Hi, my name is Kristy and on July 11th I got the most exciting call of the year and found out that my sister-in-law was in labor and we would be meeting a sweet baby girl soon. Little did we know that the road to getting that sweet baby and her precious mama home safely would be pretty bumpy.

Joice's water broke around 8 am on July 11th and she headed to the hospital. Unfortunately, but not uncommon for a first-time mom, her labor progressed fairly slowly in the beginning. Around noon on July 12th (yes, over 24 hours later!) everything seemed to jump into warp speed and Joice was ready to start pushing within a couple of hours. She handled labor like the champ she is and the baby's head and shoulder were delivered quickly - it was then that things took a turn.

Celicia's other shoulder was stuck. Several medical personnel began to flood the room and a labor specialist was called in. Multiple maneuvers were attempted to safely deliver the baby including an episiotomy, applying pressure to Joice's belly, and even rotating the baby - all of these methods were ineffective. At this point, the concern for both mama and baby was growing and the decision was made to use the Zavanelli maneuver as a last-ditch effort to save them both. This involves a doctor basically twisting the baby back into the birth canal and holding it there until the baby is delivered via c-section. It is one of the rarest maneuvers used during delivery and often results in serious injury to both the mother and the infant.

As you can imagine, Joice was terrified and confused when a doctor climbed onto her hospital bed and used his hand to hold her baby inside of her while she was quickly transferred to the OR and prepped for a c-section. Matthew and Joice's mom were in the delivery room with her and were alarmed watching everything unfold. They were told to wait outside while Joice was prepped for surgery, but things happened so fast, that the next news they received was that Cecilia Joy had been delivered.

Due to the traumatic delivery, Cecilia suffered a severe clavicle fracture and a paralyzed diaphragm caused by nerve damage. This meant she went straight from the OR to the NICU to get the medical attention she needed and that neither Joice nor Matt were able to spend much time with her.

Joice was kept in the OR for several hours after delivery due to excessive bleeding and extensive tearing needing numerous stitches. This meant no one was able to see her or Cecilia until late that evening.

Even as scary as all of that was, a few days after delivery, we thought they were over the hard part as CeCe had been able to need less oxygen and after receiving 3 units of blood, Joice was feeling more like herself and was discharged from the hospital. Unfortunately, we were very wrong.

On Wednesday, July 19th, one week after delivery, Joice noticed that she had more drainage than she should have at her c-section incision site. Thank God that she and Matt had been permitted to stay at the hospital to be close to their baby so she was encouraged to go down the hall to the OB emergency room. Within just a few hours of walking to the OB ER, Joice was rushed into emergency surgery for an infection inside her uterus that lasted for 3 hours. Multiple specialists were involved in the surgery and they determined that she has a necrotizing infection, which means the infected tissue is dead and has to be removed to keep it from spreading. After surgery, her abdomen was left open and she was transferred to the ICU to be monitored for the next few days. As if adding insult to injury it was also discovered during this time that Joice was suffering from pre-eclampsia and would need medication that would prevent her from seizures, but that also makes her feel extra lousy.

Since that initial surgery, Joice has stayed in the ICU and already had a repeat surgery to reevaluate the damage to her tissues and the spread of infection. She is currently scheduled for another surgery next week with more surgeries possible if the infection continues to spread and she will remain in the hospital at least until the end of July. Her surgeons have prepared her for a recovery that may last months.

All of the medical professionals are optimistic that both Joice and Celicia will reach a complete recovery, however, the road ahead is long. As a family (on both sides) we are elated that these girls are still with us and cannot even begin to thank those of you that have been praying. Our joy overflows when we get to talk with Joice or hold CeCe after being told things like "I can't believe the baby is doing so well", "I've never seen anything like that", and "Our primary goal is to save her life and our secondary goal is maintain her fertility".

Through all of this Joice and Matthew have remained optimistic and held onto their faith. Joice even pumps breastmilk around the clock while in the ICU! I have seen Matthew step up in ways I never thought he could like helping his wife pump when she's fresh from surgery and advocating for both of his ladies to ensure their needs are being met. Somehow, they have continued to laugh and we often get called down for making Joice's belly hurt from laughing (what can I say? We're funny. haha!). I am so proud of the parents these two already are and know our families would agree that they are killing it!

If you've made it this far - thank you! I have the permission of Joice and Matt to share their story. As both Joice and Cecilia are still in the hospital, we covet your prayers for healing more than anything. Please pray specifically for Cecilia's diaphragm to heal and her breathing issues to resolve, for the infection to completely leave Joice's body and for her pain to be significantly decreased, and for Matt to have renewed energy as he continues to stay at the hospital and split his time between his wife and baby both in critical care units. This page was created to hopefully help lessen their financial burden as the expenses of life continue to add up and simply living in the hospital like they have been is expensive. Thank you for your support and prayers!