Saturday, July 26, 2008

This is Andrea (Melissa's sister), again.

Earlier today, Clairisa Kelly Mann returned home to live with her Heavenly Father.

Clairisa weighed 1 pound 10 ounces and was 13 inches long. She had lots of dark hair. Melissa said that she is beautiful.

Melissa is recovering from an emergency c-section... and a broken heart.

Please keep Melissa, Cory, Katelund and Cloey in your prayers.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Things I've Learned While in the Hospital...

1. Prayer is powerful
2. How wonderful it is to see the face of a friend
3. How much I hate a bed pan (luckily, for now I have bathroom privileges) :)
4. How thankful I am for incredibly loving nurses
5. How good it feels to take a shower after a week and a half (disgusting, I know)
6. How sore your body can get from sitting/laying in bed all day
7. What an amazing husband I have!!!!
8. How much I miss fresh air
9. How much I love to snuggle with my little girls (even in a hospital bed).
10. As I have listened to the nurses tell me about other mothers in this unit (the high-risk maternity unit), I have realized what a miracle motherhood really is and how many sacrifices are made each day for some mothers to just have one baby. There was a mother in here about 5 years ago who came in because her water broke in her second trimester. The doctors told her that there was only a 5% chance of her baby surviving and that was only if she lay in a bed at the hospital for the rest of her pregnancy. She couldn't get up at all and she even had to eat lying down. The doctors discouraged her from doing it and told her that they thought she should just let the baby go. She would not. She stayed 72 days in the hospital laying in a bed so that her baby would have a 5% chance of living. And she made it. The baby was born perfect and she is now 5 years old, healthy, and beautiful. Isn't that an amazing story? I feel now more than ever that being a mother is one of the ultimate refining fires in this life. How humble I am to be among such amazing mothers who sacrifice so much. I believe that each mother has to go through their own trials, whether during pregnancy or later on and that how we handle each one is ultimately what determines the kind of woman we will become.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Gratitude

I just cannot even begin to thank everyone enough for all of the prayers and support that has been offered on behalf of me and my family. Tears of gratitude continue to flow as I feel so strengthened by the Lord each day, even each hour. I feel really confident that everything is going to be just fine. It has definitely been a scary experience, especially on Wednesday night when I saw the fear in Cory, the nurse, and the doctor as they did all they could to keep my bleeding under control. I hope that I never have to go through that again, but at the same time I was very humbled by how serious placenta previa can be.

On Friday, they finally allowed me to get up and use the bathroom, but apparently that was just too much because the bleeding started once again. They got it under control pretty quickly though with some staytol (sp?), a narcotic that just slows everything down. The contractions and bleeding subsided and I also got some much needed rest. :) After they did another ultrasound, my doctor said that it is a full previa, which means it is entirely covering the cervix. There is a small chance that it may move and I could go full term, but more than likely it will not and I will have to have a C-section. The doctor says that we are in "watchful waiting" and each day and week that we can keep Clairisa inside, is a major blessing. Our goal right now is 28 weeks, and then once we reach that we will shoot for 32 weeks. I'm hoping that I can be on bed rest at home soon, but I will do whatever it takes to keep this baby inside of me.

Except for being anxious to walk around, get out of this bed, and not use a bed pan!!!, I'm doing good, and sweet little Clairisa Kelly is doing wonderful (all though she kicks the monitors like crazy everytime they check her heartbeat) :) Cory is being so AMAZING and I couldn't ask for better nurses!!! They are all so sweet! I only wish that I could run home and make them some cookies or something to thank them for all that they are doing for me.


