March for Babies 2010: Walking for William

First, here's an update on Baby William as posted on Facebook by his mom today.... God is working huge miracles in him!

Dear Friends, Family, Believers, Prayer Partners, and People who are loving Will,

Praises:
William had all of his tests re-run in the last week. After 7 weeks at Cook's which included; cardiac arrest at birth, abdominal surgery on 2nd day of life, peritoneal dialysis catheter 2 weeks later, and 2 weeks after that pyloric stenosis repair and g-button insertion-- we are getting ready to bring William home!!!

They used the word "normal" to describe his EEG and "healing" to describe the MRI. It's hypothesized that Will may have some fine motor development challenges, but early intervention and therapy may be able to head those off. His ability to think, make a joke, and have a career someday are totally intact and we expect great things from him.

He is moving up on his dialysis fill volume and handling it well. We should be able to move to an automated pump shortly which will make it possible for us to come home.
He is taking bottles and breast feeding like a champ and last night gained baby weight for the first time.

Today he smiled at me for the first time.
Daddy, Grandma, and Pop fed Will for the first time this week.
I got some needed naps this weekend and feel rested.
We started the home overhaul to welcome our boy home.
Every good thing comes from Father and He deserves all of the credit.

Prayers:
That there will be no more surprises.
That the transition from manual to pump dialysis will be seamless and with no problems.
That Will would gain weight each night so that his weight is not what postpones our discharge,
That my interview with SSI and Medicare for Kidney patients would go well so we have access to every program possible to help Will with his kidneys.
That the coordination of services through Cook's would be as easy as possible.
That we would be thorough and fast learners about dialysis at home and all it entails.
That Will, Chuck and I would be given the time and privacy we need when we get home to bond, get to know each other, and relax.
And for the surgeries to come. Although they will be necessary, I'll be nervous to return to a place where we were stressed for so long (56 days so far)

Much love to you all. Hug somebody. Kiss your babies. And know that God does answer prayer. It is not our story to have all of our problems taken away. But I an keenly aware that God took the hardest part (Will's brain) and ransomed a miracle on our behalf. We will just have to keep trusting in Him. Isn't that what we all do anyway? Keep trusting? Loving my son is loving me. And God must love us both beyond measure. "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word."

How AWESOME is our God!!!!

And now, some pictures from yesterday's walk:









March for Babies 2010 was a BIG success. Our team was able to exceed its fund raising goal of $500.... we actually raised $788!!!!! How awesome is that?!?!?!!! (our sidebar only reflects $505, we had some technical difficulties trying to get it to update correctly!)

I have to brag for a moment on our awesome nephew, Hunter. He had $8 of his Christmas or birthday money left over and came to his mom one day and said he wanted to give it to Tanner and Tori for the March for Babies walk!!! So, that's where the odd amount of $788 comes from... $8 was from Hunter. If that doesn't warm your heart, your heart must not be beating! He is a sweetie and we are so proud of him!


THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of our supporters! You knocked our socks off this year!!! Please know that every dollar you gave will be put to good use by the March of Dimes to help save the lives of preemies and offer much-needed support and education to their families!

Baby William is LIVING PROOF!!!