Brief Update

If I say "she's growing so fast" one more time, I think I'll have said it a million! But, how can you not notice something new every day?!

This month, Presleigh has continued to babble in her own little language, adding semi-perceivable syllables like "bay-bee" (noticeable pause between syllables) "blickm-blickm", which is a word referring to the drum fill played by many 80's hairbands. If anyone can remember the comedian who coined that term back in the 90s, let me know - I'll buy you an ice cream cone or something.

Anywho - the teeth! Good LORD, the TEETH on this little cutie-pie! Don't put your fingers too closer to the mouth or you'll be left with a bloody stump, right? Presleigh is now sporting the 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom look, plus she's got some side dealies in the house for mashing turkey and chicken. Good thing, too, because Thanksgiving brought all the usual suspects to the table and Daddy actually cooked an awesome bird. HT: Divine Resourcing for the bird and Derek Mason for letting me in on the 48 hour apple juice brine.

Lately, Presleigh's taking to mimicking Mommy and Daddy. She likes to carry anything hand-held around with her pretending to have a cell phone conversation on it. Remote control? Nope. It's a cell phone. Is that a brush? Nah, cell phone. The one thing that's not a cell phone is Mommy's datebook. Add a crayon or a ball point pen and Presleigh transforms into Mommy's executive assistant... Or, so she thinks.

Who doesn't like bath time? Sometimes, bathtime is besttime because there are foamy, colored letters on the wall that are fun to chew on. Other times, it's the best because it's wet and there are squeaky toys in there. This week, it's Presleigh's fave because she's learned to dip her face into the bubbles and come up with a white Ghotee. We're not sure if it's Santa she's emulating or Daddy. Daddy hopes it's Santa... for selfish reasons. (Gonna wash that grey right outta my hair...)

Climbing, climbing, climbing. Today, Presleigh was officially banned from the kitchen because she's learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs. That's a little to close to her being on top of the table for us. She needs to experience falling and getting back up, but not from these heights yet, mmkay?

Crayons... 'nuff said.

Mommy and Daddy are very excited that Presleigh's big sister is coming home in December. Presleigh misses Brie-Brie very much!

We're not so sure Presleigh understands that Mommy's not just gaining weight, but that there are two babies in her belly. That doesn't stop her from giving the babies "kisses". This entails Presleigh putting her mouth on Mommy's belly and saying "mmbwUH!"

How awesome our God is to give us not only these amazing children, but the time to enjoy them as well. We're so grateful for the flexibility He's given us in our work schedules - Daddy has been able to take care of Mommy when she's feeling woozy, keep an eye on Presleigh while Mommy's in a meeting, or hold down the fort while Mommy's just flat on her back. Funny, I've been meditating on 2 Cor. 1.3-7 lately - my heavenly Father has given me such comfort and healing so that I may share it with others.

May my wife and these children know the overflow of His comfort all their days.

- Sappy Daddy

Remember When...

It used to be that all we needed as kids were a few pots and pans and some time to clang them together. All we needed was a diaper on our butt and some time unattended so we could take it off and swing it around over our heads... But, then came Atari. Barbie. Colecovision. Monchichi. Transformers. XBox360. You know, toys that took the work out of using your imagination...

Well, Presleigh's going old school on us this week clanging pots and pans, removing her diaper when no one's looking, and she's got her own version of XBox that she likes to play in all day long, or until it tips over...



Let's hear it for good, old-fashioned imagination!!!

"Matching" Gift...

Wow. God is amazing. Just when we think we've got the whole picture, He widens the lens and reminds us that our little story is just a speck on a much grander portrait already in progress. His is an eternal canvas the size of the universe!

Last week, we were excited that a friend of our ministry's was offering a $ for $ matching gift of up to $10,000 toward end of year giving. So, all we have to do is raise $10,000 and he'll donate a matching $10K! Wow! Were we excited, or what?

Then, Cristine went in for her OB appointment, thinking we were pregnant at about 11 weeks...

Wrong and wrong.

We're not only 11 weeks, we're 13 weeks! We're not only pregnant, we're PREGNANT!!!

"So, Mrs. Pina, what would you say if I told you there are two babies in there?"