Once again, thank you so much for all of your love and prayers. Yesterday as I said my prayers I felt such an overwhelming calmness and peace. It was an incredible experience and I only wish I could put it into words so that each of you could feel what I felt. I love the Lord so much and I know that he is very aware of each one of us and that he knows exactly what we need and when we need it. In fact, Cory and I were witness to that very thing on Thursday when I told Cory to leave the hospital and go to an appointment that I'd made earlier in the week to go and see a town home that was for rent. Although he hesitated to leave me, I told him to go because I just felt like it was going to be our new home. Sure enough, the deal is done and it is ours. It is a beautiful brand new 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath townhome that is 1750 square feet. Our move in date is August 28th. Not only is it beautiful and perfect, but it also puts Katelund into my top choice of elementary schools in this area. Again, I couldn't feel enough gratitude to the Lord for such a tender mercy!!!

I love you all and I'll continue to keep you updated,
Melissa

Saturday, July 12, 2008

From the Bedside

Hello!!!!!! This is Cory and I am sitting bedside with Melissa as I post this. She expresses her utmost gratitude for all of your thoughts, prayers, and extended hands of help! She is currently doing well, the doctors have her on strict bed rest here at the hospital, however, her spirits are up and with all your continued prayers I feel confident she and the baby will continue to be blessed in this en devour.

Melissa needs all of your help maintaining a peaceful environment that doesn't get her too excited or stressed. She recently started handling Young Women's things and spending time updating friends and family on the phone, this resulted in some light bleeding. We would please ask those that have Melissa's cell phone to resist the temptation to call it, however, you can feel free to call me at any time on my cell phone 828-280-3627.

We extend our love and gratitude to everyone who is praying for our little family right now and as we receive new information we will update the blog.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

update

Hello, everyone. This is Andrea (Melissa's older sister). I am writing to update you on what is happening.

Melissa was admitted to the hospital last night. She was bleeding heavily. They found that she has an irritated uterus and think a full placenta previa (it was partial). They are planning on keeping her in the hospital for about a week, and then possibly releasing her to complete bed rest at home. Sheri (Cory's mom) is driving out this morning to pick up Kate and Cloey and take them home with her for the week. The doctors are trying to keep Melissa calm, quiet and stress-free to help minimize the bleeding. (So for those of you who live close, please no visitors right now.) Thankfully, the baby is doing well. She is not in distress. Melissa is 24 weeks. So every day is critically important for the baby's developement and growth. It is a very real possibility that they will have to deliver prematurely.

I truly believe in the power of prayer. And I have personally witnessed and felt the strength that having many people praying for you can have. Please keep Melissa and her baby girl in your prayers.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Catch-up

I feel like I am playing catch-up so much lately on here, so sorry. After we got back from the cruise I thought that things were going to slow down and that life would get back to normal, but that has just not been the case. I got a new church calling that has brought a lot of anxiety and humility. It has also brought with it a huge "to do" list everyday. I have also been having some more pregnancy complications and as of today I am on "modified bed rest". I'm not sure what modified means but I have spent the afternoon in my bed while my girls have made their own lunches, cleaned their bathroom, and destroyed every other room. :) I have been frantically searching online for somewhere to live (kindof a necessity right now considering the fact that our lease is up on our condo on August 1st). We debated back and forth about whether we should buy or rent but it just seems so silly to buy when we may only be here for another year and then with the economy the way it is I have a feeling that selling a home in a year would not be the greatest experience.

I'll have to post pics later of our 4th of July weekend (if I get up out of my bed I think my mom, dad, Cory, and in-laws would kill me) . We had such a GREAT weekend! We spent it with our good friends from Fayetteville who now live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We left Thursday morning and got home Saturday night. We watched some incredible fireworks, rode around on their families' boat while the kids, cousins, and Cory played around on the tube, water skis, etc, played in the pool, caught some catfish in their neighborhood pond, and had some YUMMY 4th of July picnics/BBQs with their family and friends. I couldn't really do a lot of the fun stuff but it was great just watching everyone else have so much fun. We love the Ward family so much and it was so great to see where they live and see how big their kids are getting. They have five children, the oldest is 12. Jim and Celeste are older than we are, but we just really connected with them in Fayetteville and Cory and I not only consider them good friends but also great examples and role models of the type of parents that we want to be. It is so great to have friends like that. Ones who have been there done that and can help you see the bigger picture.

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