Our latest trip to Philly

We just arrived home after a draining trip to CHOP.  We had appointments at both CHOP and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. We first met with the doctors at CHOP and an ultrasound was performed on Liam. The doctors are concerned about his growth rate. He is growing but as the doctor put it “not fabulously”. Babies with birth defects like spina bifida can have growing challenges. He is measuring on the small side and they want to monitor his growth more closely. The doctors aren’t sure if he will just be smaller, if this is a SB thing, or if there is something else going on.  They requested that we travel back up to Philly for another visit in three weeks so they can monitor him more closely and to measure his growth rate.  The doctors told us that they don’t expect us to have a 10 lbs baby but at the same time he needs to keep growing.

We were also told that they want us in Philly to stay when Allison is 34 weeks along in her pregnancy. They are taking this measure in case his growth is not strong and they can monitor him and do more tests. They didn’t go into much detail about what could/would be done but that they want to carefully monitor him. This means that we would be in Philly for good the last week of September instead of the middle of October, which we originally planned for.  The doctors might have to deliver him sooner than 38 weeks if his growth rate slows down or if the doctors feel his care will be better outside of the womb.

It is hard to believe that we will be away from family and friends and in Philly for who knows how long in 5 short weeks. We are trying to find a place/home for Spence while we are gone and are trying to find a babysitter for Liam once we are home as well. Since we have to go to Philly sooner, Allison will lose some of her 12 weeks off from work at the front end before she gives birth, therefore her time off when Liam is here will be shorter. This puts more pressure on us to find a sitter before we leave.

There are some positives that came out of our trip. Liam’s SB is “stable” according to the doctors at CHOP. The fluid around his brain has not built up and he seems to be still moving his legs around. They also do not appear to be clubbed. We were very happy to hear this. The ultrasound technician said his brain looked almost identical to the ultrasound from our last visit! We both feel at this point they are more concerned with him growing than the SB.  The bigger he is when he is born the shorter his recovery will be in the NICU since he won’t have to be playing catch up.

Allison also met with a cardiologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is located across the street from CHOP.  They performed an ECHO, 2 EKGs, and she had a meeting with the doctor there. The good news is that the cardiologist agrees with Allison’s cardiologist in Roanoke. They both feel that Allison’s heart is healthy and strong and they see no problems with her arrhythmia and delivering, especially since she will have a scheduled c-section.  She hasn’t had any breakthroughs throughout the pregnancy and they doctors just want her to continue taking her medicine and taking care of herself.

We took the small victories of our appointments and are trying to make the best of everything else. The doctors said that Allison is doing everything right and doesn’t need to do anything different and that he just might be a smaller baby. It’s hard to sit back and try not to worry.  At our next appointment in three weeks we will meet with a social worker, who will help us find a place to stay for the duration of our time in Philly.

Our two showers are coming up and we are looking forward to celebrating and relaxing with family and friends.  Ian has worked hard to finish up Liam's nursery and it looks very cute. We hope that he will be able to enjoy sleeping in his own crib very soon after he is born. We are trying to enjoy this somewhat quiet time at home with Spence before everything changes.  As tough as this all is we are keeping our faith and are doing the best that we can. God is good and he is in charge. 

Blessings from Friends, Family, and Strangers

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind of emotions for us, especially the past few weeks as we anxiously prepare for our next visit to Philadelphia to meet with the doctors again at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  We should get a better picture of Liam’s condition since our last visit and hopefully get some clue as to what we can expect come October.  More importantly, we are getting really excited about welcoming Liam to the world.  Our excitement far outweighs our anxiety and fears.  We have to keep telling people that we’re still excited about Liam and not to pity us and they should get excited too.  Yes, we’ll face challenges that other families won’t have to deal with but he’ll be a boy just like any other boy.

As you could expect, many people in our situation would question “Why us?” and may question why God lets bad things happen to good people.  These thoughts never crossed our minds; if anything our faith has been made stronger.  This is in large part due to all the support we have received from our friends, family, and even complete strangers.  We’d like to take the time to thank all of those who’ve shown us love and support over the past couple months.

When we first learned about Liam’s condition and the need to travel to Philadelphia to see the specialists there, we were initially worried whether or not we could afford to provide the care needed to give Liam the best fighting chance possible.  We immediately prayed that God would give us the strength and would see to our needs.

Our prayers were answered immediately; within 24 hours our friends and family had rallied behind Liam and graciously provided us with the ability to make a last-minute, unplanned trip to Philadelphia for our first consultation with the doctors at CHOP.  You cannot imagine how blessed we felt when we learned of all the support our friends showed us in our time of need.  And it didn’t stop there.  We are constantly receiving cards, emails, and encouraging words of support that are just as appreciated as any monetary support we have received.

We would also like thank the Botetourt Town and County Women’s Club for their generous support.  This fantastic group of ladies graciously held a yard sale with all the proceeds going to help us with Liam’s upcoming medical costs.  We were flabbergasted as Allison’s mom sent us texts with how much had been made during the yard sale.  We cannot thank these women enough and the greater Botetourt County community for all the support you’ve given us.

And finally, we’d like to especially thank Burgess and Alisha Lindsey for taking the initiative to set up a fundraising page to help raise funds to cover Liam’s medical expenses.  Burgess is one of Ian’s roommates and closest friends from VMI, who also happens to be expecting a little girl come November!  We were deeply touched when Burgess said he wanted to help us by setting up the page.  He truly was an answer to our prayers.  Burgess took the time to research various fundraising sites, set up the page, and to begin to spread the word.  Words can’t express how truly appreciative we are to Burgess and all those who have already donated to help us give Liam the best chance possible to enter this world ready to take on all the challenges life has already thrown at him.

It is hard, and very humbling, to ask for help when you need it, especially financial help.  Believe us, we have been deeply humbled by all the support we have received.  When people would ask us how they can help, our typical response would be “continue to pray”.  Don’t get us wrong; there is great power in prayer and we can use all the divine help we can get.  However, if you feel you would like help us, please visit our fundraising page here:  http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/friends-of-liam-camper/76723.  There’s also a donate button at the top of the page.

Again, thanks to all who have supported us so far.  We truly are blessed.  And remember, get excited!