Gulp! "Praise God?"

DING-DING-DING!!! Good answer!!!

SO, in keeping with our tradition of fun birth announcements, I've updated our last announcement to reflect the current reality on the ground:



And, in keeping with my shameless plug-ness - now's definitely the best time ever to help support the work Mommy and Daddy have been called to.

Presleigh Turns 1!!!

It's easy to say "it's hard to believe how fast that went", but it's harder to really imagine it! On this day, one year ago, Presleigh Gabriella Pina was taking her first breaths and glimpses of the "outside world". It was mere hours after Mommy had been induced into labor after a 41 week pregnancy. Wow! This was a long awaited baby!!!

To think that Presleigh has been with us for a whole year is such an amazing concept. But, knowing how great and awesome our God is, it should come as no surprise. He has truly gifted us with a delightful, precocious, and wonderful little girl. Today, she walks, runs, and babbles as an infant months older than her should and we are thrilled with her progress for her. (Someday, she too may be thrilled with it!)

Since Google is forever (or until Jesus returns), Presleigh will likely get to read this when she learns how to read, later when she reaches school age, even later when she's a teenager, and perhaps even someday when she's all grown up. For her very first birthday, what if we all left her a comment - a prayer or wish for her as she grows that she can hold onto long after she's 1 year old and be blessed by all of her days?

Here's mine: may God walk with you and guide you all the days of your life. May He always surprise you by showing you how much He loves you and how perfect His love is compared to our limited understanding of Him and His great love. May you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mommy and Daddy love you, support you, and desire to guide you toward His perfect plan for your life. I love you, little Presleighgirl. - One Proud Pappa.

Let us all take a moment to thank God for our precious child, His precious child, and His son's finished work on the cross which brings us all into relationship with Him.

in Christ,
The Pina's

P.S. This photo shows Daddy and Presleigh sporting team colors. It's not an advertisement for Seasons of Life Ministries. Rather, I'd like it to turn your attention to Kim Smith from Vintage Onesies, who made us a huge batch of SOLM T-shirts for our first and second quarter donor recognition campaign [Thanks, Kim!!!]. Kim was nice enough to include a Presleigh sized onesie with the T-shirt design on it at no additional charge. Please visit her site for your next baby shower!!!

Worth a Thousand Words...

I know enough about Photoshop to get myself off on a tangent for about three days, if left to myself. Thankfully, I have work and my wife to keep me from falling into the time-vortex of photo-meddling.


Except for today. Today I was able to whip something up pretty quickly that we wanted to share with you... I'm sure Presleigh would say so if she knew more words than "blkl-blkl-baa-baa-mummummumm."


See below for explanation:



All in the same day, we found out this news and that a friend of ours will be leasing us his rental home for less than what we're paying for our apartment. PRAISE GOD!!!

Now, Presleigh will have a back yard to play in, Brianna will have her own domain, and when "Untitled" comes along, they'll have a place, too!!!

All good gifts...

Amen.

Presleigh Goes on a Date...

We've become connoisseurs lately of free concerts. Partly because, well, they're free.

Our new hobby began last week when Mommy and Daddy really needed a date night on which Presleigh could tag along. In checking out the local listings on the web, they found a "concert in the park" was starting in about 30 minutes (that's ten minutes after they discovered they had nothing planned and just enough time to drive across town to). We found ourselves in a local "Old Town" section of the North Atlanta suburb of Norcross, a place where the train still comes rumbling through the now repurposed train depot - a cool restaurant with AWESOME fried grouper and our first foray into fried green tomatoes.

There, we ran into people we hadn't seen, quaint houses with spacious wrap around porches (our fave), plenty of playground and park for Presleigh, and some cute (read: inexpensive) restaurants for Mommy and Daddy to be sickeningly romantic in. As usual, Presleigh made a huge splash with the locals, reaching a speed limit breaking 50 "adorable"s per hour.

Well, this week, with "great" Atlanta weather (read: mid-80s with humidity below 80%), we couldn't pass up continuing our new hobby. Besides, Mom wasn't available to babysit and we didn't have any tickets to the O.A.R. show at Verizon. We found ourselves in the old town section of Duluth, proximal to the same railroad from last week, just a few miles north.

