Background Story & Joshua 2 Days Old in Atlanta

Dear Family and Friends,

There are so many of you that we’d like to talk with personally and update; however, due to current circumstances it’s very difficult to call so many people. That’s why we’ve started this blog: to keep you all up to date on Joshua. Here’s his story so far.

Michelle’s due date was 14 June; that day came and went. Friday (17 June) Michelle had a midwife appointment and everything was looking fine. For those of you who didn’t know, we were planning a homebirth. Friday night at 10:00PM, my brother called and asked about stopping by; he and my sister were traveling from AZ to VA with 3 dogs, 2 horses, and a cat. We said sure, but warned them that if Michelle went into labor they’d have to change their plans.

We went to bed about 11:00PM (or at least I did). Michelle didn’t get any sleep; she finally woke me at 12:45AM. Her contractions were getting strong and fast. I called the midwife as well as the family from church that had agreed to watch our five children. At around 1:45AM, the kids were out of the house. At just after 2:00 AM the midwife had arrived. At 2:08AM Joshua was born. Michelle’s labor had gone fast and Joshua seemed to be doing fine. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and measure 20.5 inches. Michelle and I were slightly concerned about a “fat patch” on the back of his neck; Michelle was also concerned about his facial features. She worried that he might have Down syndrome. By about 5:00AM, our midwife was on her way home and we were off to bed. At 8:00AM, the midwife called; she had done some research about the “fat patch” and recommended that we see a pediatrician who happened to have Saturday hours. We called and made an appointment.

We got to the pediatrician’s office a little after 11:00AM. She agreed that Joshua appeared to have some traits associated with people who have Down syndrome; however, we’d have to wait for genetic testing to be sure. She wanted to check his oxygen saturation levels and found that they were very low. She put him on oxygen in the office. She suggested and we agreed that he should have further tests done at the local hospital as soon as possible. Boy, were we surprised when a fire truck and ambulance showed up to get Joshua!

Joshua spent little time at the hospital and was soon transported to another hospital about 30 minutes from our home. After waiting several hours there, we finally learned that Joshua had a heart defect; he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect.

What a long, scary day.

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Here are some pictures of Joshua on 6/20/11 in Atlanta. More info and pictures to come.