Tracy and I decided to have one last baby but we had no idea what we were in for. We were excited to learn we got pregnant so quickly and we were anxiously anticipating our new arrival. Approximately five months into our pregnancy we went to our twenty-week ultrasound and learned that there were some pretty big problems. After an hour and a half utlrasound, the doctor talked about a potential chromosome disorder. We were in shock to say the least, because Cody and Cardale were with us, we couldn�t ask (nor would the doctor answer) the questions that we wanted to ask. Instead of a fun family planned night out, we picked up pizza, and went home in shock and in disbelief.
We started praying right away for our baby with this potential disorder. We had scheduled a doctor�s appointment with the Specialist to prove or disprove our doctor�s theory. When we walked into the Specialist�s office, he had convinced us that the things we saw on the ultrasound were just �outside of normal�. After the Specialist conducted his evaluation and ultrasound, he advised that he was highly suspicious our baby was a trisomy 18 baby. He advised us to terminate this pregnancy since this is a fatal disorder and if by some rare chance she would be born alive, there were many defects that come with this disorder. He continued on to advise us that our baby would be severely mentally and physically retarded. Again, the shock rolled through our hearts and our minds and reality began to set in.
Trisomy 18 is a chromosome disorder in which the 18th chromosome throughout a baby�s makeup has three chromosomes instead of two. A trisomy 21 baby indicates that the 21st chromosome has three instead of two, and is more commonly known as Downs syndrome. Trisomy 18 babies typically have a laundry list of defects ranging from heart problems; hearing problems; eye problems; esophagus not being hooked up the stomach; webbed fingers and toes; mis-shaped and smaller heads; sucking problems; and extra toes and fingers just to name a few. The more we read and learned about this disorder, the more frightened we became. It didn�t take long to get a feel for how scary this disorder was until we did a quick search on the internet. We learned that 90% of these babies are either stillborn or don�t make it to term. For the next four months we prepared ourselves for the worst and prayed a lot.
Even though this was a horrifying situation for any parent, it didn�t take us long for God to lead us to the decision to continue with the pregnancy, regardless of the outcome. We have to admit the first evening of learning about this disorder, we agreed to go with the Specialist�s recommendation. The Holy Spirit quickly began to speak to us the next day and we continued to pray about our situation and our little daughter. We felt an urgency to name her right away since statistics indicated that it was likely we wouldn�t get the privilege to see her alive on this earth. We named here Makalie Jane Herzog.
The word spread fast and so many of our family, friends, church family and acquaintances (even so many people that we don�t know) began to pray. The Lord had taken away our fears and we had to change our mindset about our baby. We prayed for the Lord to give us a short time (rather than no time) with Makalie; to hold her and love her. We asked our Father to let us get her home, and if she has to pass away, it would be in the comforting and loving environment of our home.
On our due date, March 26th, our Sunday School Coordinator (Patty Hills) visited our home to pray with Tracy for Makalie. Patty put her hands on Tracy�s stomach and began to pray. Tracy was amazed at how much Makalie moved during this prayer. These babies tend to not move much and tend to be weak and feeble. The next day, we had a doctor�s appointment, and learned that Makalie had conducted a complete flip in uteral, and all of a sudden was breech. The doctor had to turn her back around and this was our first clue that God had touched Makalie.
We had a scheduled appointment on Wednesday, April 3rd to be induced at 7:00 a.m. at St. Luke�s in Boise. We couldn�t believe the peace that God had given us the last three months. Tracy and I were amazed when walking into the hospital, that God had taken away our fear, and we were ready to experience God�s plan, no matter what the outcome. Tracy�s labor was an all day affair. So many family and friends were anxiously waiting at the hospital not knowing what to expect. Prior to the birth, we had talked to our family members and let them know that if Makalie did not make it, and they wanted to hold her, they could come in to our room and hold her lifeless body. This was an unthinkable thought, but it was reality, and we knew we had to deal with it.
The labor was long, and all of a sudden, it seemed that things progressed very quickly. I remember thinking that the next hour was going to be life changing for so many of us, and it was. These babies generally don�t cry when born. Makalie was an exception. She cried so loud that Tracy�s mother heard her from the hallway. Viola raced back to the waiting room and delivered the news. Everyone was jumping in joy. I�m not sure there was a dry eye in the labor room or the waiting room. God had provided a Miracle and answered so many prayers.
Our very good friend, Kim Mitchell, a professional photographer, gave us a precious gift, by capturing the special moments of the day our daughter�s birth. Makalie was beautiful. She was five pounds and didn�t have all the defects that we read about. We all rejoiced and the news traveled fast. All of our loved ones, friends, Prayer Chain warriors, and Churches that were praying for a miracle got just what we prayed for.
Our goal was to get Makalie home from the hospital. We have already had so much more time than we ever expected with her. Makalie is now one-month and eleven-days old. God has blessed us abundantly with this time with her. She has gained 17 ounces, which is greater than 20% of her body weight. She is so alert that we really question whether she will have the mental setbacks that the Specialist told us about.
Makalie took a turn for the worst on Saturday, April 20th. Her face started turning blue when we would feed her. Her eating slowed tremendously and we could hardly wake her when sleeping. We had her oxygen level checked and it was dangerously low. We noticed her beautiful skin was somewhat marbled. We had been on such a high for the last 2 � weeks and reality set in that we are caring for a trisomy 18 baby which is so unpredictable.
We took Makalie to the Heart Specialist on Friday, April 26th, and learned that her lungs were partially filled with fluid due to her heart defect. We learned that she is in the early stages of congestive heart failure. The doctor advised us this was a very serious condition and suggested medication, which we have done. This medication allows her heart to not work as hard and slowly draws the fluid off of her lungs. Our doctor gave Makalie weeks to months, but that�s a medical prediction, and even the doctor mentioned �God knows for sure�. She advised us that when babies Makalie�s age go into congestive heart failure, they don�t come out of it. Our doctor proceeded to say that she will sleep more and more, eat progressively less, and require more oxygen. She said Makalie will eventually (and quietly) pass away in here sleep. Makalie was not suffering and if you could have seen her, you wouldn�t have believed there were any problems.
Makalie was able to suck from a bottle, which is unusual for Trisomy 18 babies. She took from a bottle for the first couple of weeks but she appeared to choke on her milk after that. We felt she couldn�t afford to have any more liquid in her lungs so we put her on a feeding tube on April 29th. This tube is extremely small and is routed through her left nostril down to her stomach. In a nine-day period, we had to put her on oxygen, put her on a feeding tube, and learned she had congestive heart failure. Not knowing how much more time we had, I received approval from my boss, Fred Waddel, to work from home on Wednesday�s, which we are so thankful for. God continues to answer our prayers. Her oxygen count continues to stabilize and the amount of oxygen that she needs has been decreasing. We are praying for her condition to improve so that we can remove the oxygen all together.
Makalie has been an incredible blessing and has touched so many lives over this last six-month period. She is an incredibly sweet little girl. We will continue to pray for another miracle for Makalie; to fix her heart which is in this failing mode. We thank you for your thoughts, gifts, and prayers, and we realize God only knows the plan for Makalie. She is God�s precious baby and we are comforted that we will be reunited with her in heaven some day no matter how much time we have with her on this earth. We are constantly amazed from the outpouring of love we have received from our family, friends, church families, and people in our community. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our little Miracle.
Ron, Tracy, Cody, Cardale, and Makalie |