The Gwinnett Symphony played a great show while Presleigh met puppies, little kids her size, and one of those cool, programmable fountains that she discovered to be a fun place to poke her fingers. Since she didn't have a swim diaper on, it was best that the fountain show wasn't playing... There, Presleigh met a nice little boy. No, it wasn't a date. I mean, if it was a date, Daddy chaperoned like a Papa should - a Papa-razzi! I'm not sure who this kid is, but the press wouldn't leave him alone. I wouldn't leave him alone with my Presleigh! Nice enough kid, but I don't know his peeps, you know?

What you miss from this picture (but, was captured below) is that the cute, little boy with her was eating a piece of pizza. When he joined her in exploring the fountain, he decided to put his pizza down behind him, which of course, he promptly picked back up and went to work on when the fountain fun was done...

Yummm... Pepperoni and Park Pizza!?

Ah, we'll give him a pass. Kids will be kids, right? 45 second rule? It was a great night for all, with a yummy dinner for Mommy & Daddy at a local hole-in-the-wall, plenty of fun pictures of Presleigh, and one more notch on the "free concert" belt.

Date night - gotta have it!

Today's Episode of the Tale of Presleigh Pina

Today, we got to meet with Super Doc. (For those just joining us: Dr. Smith is referred to as the Mac-Daddy of Pediatric Urology, and various other cool monikers. He's supervising Presleigh's case which began a few months ago when we discovered Presleigh had an extra ureter and that all of her ureters were, under certain circumstances, refluxing urine backward from her bladder to her kidneys)

Back to today's episode:
Dr. Smith is so chill and factual, he just kind of puts you at ease by talking in multi-syllabic medical terms that roll so easily off his tongue that you'd swear he's ordering breakfast...

Long story short, we got a look at Presleigh's "films" - the images from her recent kidney scan. It shows there is some scar tissue in one kidney from the UTI she had, but the short term effects of this only mean potential for more UTI's in the future and long term only means she could be at a higher risk for high blood pressure. (We'll be watching that in her diet anyway, since there's some kind of blood pressure madness on both Mommy and Daddy's sides of the fam.)

As far as surgery goes, we don't have much more to go on and won't until about March. The plan then is to do another VCUG (X-ray of the bladder, kidneys, and ureters) to see if Presleigh's body's growth has outpaced that of her ureters and the grade 5 reflux has come down to a grade 3 or so. In either case, Dr. Chillax is pretty confident surgery will be required. We're simply praying that God does a "what the heck?!" on her and the VCUG comes back "mysteriously perfect"...

For now, it's sticking to the regular low-dose antibiotics daily and just being a kid. She's running all around the apartment these days, chewing on everything she can with her 6 proud teeth, and as you see in this photo, inspecting the Dr.'s medical equipment for quality assurance. Who knows, with Mommy's nursing background and Daddy's sales background, perhaps she'll be a medical device saleswoman when she grows up...

Prayer Plan: First, thank all of you for your constant prayer, we've felt it. We're strong in the Lord and confident in the people He's assembled around her.
The best prayers for Presleigh are for miraculous restructuring of her ureters that only God can induce.

Pray that she stays as healthy as she is until the next VCUG and that the scan comes back showing no reflux at all.

Pray that Mommy and Daddy continue to stay plugged in to Jesus on a moment to moment basis so they don't get caught up in worry or any other useless misdirection of energy.

Pray for Presleigh's big sister, Brianna, as she spends the school year half a continent away with her biological Dad in Washington state.

Keep our dear Debbie Russell in your prayers as well while the Lord escorts her through her chemotherapy and kicks her cancer in the Jimmy.

How Long Does This Take?

Today was scheduled to be a DMSA Renal scan. Since Presleigh's ureters had been running two way traffic, four lanes, instead of one lane/one way, she wound up with a urinary tract infection several months ago, which is what revealed the ureter issue in the first place. The concern with a UTI is kidney damage, today's scan was designed to give us a look into the kidneys to see if there's been any scarring.

