Just a quick update, copied from my Instagram feed. More to come when I'm back to feeling wordy again. Thank you so much for being with us through all this...
Elizabeth here, finally feeling strong enough again to type. Thanks be to God for this moment...I got to hold my miracle of miracles for a few minutes this morning! Our sweet baby, Henry Duke Snodgrass, who made it through so many months of danger. He's bound to be one of the biggest babies in the NICU born at 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and he is getting stronger each day. He still needs a little help with his breathing and is not yet able to feed by mouth, but he will get there. We know he doesn't back down from challenges.
As for me, my surgery went differently than expected. All the doctors thought I had both placenta previa and placenta accreta. Once they got in by vertical incision to deliver Henry, though, they found that the placenta came away fairly easily from the uterine wall, so I did not have to undergo at that time what would have been a very risky hysterectomy. However, in the recovery room following the delivery, I had a major hemorrhage, which is a rare situation caused by what one doctor called the "hyper vascularity" of the area of my placenta previa, which is probably what appeared on all the imaging to be placenta accreta. Because I was already prepped for placenta accreta, though, with arterial catheters having been put in before surgery and large amounts of blood having been put aside for me, I was able to be saved with 15 units of blood products, a breathing tube, and embolization of my uterine arteries. The doctor who oversaw the anesthesia and blood products elements of the entire day told me yesterday that she believes it is 100% a miracle that I am alive now.
So, it wasn't what we expected, it wasn't what we planned for, it comes with more challenges in the days ahead, but it was ever so clearly God's loving provision for us. We are so grateful that he spared Henry's and my life. And we thank our dear families and friends for the overwhelming, humbling level of support, encouragement, and prayer. We are glad to be walking this path.
7 comments:
Thank you so much for updating us blog-reading strangers! Congratulations on the arrival of your Henry! What an unbelievable journey you all have been on. Many miracles happened indeed!
I, too, have been following your blog each day for a few years. A miracle indeed with Henry and you.
So thankful for miracles and healthy babies!!
Elizabeth-
Have been praying from afar since I first heard of your hospitalization and have been checking the blog anxiously for news. I just finished reading this... and couldn't help but breathe a prayer of audible thanks. So incredibly thankful for the tenderness of Jesus, caring for you and your precious family. Will be praying as you continue to recover.
My goodness! Amen and amen to follow up what Sarah rose said above!
Congrats on Mr. Henry!
So very thankful for your safety as well as Henry's! What a miracle and a true blessing. I was so thankful for your friend Rachel's updates, and after she spoke of your delivery, I naively thought all was clear. So scary to read about what happened post op in the recovery room. God is still in the miracle business!
So thankful for a wonderful update!! Congrats on your baby boy. I am just a stranger from Ohio, but I have been following your story and hoping for the best. I wish you and your family nothing but happiness and hope for speedy recoveries.
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