and it was painless.
Thursday, we were up at 3 AM & in Logan Regional Hospital by 5:3o AM. Abi had an MRI this day. She had to go fasting and that was very sad. But the saddest was when they had to put an IV in her & put her under conscious sedation. I hated looking at my baby and seeing a blank look stare back at me. She was so helpless. The MRI took longer than told, but that was because Abi's sedative kept wearing off, and then she would start wiggling her toes & kicking off the heart monitor. Every time the Radiologist was about to capture the picture, her head would move & the images would be blurry. So, after many times of adding more sedative in her system, they decided just to up it all the way & she stayed sedated the rest of the time. The Radiologist was so surprised at how many times they had to inject more in her. He said she must have a high metabolism that just burns things off quick. Getting her to come to took about 30-40 minutes. It seemed like forever. And on top of all this, Dave got the flu while we were there. He was so miserable the whole time. I felt bad. So we finally got home about 9 AM. The rest of the day was pretty lazy. Dave spent most the day in bed. And then, I noticed Lyvie has pink eye ... in BOTH eyes! YUCK! So her pediatrician called in a Rx, and she is now taking that. And Abi, poor girl, but what a strong little girl... she has been so groggy & out of it the entire day. We should find out the results of both tests later on today.

Abi & Cutler

I thought this was a cute picture & couldn't resist posting it!

This is a picture of Abigayle & Cutler. Cutler is one of my best friends (Liz) baby. He was born 1 month & 1 day later than Abi. Aren't they adorable?

HaLLoWeeN PuPPY

Abi as a Puppy Dog.

:CaTCHiNG FLieS:

Growing up, my dad used to catch me with my mouth wide open and he'd say, "Catching flies Jayme?". Since the day Abi was born, she has been a "mouth breather". Instead of breathing through her nose, she breathes through her mouth. I haven't had to worry about not hearing her at night because I can hear her LOUD breathing! For some reason I have never been able to breath through my nose, especially when it comes to sleeping.... And Abi now has been cursed with this horrible trait of 'catching flies. (It's really cute on her though).

Cousins

We wanted to get the new babies pictures taken in their blessing outfits. This is a picture of Abi & her cousins.  They are each 6 days apart.  Aren't they so cute? 

Taken: September 30, 2007

Abigayle, Hunter, & EmiLee