Q and A

Many of you have texted, Facebooked, emailed, voicemailed questions that have gone unanswered since Ashton was born.  We decided that it would be impossible to answer all of the messages and to be honest sometimes it is too hard to restate the same answer to multiple people.  So, I thought I'd try to answer some of the questions Cody and I frequently get asked.

1.  How much did Ashton weigh when she was born?

Ashton weighed 3 pounds, 11 ounces at birth.  Unfortunately, at least a pound of that was excess fluid that her body had accumulated.

2.  How much does Ashton weigh now?

Ashton weighs approximately 3 pounds, 5 ounces as of tonight.  She has received IV fluids since birth that acted as "carrier" fluids for her medications.  It is also a fine balance of how much diuretic to give her so that her electrolytes do not get out of wack.

3.  Can I share your blog with ___________?

YES!  You absolutely can share Ashton's blog with anyone/everyone you know who is willing to pray for our sweet girl. 

4.  Are you checking your email?

No.  My blackberry is dead, I didn't bring the charger to Houston, and to be honest I don't even know where it is right now so I have no way to check my DOJ email.  Our yahoo and gmail accounts are at capacity and we unfortunately can not  answer all of them.

5.  Who is taking care of Brady?/Where is Cody?

Cody is taking care of Brady--with the assistance of tons of friends--back home in Midland.  We decided that we needed to try to keep Brady in his routine as much as possible during this time.  Also, we are trying to save as much of Cody's PTO as we can given that we don't know what the future holds for baby girl.

6.  What is Ashton's prognosis? What caused her condition?

Her prognosis is very uncertain and the doctors are uncertain what caused her condition.  Hydrops can be caused by many things--a genetic disorder, parvo virus, TORCH virus, CMV.  However, in over half of the Hydrops cases doctors never know what caused the Hydrops.  Ashton and I have been negative for all of these common conditions.  Ashton's doctors believe that the most likely explanation is that I contracted a virus at some point during the pregnancy which affected Ashton.  The virus caused her liver and heart to be in distress.  As a side effect of that distress her body was unable to rid itself of excess fluid. 

7.  Why did you go to Houston?  Why not Dallas/Waco/or anywhere else closer?

The option we were given on March 8th by the Maternal Fetal doctor in Midland was to go to Odessa on the 9th and meet with another Maternal Fetal doctor who would discuss with us the possibilities of doing further testing -- amniocenteses, etc. -- in hopes of learning why Ashton was developing hydrops.  However, delivery was not an option in their opinion and the tests they were offering were only to determine why this was happening to Ashton.  The Midland doctor told us that because her condition was 100% fatal, they would wait until her heart stopped and I would deliver a stillborn daughter.  The Midland doctor also believed that the hydrops was causing her heart to be large and that she "was unaware of any cardiac condition that would cause hydrops." Given this news we did some quick research trying to find the best Maternal Fetal doctor.  Dr. Anthony Johnson with the University of Texas ended up being who we  believed to be the best and he recently joined the UT-Memorial Herman staff in Houston.  After our meeting with Dr. Johnson we did not receive a magic answer or even good news.  Dr. Johnson was able to determine that Ashton's heart was most likely causing her hydrops.  He was very honest with us that Ashton was very sick and most likely would not survive, but he was willing to try.  Dr. Johnson was in Houston, so that is where we stayed.

8.  What hospital is Ashton in/What is her room number/Can she have visitors?

We are at Children's Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas.  Ashton is in Giraffe Pod A in the NICU.  Visitors are limited to parents, grandparents, and siblings over 3 years of age.  Visitors under 18 are not allowed.

9.  What can we bring you/what do you need?

We need your prayers for healing for Ashton and knowledge for her doctors 24/7.  I am doing well in Houston and staying at my brother's.  Growing up in the area, I know my way around and I'm hoping to get released to drive next week.  Cody and Brady are doing well in Midland.  I promise that if a specific need arises we will reach out and ask for help.

Well, I just found our they are not making any more vent. changes until 4:00a.m. so this mommy is going to try to get a few hours of sleep.  If you have any other specific questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

Brandi