Hi everyone! We have been so excited to announce that we’re expecting a baby boy in May 2026, although I will admit this is not exactly the reveal we hoped for. What I originally expected to be the day I’d be getting ultrasound pictures we could use to announce our son to friends and family, quickly went the opposite direction as we were met with devastating news instead. I apologize in advance for the long reading ahead, but I want to be completely transparent and clarify exactly what is going on for our concerned friends and family!

During my scan, the doctor showed us that baby Christian has Spina-Bifida, as well as clubbed feet and some other birth defects going on. Spina-Bifida means the baby's spinal column doesn't close completely during early pregnancy, leaving the spinal cord and nerves exposed outside of his back. Due to the complexity of our situation, they referred me to Texas Children’s Hospital, which offers a surgery that can be performed during pregnancy to repair and close the opening on his spine. Spina-Bifida Fetoscope Surgery gives babies a better chance at independent walking, better leg function, and significantly reduces the need for brain shunts (hydrocephalus) compared to surgery after birth, by closing the spinal defect in-utero to protect the spinal cord from amniotic fluid damage, improving motor skills, and potentially reducing bladder/bowel issues. 

In the next couple of weeks, they will call us to come to Houston for a full day of evaluations where they will do many tests/scans, as well as go over everything and answer any questions we may have. Soon after they get results back, they will call us to come all the way back to perform my surgery at the hospital. For this surgery, they cut open my lower abdomen just like they would for a c-section, temporarily remove my uterus and use laparoscopic instruments to gently work on the baby. They close the spinal opening and place a patch over it, which will prevent further damage during gestation and allow him to continue growing during pregnancy. This procedure requires me to be in the hospital for 5-7 days, and then staying in the Houston area for the next 2-3 weeks for recovery and to come back daily for follow-up tests to make sure everything is working as it should. Of course, like any other surgery, this one comes with risks which are low but if anything happens I’d be required to stay at Texas Children’s throughout the remainder of my pregnancy, until birth. Because of the sensitivity of his defect, and the scarring from surgery, I will also be having to have a c-section. Depending on the specifics and severity of our case, they told us there is a chance that Texas Children’s will want me to come back and deliver there so he can follow up with neurosurgery and have access to all of their specialists for any further surgeries needed after birth.

We are seeking any and all help we can get, as this unexpected journey has brought much financial stress regarding the next few months. We will be dealing with the loss of wages from missing work, transportation costs of going back and forth to the hospital, living costs while traveling (if there’s no availability at Ronald McDonald House during the time needed/or for some reason we don’t qualify due to family size), food costs, as well as caring for Ava while out of state. Any funds received will help go towards the issues listed above. I don’t know the exact amount we’re needing assistance with until we find out more details during the hospital evaluation, so I will of course adjust our goal and provide more details as we are finding them out. We completely understand that this is a hard time for everybody, and are aware not everyone will be able to donate and that’s okay! We would appreciate your prayers and support during this difficult time and are thankful to have such a great support system to welcome our baby boy with love no matter what happens. While this is an extremely vulnerable time for us, and it is very scary, I believe God has a plan for everything and that everything will turn out just as he intended for us. ❤️ Thank you for reading this far, and we look forward to celebrating baby Christian together with you all no matter the obstacles we may face.