Hallie & Baby Girl

On March 16th while at work, Hallie suffered the results of an AVM - essentially a knot of blood vessels that can rupture and bleed.  While these can be located anywhere in our body, Hallie's is in her brain -just behind the optic nerve.  Her blurred vision, onset of extreme headache and feeling something was very wrong sent her to the emergency room where they discovered Hallie's AVM was bleeding into her brain.  She was sent to Seattle for immediate care and a team of Dr's - brain, eye and neo-natal physicians - all conferred on what the best course of action should be.  If the bleeding continues it prompts brain surgery to remove the AVM (the knotted vessels.)  This surgery could harm her vision and other areas of the brain near the ocular nerve.  Being under anesthesia would not be good, but choosing to have the baby this far in advance could lead to other problems.  For a week, it has been a waiting game, monitoring, running tests, looking at options, etc.  As of today, Hallie is back in Fairbanks, the bleed in her brain has stopped and her vision is blurry but slowly improving.  The baby's heartbeat is strong and she seems to be doing well.  The treatment plan is for Hallie to get from this point now, to 36 weeks in late June, without complication.  If all goes well between now and 36 weeks, she will return to U of W Medical Center where her OB physician will monitor her as long as possible with the hope she remains stable until week 39.  At that point, Hallie will have the baby, either naturally or with a C-Section.  She cannot push or strain due to the complications associated with the AVM in her brain, so this delivery will be assisted and monitored very closely. The hope is that the baby will remain strong, be delivered just fine, and be happy and healthy (it certainly wil be loved by many).  At some point shortly after delivery, Hallie's AVM will be treated with localized radiation avoiding brain surgery if at all possible.  She is healthy, young and strong - all good things to be with this kind of challenge.  She is eager to be a mom and wants this complication to be behind her as soon as possible.  As you can imagine, this is all very stressful.  Hallie may not be able to work during this time and she will need to cover daily living expenses until she can fully return to work after her radiation treatments.  She is to remain in as much as possible, a low stress, low key status....we are hoping the contributions of a gofundme account will bring her some relief temporarily.   No one expects to have a catastrauphic medical event - but Hallie is facing one now and your help, prayers, and positive thoughts will all be appreciated!  If you can donate some money, thank you.  If not, we still thank you and ask that you donate a prayer - everything helps!