Praise God!

Sorry this update is 2 weeks overdue. We just recently returned from our Youth Group's annual Bike Trip from the San Juan Islands where I cooked for 75 people for 8 days. Fun times.

2 days before we left for this trip we had another ultrasound. This time a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. King, was present to view the echocardiogram on Faith's heart. We also had a very experienced ultrasound tech who had been doing this job for 25 years. Prior to Dr. King's arrival the ultrasound tech took pictures of all of Faith's major organs (brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, etc.). As he was viewing all her organs he was a bit puzzled to see no major defects in any of the organs. "I see no defects that are common to babies with Down Syndrome," were his exact words. There were no signs of fluid in her lungs or under her skin. He also said that she is growing at a good rate for a baby with DS. PRAISE GOD!

The one thing the cardiologist saw was a very small hole in her heart. Normally these holes either heal themselves in the womb or a few months after birth. If it still were present beyond that, it would be very operable and wouldn't affect her for the rest of her life! In a couple of months (Oct. 15th) I am due back for another ultrasound to check up on the hole and see if it has healed. If so, I may be able to deliver at our McMinnville hospital (only 5 minutes from where we live)!

Before this news John and I prepared ourselves to hear of major defects, lots of surgeries and so on. It was more than we had hoped for. Thank you all once again for your prayers. We know that God is listening and is making a miracle of this. Someone to glorify Himself by.

Prayer Requests:

- The hole in Faith's heart would completely close and that they would see that in the next ultrasound (Oct. 15th). Then I'd be able to deliver close to home.

- Continued strength for John and I. John's ministry is the busiest and most fruitful in the summer and he has not had much time for rest. With that I have little breaks from my duties with the kids and taking care of our home. So, I get tired very easily.

- My sciatica flare ups and constant headaches. When I have sciatica it can be very difficult to walk. In my last trimester I end up using a cane. It would be nice to not have to use it this time. I've never had constant headaches during any of my pregnancies, so this is a first for me. They get to the point where it is hard for me to even be awake and the only way to relieve myself from them is to sleep, which can be very difficult to do with 3 little kids running around.

Blessings to you all, Gizelle and John

Baby Movement

This week I finally felt the baby move. Very light cute little kicks. I know it's normal for pregnancy, but it was so reassuring. :D

Good News!

Thank you all so much for your prayers. The Lord is definitely answering them. Today was my first visit to St. Vincent's hospital and it was a very good experience. I am so glad we decided to transfer care to this facility. Not only were they helpful, but also very hopeful.

The ultrasound went very well. Our new Dr. (David Able - good name) was very supportive. He said that from what he saw he could not see fluid in the baby's lungs, but said that it could also return later on. It's interesting because they kept on mentioning that the baby was still too small to diagnose exactly how she's doing and whether or not any fluid is affecting her (whereas at OHSU they made it seem so certain from their findings). She is growing at a normal rate for a DS baby (a little shortie, but that's normal for my kids) and is very, very active. As we watched the monitor she moved all over the place (it's good she's still small). There could possibly be no heart defect at all, or at least a minor one. But we will not know for sure until August 6th (my next ultrasound with the pediatric cardiologist="baby heart doctor"). By then the baby would be at a stage where the Dr. could see definite heart defects and whether or not the baby needed surgery once delivered. If no heart defects are found I could actually return to my original doctor in town and possibly deliver at the birthing center that is closer to home. To top it all off the risk of miscarriage is lowering the farther along I carry the baby :D

What a difference between the 2 hospitals! The environment, the doctors, the outlook on the baby's life and condition - it was like night and day. God is so GOOD!

A special thank you to my good friend Erin Timm who drove me to the hospital and kept me company while John stayed back to oversee VBS for our church.

First update on our newest addition - Faith Celeste Marr

John and I are blessed to have another little one in the family. I am now 14 weeks pregnant with another baby girl. Along with this great news is also a huge prayer request. Our precious little one has Down Syndrome (DS). I know that many of you will have lots of questions, so we have created this blog to help everyone understand what has been going on and everything that has led up to now.

We had been trying to conceive since last September. I then got pregnant and soon miscarried after 6 weeks in January. Then finally in April we got the best news (via 2 lines on a pregnancy stick). We had decided to keep things quiet about the baby until I was 3 months and had a lower risk for miscarriage.

I had my first prenatal visit at 9 weeks and no heart beat was found with the normal doplar, so I was given an early ultrasound (which the picture above was taken at). Through that ultrasound we were advised to go to OHSU to get a second opinion as they saw extra fluid in the nuchal sac behind the neck which is indicative of chromosomal abnormalities and/or congenital heart problems.

The OHSU ultrasound was not as we hoped. Not only was the nuchal sac enlarged but the baby also has fluid in her lungs and under her skin. The doctor was very concerned for the baby's health and she said it seems as if the baby is undergoing heart failure because of all these signs at such an early stage. She believed the baby to have even a more serious birth defect than DS (ie Trisomy 13 or 18). Also that I am very likely to have a miscarriage at any time during the pregnancy and there is no chance that the baby would survive more than a year if I went to full term. So immediately she offered to terminate the baby. Of course, we declined and would never have come to that conclusion. We then asked to take further diagnostic testing to see exactly what type of birth defect she has. They called us with results in 2 days and told us that she has Down Syndrome, but nothing more severe. Praise God!

Although her birth defects aren't as severe as we had thought, the baby is still at risk. I may still miscarry or have a still birth. She might be having heart failure. But we have hope and are looking into a third opinion (one with a more pro-life view and approach). So we have decided to transfer care to St. Vincent's hospital. I am scheduled for another ultrasound on July 6th and we are praying that her health has improved. After that they will do an echocardiogram on the baby's heart to see how serious her condition is.

All this to say, we covet all your prayers. Please pray for the baby's health and that she comes to full term. Also that she would be high functioning once born and has a good quality of life. Please also pray for our family, peace and strength. We know without a doubt that God is in full control and has given us this precious baby. And we trust that He has her in His hands. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and for all your support.

Blessings, Gizelle