Dialysis

Dialysis is done for today and Kirstin did really well. She is a real trooper. It took about 3 hours. Tomorrow we will find out if it was enough or if she will have to repeat the process. She was able to have some mac and cheese tonight which is her first real meal since her c-section. Hazel is hanging on. This child is tough as nails. Thank you to everyone for all you are doing. More later!

Kirstin Needs You

We have just found out that Kirstin needs to have dialyses today. This is not entirely unexpected but we were really hoping she would not have to go through this. She is nervous and we are worried. Please keep her in your prayers. Dialyses is today at 1 pm eastern standard time.

Hazel is doing well but she is getting weaker. She is such a strong girl and we love her. She loves to hold hands and she loves her parents and grandparents. Uncle Anders called yesterday via satellite phone from his cutter somewhere in the Atlantic and Hazel got to talk (grunt and coo) to him. Hazel loves her Uncle Anders and he loves her.

Please keep your thoughts and prayers with Kirstin, Hazel and Travis. Thank you!

Meet Hazel

Guess who decided to make her grand entrance into this world on Wednesday, Feb 17th @ 4 am? That's right. Hazel Lynette Reed is here and she is perfect. This is Kirstin's sister Dana and I thought you all would like to meet Kirstin and Travis' little miracle. So without further adieu let me introduce you to Hazel.

Like I just mentioned, Hazel was born almost 2 whole days ago. She was 2 months premature and delivered by emergency c-section. She was immediately given to her mom and dad so they could enjoy their brief time with her. Guess what? She is still with us! This amazing little girl is 3lbs. 11 oz of toughness. She is breathing on her own and is fighting a fight that we thought was impossible. She's a miracle. But that's obvious, isn't it?

This precious little girl was born with a ton of dark curly hair which, for a Forsberg, is an absolute achievement. Let me tell you-to be 2 months premature and have hair that gorgeous is very, very impressive. Travis says she gets her lovely locks from her Grandpa Tom. I am sure he is right. According to Grandma Robin little miss has dainty hands and long slim legs just like her daddy. Hazel has the cutest ears and sings just like a little bird to whomever will listen. This little girl is a professional snuggler and has caused everyone to fall instantly in love with her.

When Hazel gets fussy there is one sure fire option to calm her, you just take her to her mommy and lay her down and let her listen to Kirstin's heartbeat. When she is with Kirstin she is home, she is content and she is happy.

Hazel is such a strong little girl and truly a miracle. She is close to being 48 hours old and defying all odds. We are so grateful for her little spirit.

She has wonderful parents. Travis and Kirstin love Hazel more then words can express. We all do. Right now Kirstin is very, very sick and the doctors are having a difficult time helping her. She is struggling with HELLP syndrome. We need your prayers for Kirstin, Travis and Hazel. These next few days are crucial and we ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Over the past two days Hazel has been described as a angel, a princess, a gift, a fighter, a trooper, a beauty, our hero and a miracle. Each and every word could not be more accurate.

She is a miracle and that is a fact.

If you would like to keep current on what is going on with Kirstin, Travis and Hazel feel free to check my blog @ http://www.thewidings.blogspot.com/ or if you are on facebook add me as a friend (Dana Forsberg Widing) and just let me know you are a friend of Kirstin's. I am trying to keep everyone current on her condition there.

Don't forget sweet Hazel, Kirstin and Travis in your prayers and thank you in advance!

40 people, 1 question

One of my favorite people, Anna, just completed a video project that I love. I am inspired by her topic. Hopefully this will help her get into USC film school. Travis and I are in the movie and you can get an idea of how swollen I am right now. I don't even recognize that person.

So Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy.

Click here to watch: 40 people, 1 question

Out of the mouth of babes

Brockden, my 3 year-old nephew, caught me rubbing lotion all over my belly the other day. He thought it was a lot of fun to "see Hazel." As he was patting my stomach he said, "Auntie Kirs, how come Hazel doesn't fall out of your hole?" Of course I'm thinking they are teaching a little too much at the preschool level now and got really awkward. As I was trying to formulate how to answer that question in regards to a 3 year-old he asked again, "how come the baby doesn't fall out of your hole," pointing at my belly button. Much better. I still let his Mom handle that one, but at least it wasn't the crisis I had imagined. Out of the mouth of babes....

The latest Hazel update is that we will most likely be induced around the 18th of March. Because her head is developing 3 weeks ahead of her body the Doctors are afraid of head entrapment and all sorts of other complications if they let her go too long. We are aiming for a natural birth, but a C-section is still a strong possibility based on her condition.

