Update On Olivia

Since the last post, things have gotten pretty bad for Olivia. At the moment she is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so she can be monitored.

She has several heart defects which were not noticeable until her second day in this world, but were (thankfully) discovered before we were discharged from the hospital.

Here's the basic rundown:
—Instead of having two chambers like a normal heart, Olivia's heart only has one. It's the same size as a normal heart, but the chambers (ventricles) never formed completely. This is common and sometimes the body will finish the job, but the gap seems to be too large for her body to finish creating the chamber wall.

—This means that, while one chamber would be used for oxygenated blood and the other for non-oxygenated blood, her heart simply mixes the two in the one large chamber and puts it back out to the body again, lacking what it needs.

—She has a lack of oxygen in her blood. As blood travels throughout your body, it takes oxygen as fuel and "life" to each cell. The organs take the oxygen they need and the blood goes back to the lungs to pick up more oxygen, then to the heart to get pumped out again. So if your blood starts out as 90% oxygen (most people's blood does), it will return with about 65% oxygen since it has been used.

—But if it starts out at about 65%, it will return with about 40% oxygen. The blood is only "40% saturated with oxygen" (or 60% de-saturated), which is not good.

—Another issue is that the main aorta (vein) from her heart to her lungs should be about 10mm in diameter. Olivia's is about 3mm in diameter, causing her to only be pumping 30% at a time through the lungs to get oxygen. Translation: she is only getting 30% of the oxygen into her bloodstream that she needs to function.

—This isn't a problem when she is resting. It becomes a problem when she gets fussy or worked up for whatever reason (hungry, tired, "don't mess with me right now," etc.). As she cries, her heart starts racing and her body prepares for a rush of blood throughout her body in response to her expending a ton of energy. But the amount of oxygen in her blood drops drastically due to everything just mentioned (one chamber, abnormal aorta, etc.). She tends to turn blue and lose her breath because of this.

—If she gets into a panicked cycle like this it could be quite dangerous.

—We will possibly need to move her to a Children's hospital within the next few days.


So what are the options?
1). Allow her body to stabilize, keep her calm at all times and bring her home. This will only happen in conjunction with one of the following things:
2). Administer prostaglandin on an hourly basis, a medicine that will temporarily cause the constricted vein to open up a little.
3). Perform the first of three heart surgeries within the week. The first phase inserts an artificial vein between the lungs and heart. This would solve or at least delay the "not enough oxygenated blood" problem. But it also has side effects and a list of pros (no hampered breathing, good oxygenation...) and cons (clot, stroke, or worse).
4). The second phase would happen when she is between six and twelve months old, and the third phase would happen between three and six years old. Together these phases would create a new aorta between the lungs and heart that would make her practically normal. She may have to take some medicine, but hopefully not a lot. And she certainly wouldn't be running any Olympic marathons. But in all other respects she would be normal. [We do not yet know whether our MC+ insurance will cover any of the surgeries.]


What are we asking for?
1). Firstly, a miracle. We would love to see God do a creative miracle and give Olivia two normal chambers and a normal aorta. This is our primary prayer, and we would love it if you would agree with us in prayer on this primary point.
2). Faith in God. I sat here for twenty minutes thinking of everything I want to say about this, but the bottom line is that He is good and He is able.
3). Wisdom with the choices. There's lots to sift through, and, if you can believe it, this is the condensed version. We need wisdom.
4). Good counsel. Making a good choice based on bad info doesn't help.
5). Medical personnel. That God would bless them and guide them as they care for Olivia, and, if it comes to it, that He would guide them as they perform surgery.
6). Peace. It is a stabilizer and a guide in the fog. Satan's kingdom is a kingdom of unrest. But the person who makes the Lord their Refuge will have Him and the Spirit of Peace as their reward.
7). Your prayers. He moves at the sound of our voice because of His love for us. I invite you to join with me in overwhelming His heart with our affection so that He "strides forth in the glory of His strength". What will He do because of our love? Will He heal our little girl? Would He rise up as the Conqueror against the kingdom of unrest? We believe He will. Join us.
8). Logistics. If you are the kind of person who likes helping with logistical things (transportation, meals, etc.), we may have some opportunities pop up. I can't think of anything at the moment, but we just don't know what's coming around the corner.


Thank you for all your prayers, phone calls, flowers, words of encouragement, prayers, visits, babysitting, coffee, food, and prayers. And especially your prayers. We have been overwhelmed with your friendship and care. Thank you.

Josh, Amy, Kayla-Marie, Madeline and Olivia
The Farmer Tribe