Evelyn "Evie" Claire

Yesterday, Evelyn Claire was born.  You remember Elizabeth Grace (Lizzy), Max's girlfriend?  Well it's her new little sister!  And so far, it's been quite the miracle and quite the God-story-- so I wanted to share it with you and ask for your continued prayers over the Prusa family.

At Anna's 21 week ultrasound, they found a small tumor on her placenta.  This is very rare, but being that it is attached to the placenta, it doesn't pose a threat to the mother, and if everything goes well, it doesn't really cause a threat the the baby either.  The catch is that the tumor and the  baby are sharing and competing for blood.  There is no reason or cause for the tumor and the chance of this happening is very very scarce.  When the doctor's discovered the tumor, the decided that it would be best for Anna to go to a specialist every 2 weeks, but otherwise, everything would be considered a normal pregnancy.  For 10 weeks, there wasn't a problem-- the tumor was growing, but the baby was growing too, and the doctors we're thrilled with the progress.

On Sunday, Anna began having contractions.  By Monday they were very regular, so she went to her doctor and was checked into the hospital.  After 2 days of extensive testings, ultrasounds, and visits with the pediatric cardiologist, it was decided that Anna was not in pre-term labor, and the baby was doing fine. So they were sent home after being given 2 doses of steroids to speed up the baby's development, just in case anything were to happen down the road.

On Wednesday, Anna worked a full day as a speech pathologist at a public middle school.  She did her mommy duties that evening and began taking care of her house and her family.  On Thursdays, Anna does not work, and had scheduled an appointment with the specialist.  While at the appointment, they discovered some fluid in the baby's chest and decided that an immediate, emergency c-section was necessary.  Anna was sent to the hospital right away... and this is when God's handy work and God's perfect timing becomes very clear:

First of all, Robert, Anna's husband was with her at the appointment and Anna had a bag packed in the car.

Secondly, Chad was painting at their house and I had just arrived to bring him a sandwich.  The boys were playing in their backyard and I was setting up some stuff in their house when I got the call.  I was able to pack a bag for Robert and head straight to the hospital to be there for them.

Thirdly, the tumor had actually been causing the baby stress for up to several weeks, but it was not something they couldv'e seen on an ultrasound, so the fluid development and the specialist appointment was perfect timing and got the baby out just in time.

Fourth of all, although the baby is 31 weeks along (9 weeks early) she still weighed in at 4.4oz!

All the miracles are from the Lord, the given and sustainer of Life!  Praise Him!

These next few days are critical.  The baby is stable, but has serious issues going on in her little body.  The NICU is very encouraged because they only things that have gone "wrong" and the only "issues" that have arisen were totally expected by them.  Baby Evie is covered in tubes and wires and masks, and it makes this mother's heart hurt-- I can NOT imagine how her parents are feeling- but Anna has been able to hold her hand, and hopefully, in a couple days, will be able to hold her precious girl.

Please pray for Anna that she makes a quick recovery from her c-section so she can focus on her new baby and her sweet 2 year old.  Please pray for Robert as her supports them all emotionally, and processes this, as it's his daughter and his wife going through all of this, physically, but the whole family is dealing with the repercussions of all of this.  Please pray for God given bonding experiences for both parents-- not being able to hold and connect with a new baby has to be very taxing and surreal. Please pray for Evie and all the doctors that are taking care of her.  Pray for her lungs and her heart development.  Pray for her platelet count, that it would rise.  Pray the the fluids in her chest would be absorbed. And pray that she knows she's loved and adored by many. And please pray for the journey that is ahead.

And most importantly, praise God from whom all blessing flow.  Praise Him for taking care of Anna and Evie and praise Him for all the wisdom that he has given everyone involved.