Sunday, July 23, 2006
My Precious Miracle. . .Katie Greer
This is my miracle baby girl. . .born 3 months early, weighing a tiny 2 pounds and 1 ounce.

Just to give you a glimpse of our journey since that day. . .
Katie was diagnosed with a traumatic bleed in both hemispheres of her brain at a few days old. The doctor cried with me on the phone as he told me.
. . .but God was with us. . .
She endured brain surgery to place a "temporary shunt" so that nurses could manually drain the excess fluid from her brain when she was 2 weeks old. I sat in the waiting room unable to breathe.
. . .but God was with us. . .
Katie was given 9 blood transfusions, was on a respirator breathing for her for a month and half, was fed through a tube for a month, and had fluid pulled from her brain every couple of days. We put a tiny tape player in her incubator that played "Amazing Grace." I sat by her side.
. . .and God was still there. . .
She came home 1 month before she was due! Earlier than some of the other babies around her born at the same time! She was still watched closely by all of the doctors. . .a huge following of doctors which included the pediatric opthamologist, the neurosurgeon, the pulmonologist, and the pediatrician. Our schedule was full of appointments every week. . .and none of them very fun either, for me or Katie. But by far our least favorite was visiting the neurosurgeon to have ultrasounds and MRI's of Katie's brain at the hospital, and then sitting in his office waiting for him to tell us what he saw. And it was always, "I don't know. . .it still doesn't look good." I cried all the way home every time.
. . .God was there. . .
At one of those visits, the neurosurgeon announced that he would need to put a monitor in my little Katie's brain to measure the pressure - she was just 2 years old. We stayed for 3 days in the hospital with Katie literally tethered by a long guage from the top of her head to a machine that recorded readings every second. This test was to determine if Katie would need to have a permanent shunt placed, that would need constant monitoring by doctors because of the threats of infections and malfunctions. Those 3 days were the worst days of my life so far.
. . .God was there with us. . .
Early in the morning, that 3rd day, the doctor came in the room, looked at the readings and said, "Well, hmmmm. . .looks good. . .you can go home." And just like that - we all went home.
God was all around us! And still is. . .


5 Comments:

Katie is a miracle and blessing to all who know her. You have been an inspiration with your sunny outlook and willingness to do whatever it takes for her, and for Nate (I'll bet you'd already forgotten those months of bedrest!).

Blogger Trina said...

Oh Melissa,
I cried when you told me this story in the car and I'm cryin' again now. I love you girl. Your precious children are such a blessing to me.

Blogger Crew Mom said...

Y'know...I really love this picture, because it says so much about who you are and about who Katie is and about what an AWESOME God we serve...I'll never forget the feeling when I got the message (after our trip to Clemson) about Katie being born...never would I have thought that she'd be starting Kindergarten with all her peers, and outshining them all with ther amazing wisdom and intellect! Praise God!!!

Blogger Amber said...

You made me cry too, girl! I am so thankful that God was with you and Katie through those rough times. Give that Katie a hug for us!

Blogger Dana said...

Wow, what a story. I am still wiping the tears from my eyes. I am one of Amber Ferrell's friends, (if she will claim me) and I clicked on your link from her website. I was just blessed with a precious little one, so now stories like these are so much more touching. Thank God for his power, love, and tender mercies. You have two beautiful children!

Post a Comment

<< Home