Prayer Request

June of 07 I had my 3rd knee surgery to replace the metal in my right knee with Kevlar, which I already had in my left knee. The physical therapist tore the kevlar apart a week after the surgery by stretching it too far, but we didn't know it at the time. I never recovered from the surgery and I started training with a trainer in February because I just thought I was really out of shape and that was why my knee was still hurting. I was running 30 minutes at a time and my knee never did get any stronger. I could leg press over 100 pounds with my left leg, and couldn't even do 5 pounds with my right, so I eventually went back to my surgeon for his opinion . He said there was a new procedure where they could put an anchor in my bone and it was virtually indestructable. I agreed to give it a shot. So, last Thursday, Brother and I ventured back to St. Vincents for my 4th and hopefully final surgery. Dr. Adkison gave Brother the pictures from my knee, and sure enough the last surgery he had done, had been totally ripped apart and here I was doing all this running on it. It's a wonder, I didn't damage it any worse than I did. He has now assured me that I will be able to run as much as I want when I recover. I won't know what to do when I can run without pain. I had gotten so used to the pain that it was normal to me. So, as I sit here with my leg properly elevated, watching Alvin and the Chipmunks with Rollins and Grady, I ask for your prayers--not for me, but for Rollins and Grady. For those of you that are close to us, you know about their vomitting problems. For Rollins, this has been going on since she was 9 months old. In the past 2 1/2 years she has gained 7 pounds--that's it. She looks great and normal, but she can still wear a size 12-18 months in pants. When Rollins was born, she stayed in the 100th percentile until she got sick. Now she is in about the 10th. Grady's vomitting started in June. It's only been two months and he already has an umbilical hernia from the strain. It breaks my heart to see them have to go through this. Neither one of them want to eat because they know what will happen. Together they go through an average of 9 gallons of milk a week. This is where they get the bulk of their nutrition. They also enjoy eating popsicles. Grady's rib's have already started poking out and he has gone from the 50th percentile to the 10th as well. They are both being scoped Wednesday morning at Huntsville's Womens and Childrens hospital. This is also Brother's birthday. Neither one of us want them to be scoped, but we know that it's the only way we can help them. Rollins voice has changed and become scratchy, so they are checking for damage to her esophogus as well. Hopefully, it's something they can grow out of and we can all rest at night knowing they are ok. In the meantime, please keep them in your prayers. I will keep everyone updated on the results.

Fertility

So, I know that I have been really bad about posting this summer. We have been so busy and have hardly even been home, but I just really felt compelled to post tonight. I have a couple of friends who are going through fertility treatments right now and I just wanted to share my story so that they might can find hope in conceiving a child. For those of you who don't know, in July 2002, I went to the doctor because of unbearable headaches--I am not talking migrains or headaches that can be taken care of with tylenol. I am talking about head aches that would leave me unable to function. The MRI found an arachnoid cyst on my left temporal lobe resting against my pituitary gland. The only hope I had in making the pain go away was to have a craniotomy to remove the cyst. By leaving the cyst in my brain, I could suffer an anurism(sp.?) at any moment and not to mention all the complications that arise from the pituitary gland. I didn't produce hormones because the pituitary gland controls the thryoid gland. The doctors told me it would be pretty much impossible to conceive without hormones. Everything pointed to surgery. Here I was, 23 years old, totally supporting myself with a great job in Birmingham. My life was just starting. This would change everything. I would have to quit my job and move in with my parents so they could take care of me. Then, not even two weeks after my diagnosis, Brother proposed. All I could think about was how I wanted my hair, not a wig, when I got married. I asked if I could postpone any thoughts of having surgery, and I found a doctor at the Kirklin Clinic who thought he could control the pain. I had two nerve blocks (Brother said an epidural is nothing compared to the needle that would wrap around my skull) which never worked. I was taking 7 medications a day, one of which I had to take through my nose and ended up eating up the inside of my nose. Nothing seemed to work. Not to mention, I was taking more hormones than my post menoposal grandmother. Brother and I had already decided that we would either adopt or have the surgery after we got married so that we could have a chance at having a biological child. Four months after we got married, I ended up pregnant. I had monthly blood work for the past 2 years and my hormones never even registered. The doctors office called right after I took the test to let me know that they needed to increase my hormones again and they thought I was crazy when I told them I was pregnant. They said there was no way. I went out and got a few more test--all different brands and they all said the same thing--the impossible had happened. I had heard wonderful things about Clinic for Women and Dr. McMichens so I decided to give them a shot since all my doctors were in Birmingham and I wanted to have the baby in Huntsville. I was so thankful for that decision. I honestly believe there is not a better clinic in the world. They were so receptive to my concerns about the cyst since most of them rupture during child birth. The day I was induced, they gave me nubane before they ever started the pitocin and then they gave me the epidural as soon as they started the pitocin. I wasn't even dilated when I went in, but because I was at such ease, I dilated to 10 in 3 hours and had a baby after 3 pushes. Because of the low stress and comfortable environment, my cyst held through just fine. Amazingly, even through the pregnancy and after, I never could produce any hormones and nine months later we got surprise number 2--I was pregnant yet again. I have never taken any type of birth control to this day. Grady is 18 months now and I really felt like God knew we needed these children. There is not a doctor anywhere that can explain how I got pregnant--I just tell them it was because God sent these children to us as a blessing. They have taught us more than anyone else. They have shown us what Unconditional love means and how to find happiness in the simplest things. Brother and I both needed that. He had been through so much with the loss of his parents in 2001 and I really believe Rollins and Grady are angels he sent to us to help ease Brother's pain and restore his faith. God knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we need. We just have to give our life and faith to him and he will provide us with everything we need. For those that God chooses to be adoptive parents, it's because there is a child out there that really needs them and their love. Sometimes, it might just be that his time is not our time, and as hard as it is to understand why, we just have to trust him.
It is so frustrating to see unwed young girls having children they don't want when there are wonderful Godly couples exhausting all efforts to conceive a child. There is no other explanation except for it all being part of God's plan. If I can give any advice to anyone trying to conceive--Trust in God. He is such a good God and he will bless you in ways you would never expect. Just look at us!