Today has had its share of ups and downs. Both big sisters got to see Harper a couple of times, and they were amazing with her. We worried about it being too scary for them, but they were curious about all of her boo-boos and gadgets and of course went on and on about how cute she is and how much they love her. The downside to all of that quality time we had with all of our girls in one place was that we had to say goodbye to our big girls again and send them back to Leland.

As for Harper’s health report… She is completely off of the cooling machine and is back up to a normal body temperature! We love seeing her with color and feeling her skin all toasty and warm, but going to those extreme body temperatures and back has been tough on her little body. Now that she is warm, she is far more sensitive to the pain she is in. She’s very uncomfortable and cries a lot, although we can only see her crying and not actually hear her due to the breathing tube. She is still slowly becoming less dependent on the ventilator, and they are still working to find a good balance with her blood pressure meds. She is currently having a blood transfusion to help with that.

Yesterday was a busy day so we weren’t able to update. “Mommy” was finally fever free long enough to be discharged… No explanation for the up and down temps as the only thing they could find were kidney stones and just a little bit of fluid in the lungs, so now it’s Duke time!

Harper has been fairly stable the past day and a half. They removed all the EEG equipment today and haven’t seen any more signs of seizure activity. She still has her breathing tube, but has almost been weaned from it. Today is her last day of being hooked up to the machine that holds her body temperature at 92-93 degrees. Her head circumference is maintaining its size, so that’s great news in terms of swelling. Her blood pressure is the least stable of everything at this point, so she’s being medicated and monitored closely for that. Right now she has her second neurosurgery tentatively scheduled for Thursday to try again. Oh, and on a happy note, both big sisters were able to come in and see her today!

Harper has been losing IVs all day, so they spent the entire afternoon attempting to insert some kind of special tube in her belly button. They finally had to stop, and are now working to do a femoral tube instead. In the process of this they believe they witnessed a seizure, so she has been given anti-seizure meds and will do an EEG next.

Here’s a limited update from a sick, drugged out mom still in the hospital in Wilmington:

Surgery started at 8:30 as planned, but due to complications has just now ended for the day. Long story, but what appeared to be three cysts ended up being one large, complex cyst with veins. Those veins caused minor bleeding, so they had to perform more intensive surgery to try to remove the cyst. However, as they were draining it there was a separation which lead to heavier bleeding and halted surgery plans. They had to remove part of Harper’s skull and pack her head to stop the hemorrhage.  She is now stable.  More plans will be made for future surgery and treatment, so please continue to pray that she will remain stable and as healthy as possible. Thank you all for praying steadily for us during this time.

For those who have asked about Mom’s condition, I am still at New Hanover and the fevers keep spiking for reasons they can’t identify, so please pray they’ll figure it out soon so I can get up there to my husband and my baby!

**Much later update to this surgery report… This surgery began as an effort to insert a shunt to drain the fluid from Harper’s brain to her stomach.  The surgeon actually had her stomach and head open to insert the shunt, but at the last minute made the decision to touch the cysts first.  We now know this was God’s divine intervention… had the surgeon started with the shunt, the pressure would have been far too great and our girl would not have survived the hemorrhage.  Our God is Great!!

Unfortunately my recovery has been slowed quite a bit. I’m running unexplained fevers, so there will be no quick discharge. Harper has had a CT scan and an MRI at Duke and her surgery has been scheduled for 8:30 in the morning. As of now the surgery will involve the placement of a shunt and some work on the cysts that were seen on her scans,but nothing is for certain until they get in there. Prayers will greatly appreciated tomorrow morning!

Well, so much for the plan! Mommy woke up at 4:45 this morning with the beginnings of a placental abruption and was rushed to New Hanover. At 6:40 Harper Lynn entered the world with a wonderfully loud cry! She weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz, and was 21 1/4″ long. She has a head full of thick, black hair, and scored 9/9 on her Apgar score. She was taken straight to NICU for an ultrasound of her head. Unfortunately that indicated further swelling in the ventricles of her brain.

The Duke Flight team arrived this afternoon to transport her to Duke for further evaluation by the pediatric neuro specialist. We were blessed that there were two daddies on the team who reassured us they would take great care of her. They let Kirby help load her in the box, while the helicopter pilot gave our older girls a helicopter tour. Kirby and his brother took off this evening to be with Harper at Duke while my mom stayed here while I recover.

We met with Dr. Lydia Wright first thing this morning. Ultrasounds confirmed fluid in Harper’s left, right, and third ventricles, as well as disorganization in the right ventricle. Unfortunately there are a lot of unknowns- they aren’t sure what caused it, but it looks like there may be a bleed in her brain. They also could not get a clear picture of the fourth ventricle or the heart. We have been referred to specialists at Duke, and we will meet with them in the morning.

Today I decided to call the doctor regarding a totally non-baby related issue. They worked me in to see the nurse practitioner, and she was phenomenal. She decided to go ahead and check on the baby while I was there, and as we were finishing up she asked me about fetal movement. It had decreased a little, which I thought was normal at 37 weeks, but she said she would just feel better if we did an ultrasound. The rest of the day was a blur. The ultrasound tech left the room to call my doctor, and they sent me immediately to the hospital for monitoring. All went well, but the doctor called all the family in and informed us that the ultrasound showed fluid on Harper’s brain. She sent us home but told us to expect a call from the fetal specialist, and to be prepared to have to deliver at Duke.