Welcome to the World Alyssa Marie

Yesterday (8/30/09) my little girl was delivered by an emergency c-section. I went in to the hospital on post because I couldn't feel her kick. The doctor said that her heartbeat sounded good but that it was dropping and that she was not responding. So he got in touch with the doctors at Columbia and I was transported to Columbia by helicopter.

I owe everything to God. When the doctor first told me that Alyssa was going to be delievered that day I started panicking. But I knew that I had to be strong and calm for her. I let God take over and I felt at peace for the majority of the ride up there. God placed the best people that I could have asked for. The nurses in the helicopter took such good care of me and the female nurse was praying for me which made me realize that we were not alone.

When I got to Columbia I was placed in a room. My husband and friend had not made it there yet. But again, God put awesome people to help me from the doctors to the nurses. My husband made it there and we were told that they were going to hold off on the c-section. I called my mom to tell her that they weren't going to deliver her today (she was getting ready for a last minute flight here). Five minutes after I told my mom, the doctors told me that I was going to be prepped for surgery in 30 minutes.

Everything seemed to fly by after that. There were some scary moments - for some reason the spinal tap was not working and I had to be poked multiple times. I ended up having to get an epidural combo (which was just more steps to administer but just as effective) and next thing I knew I felt numb from my chest down.

I just thank God so much for the doctors, nurses, friends, family and my husband. Although I could tell that he was scared he stayed with me and comforted me throughout the surgery. He was able to take pictures of our little angel. She was born at 3:16 pm (how awesome is that!) weighing in at 1.1 lbs. The nurses said that when she was being pulled out she was looking around. I couldn't see anything but I was trying to hear her cry. Turns out she is too young to do so but I didn't think to ask about that.

She is in the NICU now and is expected to stay until November 16 as long as she is able to meet all the criteria to leave. She could stay longer but I have faith that God will be with her and help her. We have such awesome support and so many people praying for her. I can't tell you how touched I am from all the encouragement we have. Thank you to everyone - words can't express our gratitude for your help, encouragement and support.

Here is a picture of Alyssa. She is such a joy to watch. She sucks on her tubes (she has a big tongue!) and loves to kick up her left leg and place it on the outside of her "snuglet". Although the circumstances weren't what we imagined I can't thank God enough for our little angel. We have a long road ahead of us, but I know that we are in good hands.