Lyla’s Birth Story and Needed Prayers

I am ecstatic to share that we welcomed our miracle baby into the World on January 7TH at 1409.

For those that have been following, yes that's earlier than the planned c section date at 37 weeks! When I had my last ultrasound and follow up before planned c section I had lost enough amniotic fluid to make it unsafe to keep Lyla inside any longer. So at 36 weeks and 2 days we delivered via c section.

Obviously knowing how small she was planned to be at the 37 week mark, I was a little fearful of 5 days earlier. But God is so good and continued to work together miracles through the whole process.

My nurses and care teams were absolutely amazing. I was brought to tears by the anesthesiologist on my c section case, his daughter is 8 and just finished chemo as she has battled cancer for the last 3 years. When he came to see me PREOP he wanted to read my spine MRI results to be sure when they did an epidural he wouldn't be potentially hitting and introducing cancer cells anywhere else. Something I had not even considered previously !! Due to the location of the cancer in my spine he had no concerns with an epidural and i was excited to have that expert opinion, as well as get to be awake for delivery. He also is a Christian and he said he will continue to pray for our family, as we do theirs!

Another weird turn of events was when they did my routine HIV antibody and P24 antigen testing on admission to labor and delivery the P24 antigen came back positive. Things other than HIV can cause that antigen to be positive - autoimmune disorders, anti inflammatory responses, and case reports of some cancers. Since I had a blood transfusion recently (odds of contracting HIV in a blood transfusion these days is basically 0) we wanted to move forward with confirmatory testing (send out lab no results for 48 hours) although we hoped it was a false positive test. Long story short due to this my c section was delayed 4 hours Saturday as I got prophylactic antivirals, in case it did come back confirmed positive to protect Lyla from transmission. It indeed come back negative for HIV as we had logically figured, but of course this was some added stress to the whole weekend. God showed up again in a big way. Due to that four hour delay, Lyla received a second dose of betamethasone steroid for her lungs and breathing. Without the delay she wouldn't have received that second dose due to timing of meds.

The c section went really well, except for the first 90 seconds after they delivered Lyla. She was born purple, and didn't breathe. It was the longest 90 seconds of Justin and Is life. We just stared at each other holding hands waiting for some type of noise knowing as every second passed how critical it was getting. But she then started to scream and although so small, did amazing on all health assessments from there on out. I really believe the P24 positive HIV antigen scare, helped save her life in the big picture. Because she most definitely needed that second steroid shot to breathe on her own. God knew how to protect her best as he always does.

She's been home 6 days and is doing amazing! She's back up to birth weight, and swimming in her premie clothes at 4 pounds 5 ounces and 17 inches long. Watching Justin as a dad has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far, and we are a VERY happy family of 3!

PRAYER REQUEST

Due to having Lyla a week earlier my wonderful oncologist has also shifted up my maintenance treatments. On January 23rd I will go for a PET SCAN at 7 am, results to be delivered that afternoon at 130, and start my new shot for bone health around 3 pm (I'll get that monthly).

I am of course very nervous for the PET SCAN as I have not had one yet since my cancer returned in September. We believe I had a good response to chemo with my symptoms and external chest tumor resolution. But so far the extent of disease has been determined by multiple MRI of places and how we know the cancer was in my lung (along with it collapsing), spine/pelvis, and liver. I have been praying boldly for the scan to show NED (no evidence of disease). In metastatic cancer thats the best possible results you can ever have. It means although you are not cured the cells have shrunk so much they can no longer be detected by a PET SCAN. Obviously, this would be the best possible starting point for maintenance therapy. But, along with boldly praying for that - I have also continued to pray for peace from God that surpasses all understanding no matter what.

So if you have it in your heart to pray boldly for me for January 23rd, I know our God can and will move mountains. Especially when we live without fear, fully trusting him without doubt.

Thank you all for your continued support! Our little family appreciates you so much!

Love and until next time,

Sami