Here is an email we sent out to some family members, hopefully it will help update everyone else who is interested also!
Hello Family!
I apologize for this being so horribly impersonal, but it is unfortunately the best way to reach everybody! (On that note, I am missing people so feel free to pass along!) Most of you are hopefully aware that we are expecting a little boy in May. We would just like to update you as to how everything is progressing. Kara has been seeing a specialist at the U of M in the cities for awhile now, as the little Scharmer was having some heart issues. Today we had some more extensive testing done, and are afraid the results are not as good as we would hope! At this point, it looks like little boy definitely cannot wait until May to make his appearance. He is having problems with getting adequate nutrition and is no longer growing properly, and at some point it's expected he will just stop growing. At that point whenever it may be, he will have to be delivered via c-section in the cities, which is definitely not ideal for us selfish parents. It could be a few weeks or a few months, nobody really has an answer. Once he is born, they will assess his birth defects and needs for surgery. Right now, he does have a hole in his heart called a VSD which is a pretty common heart defect and will probably eventually require a surgical fix. They don't expect that to be an immediate need, so that is a good thing. He also has extra fluid in the ventricles in his brain that will require surgery to place a shunt for drainage. Also pretty common as far as defects go. It is possible but not confirmed that he might have a tethered spinal cord, which means the bottom of his cord is attached somewhere like the tailbone. If this is the case, it will also require a surgical fix to free the cord. It is possible that our little boy has some sort of chromosomal problem or a "syndrome" but we will not know those answers until birth.
It looks like we are in for a long journey, and our little boy an even longer one. It's expected that he will be premature and will be spending time in the NICU at the U. We will be going back every 2 weeks now for growth checks, and we just hope he will keep getting bigger so he can stay in there as long as possible.
We appreciate your thoughts and well wishes, as we are stressed and tired and seriously need to get our butts in gear and get a nursery ready!
Please pass this on to people I have missed, I'm a little scatter brained today.
Love,
Nate & Kara
I apologize for this being so horribly impersonal, but it is unfortunately the best way to reach everybody! (On that note, I am missing people so feel free to pass along!) Most of you are hopefully aware that we are expecting a little boy in May. We would just like to update you as to how everything is progressing. Kara has been seeing a specialist at the U of M in the cities for awhile now, as the little Scharmer was having some heart issues. Today we had some more extensive testing done, and are afraid the results are not as good as we would hope! At this point, it looks like little boy definitely cannot wait until May to make his appearance. He is having problems with getting adequate nutrition and is no longer growing properly, and at some point it's expected he will just stop growing. At that point whenever it may be, he will have to be delivered via c-section in the cities, which is definitely not ideal for us selfish parents. It could be a few weeks or a few months, nobody really has an answer. Once he is born, they will assess his birth defects and needs for surgery. Right now, he does have a hole in his heart called a VSD which is a pretty common heart defect and will probably eventually require a surgical fix. They don't expect that to be an immediate need, so that is a good thing. He also has extra fluid in the ventricles in his brain that will require surgery to place a shunt for drainage. Also pretty common as far as defects go. It is possible but not confirmed that he might have a tethered spinal cord, which means the bottom of his cord is attached somewhere like the tailbone. If this is the case, it will also require a surgical fix to free the cord. It is possible that our little boy has some sort of chromosomal problem or a "syndrome" but we will not know those answers until birth.
It looks like we are in for a long journey, and our little boy an even longer one. It's expected that he will be premature and will be spending time in the NICU at the U. We will be going back every 2 weeks now for growth checks, and we just hope he will keep getting bigger so he can stay in there as long as possible.
We appreciate your thoughts and well wishes, as we are stressed and tired and seriously need to get our butts in gear and get a nursery ready!
Please pass this on to people I have missed, I'm a little scatter brained today.
Love,
Nate & Kara
I'm so saddened to read this and it brings me back to our Grandchild Cameron and all the emotions. Remember to keep your faith and you and Nate are chosen for a reason to raise this special little guy. I will pray for you three and please don't hesitate to call, text or whatever if you need anything from our family!
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