We have 5 weeks left with our sweet girl. It breaks our hearts. I remember when sleep felt so good. Now it is the enemy. I cannot lay down without thinking of what that day will be like. Sometimes I dream this is all a mistake and it makes it worse to wake up. Other days I walk myself through the entire day willing myself to face it.

I screamed at Heavenly Father yesterday. Not because I was angry at Him. Maybe because I wanted Him to know how badly I hurt, how I would gladly accept any other challenge if he would spare my daughter. The impressions came so strong that He too "lost" His son and could have spared him, but allowed him to suffer so at this moment someone would know exactly how to succor me. It wasn't total relief, but a feeling of being perfectly understood. With that more complete knowledge, even though I've always known it, I was able to feel some measure of comfort, assurance, and hope.

Please keep praying for us and we will continue to pray for you.

The Long Overdo Update

I would like to formally introduce you all to our daughter

Hazel Lynette Reed.

This is a MRI picture taken at our last appointment at Boston Childrens Hospital. I love this picture because she is wrestling her umbilical cord and it looks like she's smiling. Unfortuntaely you can also see some of her deformities. They have diagnosed her with a variation of holoprosencephaly which basically means there is so much water on the brain (all of the white) that a brain did not develop. In addition she does not have a nose. I know, it appears as if she has one, but that is her upper lip. Her nostrils, or what should have been her nostrils, are located over her eyes. If you can see the protrusion on her forehead you have located one of her nostrils. Lastly, she has a kinked brain stem. The brain stem controls many of our innate reactions such as breathing and swallowing so you can imagine how important it is.

It's difficult to believe that we just started our 3rd trimester. Some days are really good and we are able to keep a very clear perspective and be grateful for the perfect daughter we have been given. Other days are really bad and I struggle to even get out of bed. It's hard to know that every day is one day less with her physically. Some days I think I have so much to look forward to and then others I am bitter that I am spending my pregnancy looking at caskets and headstones.

From here on out the Doctors can make the decision to take her at anytime based on her wellness and mine. I'm very afraid because I don't feel ready to part with her. I don't know if I ever will. However I do have faith that when it happens Heavenly Father's peace and comfort will not fail us. It hasn't failed us yet.

The Doctors have recommended that we use this time to parent Hazel and do things with her that we would have normally done with her throughout her life. So I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family...

This is Gidget Brie Reed aka our new puppy.

(I always promised Brie I would name our first born after her so here you go.) We would have given Hazel a puppy at some point because every child should have a dog so we adopted Gidget. We have had her for 6 weeks and she is 4 months old. She is a bassett/doxen mix or a bashound. Actually she's just naughty. If you have seen the movie Marley & Me you have met our dog. There is nothing she will not chew and swallow, no furniture she will not throw up on, and strongly believes that potty training does not apply to her. This is not a great picture, but I can only take one when she's sleeping because otherwise she doesn't stop moving. I have to say she is a lot fo fun and has been a huge blessing in our lives right now. She keeps us busy and get's us out of the house on days when we don't want to confront the world. She's also a great cuddler at night and a good playmate to Brockie.

Lastly, congratulations to the newest graduates in our family. My Mom recently finished her Bachelor's degree and and Travis finished his Master's. They will both be walking in May. I am so proud of them. Travis will most likely begin his second Master's program this summer to become certified in Administration. Good for that guy. My brother Anders will also be graduating from Coast Guard boot camp at the end of this month and will be stationed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire soon. Yea! Another place to vacation near the beach and outlets.

I know I should be better about updating, but I make no promises. I will however post some pictures of me and Hazel aka my belly. I will not post pictures of my cankles so don't even ask.

Again, I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support at this time. We feel very loved and blessed to have such great family and friends watching out for us.

Unknown Diagnosis

After many attempts at diagnosing our baby's symptoms the results are officially in and she has an unknown diagnosis. All they can really tell us is that it is not genetic or chromosomal and they have ruled out all trisomy's and tubal defects. Unfortunately the testing raised more questions than answers and we are at a dead end.

The plan is to continue to do ultrasounds every 3 weeks to monitor the progression of her hydrocephalus and single umbilical artery. If she makes it to the third trimester, they may attempt to do shunting while she is still in utero to give her more of a chance at life. The prognosis is still very poor, but they can't give us much to go on.

So with the very few details I have let me tell you what I do know. We have our daughter right now and for now we are happy. It doesn't mean we are are ignoring the future, we are just content with what we have now. We will deal with whatever comes our way when it is time. And at that time, Travis has promised me a puppy so I know it will be ok.

We will keep everyone updated and thank you for your prayers. Also, if anyone has any great suggestions for names we need one asap!