November 23, 2016 started off just like any ordinary day. By that evening, what we had come to expect as normal was about to change. 

At 34 weeks pregnant, my water broke. After calling my midwife and having her come over to make sure it was in fact my water, and getting the girls taken care of, Terrell and I headed to the hospital. Even though I was scared and a little disappointed that things weren't going how I had planned, I started to get excited that we were going to meet our baby! :-)

Once we got to the hospital and they started to moniter Benjamin's heart rate (we still didn't know we were having a son at this point!), the nurses started to notice that with each contraction, Benjamin's heart rate was dropping significantly. After waiting through the next few contractions to see if there would be any changes, (about 20-30 minutes), the Dr. told us we needed to go ahead and have an urgent C-section. He told us if we waited much longer, that Benjamin would really go into distress. So, with a quick prayer and a kiss to Terrell, the team wheeled me down to the operating room. Once I was numb, Terrell came in and they began. Before we knew it the Dr. was saying, "Alright, we have a baby!" The next question was, " What is it?"  "It's a boy!" We were elated! 

They took Benjamin over to clean him up and weigh him. Then the nurse asked Terrell to come over. It was right then that I knew something must not be right. She came over and briefly explained the complications our son was born with. The diagnosis the doctors are tentatively giving us is an association called VACTERL. He has a tethered spinal cord. He does not have a rectum. His esophagus doesn't connect to his stomach and instead ends in a little pouch. He only has one kidney, which is functioning well. He also lacks thumbs on both of his little hands and doesn't have a radial bone in either forearem. We are thankful that his heart is in good condition! Not all babies with this diagnosis are as fortunate. 

The day after Benjamin was born, he spent about 5 hours in surgery to allow him to have a feeding tube (G-tube) placed in his stomach. An ostomy site to allow his waste to have somewhere to go. They also put in a central line instead of having an IV in his arm for ease of access. His next surgery will be in 6-8 weeks to connect his esophagus to his stomach. He has a long road ahead of him, with surgeries for his rectum, spinal cord, and arms/hands in the future. We are however optimistic that Benjamin will have a wonderful, full life!

Here are the reasons we are raising funds:
* We are pretty sure that he will be covered by TennCare, and while that is an ENORMOUS blessing we will have other expenses.
* Since we live an hour and a half from the hospital (Vanderbilt) where Benjamin is, we are able to stay in The Ronald McDonald House, which  again, is a huge blessing. They do ask for a $15 a day donation.  Which for us looks like at least the next 2 months.
* We will have travel expenses as I/we will be traveling back and forth between home and Nashville for as long as Benjamin is there.
* Occassional meals while we are in Nashville.
* We don't know when Terrell will return to work ( most likely within the next week or so). Or if he will have to take any additional time off.


This has been a lot to process, as one surprise has come after another. We are so grateful for the people who have already rallied around us with their support and prayers. We are thankful to have a community of people who are in this with us!