The appointment was set for 9AM, which means "you need to be there between 8 and 8:15 for check in and paperwork", right? Sure. That means, to get down GA-400 to the hospital in the thick of rush hour, you're going to need to leave at 7:30, no later, or you're in for big delays around exit 5 and the Perimeter. Fortunately, Daddy knew this and Mommy is constantly on time and we made it there early. Daddy wouldn't have minded much if that meant we would be taken in any earlier... Nah, it's not like getting a table at a restaurant, Pops. Nice try.

Nice scenery - Presleigh loved the fish tank in the lobby. She wasn't overly fond of not being able to eat from 5AM until the study was done, though... especially with all of those yummy fish in the tank!!! (Well, eating sushi is Mommy's deal and swallowing live goldfish is Daddy's gig, so we figured it might have at least gotten her gastric juices trickling...) God hit our "reset" button on the gratitude meter when we met a guy carrying cupcakes in to the doctors who worked on his daughter's brain tumor. "She would have been 5 years old today." Okay, Daddy cried a bit there. Thank You, Lord for our healthy child.

Long story short, what appeared to be a 9AM appointment was a 9:30 intravenous drip of renal tagged radioactive isotope, which takes 2 hours to accumulate, so they can do a 40 to 60 minute scan. Translation: The had to pump nuke juice into our precious baby so that her kidneys would light up on the x-ray machine long enough to take a time lapse photo of them. Simpler translation: "You're not getting out of here until after 1PM."

Had either of us known we'd be there for 6 hours, we'd have put in for a shift and a set of scrubs... But, God is faithful and He is our sustainer.

Presleigh wasn't nuts about the idea of the IV going into her arm. It reminded her of the last time she was here, which was a long five days for a baby of only 7 months (at the time). Today, at nearly 11 months, she was a brave little lady as they got her IV in. Plenty of crying, but still brave. She waited out the nuke drip while Daddy fought off nightmares of some Incredible Hulk/Spiderman side effects... "Snap out of it, Daddy!!!"

Once the IV push was done, it was off to see the big, scary machine. I don't know what the heck that thing is called, but it was big and it rolled, rotated, raised, and lowered. Back to the Dr. Bruce Banner nightmares... Having never had a child sedated before, Mommy and Daddy prayed and listened simultaneously as the doctors explained that "propofol is totally safe in the hospital". Apparently, it's only lethal if taken by a 50 year old King of Pop. This was well in bounds of being called "disconcerting".

However, the Lord comforted us as they administered the sedative, which knocked her out in a matter of seconds... alright... it was supposed to take effect in 4 to 5 seconds. Presleigh fought it like Arnold Schwarzenegger in "True Lies". Moments later, she did a backflip, took out the bad guy with an Uzi, and saved the world from nuclear destruction! ("Snap out of it, Daddy!!!") 40 minutes later, all done.

Now, we have a disc with weird x-ray images on it that we get to bring to Dr. Supermackdaddy-kidney-buster in a couple weeks so that he can tell us what's next for l'il Presleigh-poo. Meantime, Mommy and Daddy are wiped-out and taking the rest of the day to make sure she's unscathed otherwise. Mommy had appointments to meet with people this afternoon, but she really prayed it over and while she really wanted to keep her appointments, she knew it was more important to be here with Pres.

Presleigh seems well, a little fussy, a teeny bit disoriented still, but we're watching her like a hawk. We're optimistic, though. We know that God is fully in control and that however we move forward, he's got our back. Daddy's got some grieving to do, since his dear Nana passed last night at about 11:30 PM after dementia and failing health ran their course. She was 91 and will be missed greatly.

Walking Your Footsteps?

Well, Presleigh is sure taking an interest in the kitchen. But, that's not all! Sure, she likes to play with utensils and kitchen gadgets like Daddy does. But, she also loves a good game of "tear up the Whole Foods Market bag". Yeah, she got that from Daddy, too.

What else is new, though? Great question. Remember when we told you she'd likely not walk, rather that she'd go from crawling to running? We were nearly spot-on with that one. Not only is she into playing with kitchen stuff and grocery store games, but she's been walking... well, running for the past six weeks! I'm sure it would be fun to brag about our little princess walking at 9 months, but bragging with 50% more grey hairs is not much to brag about - this little lady can move!

It's a joy to watch her every little new-ance. Each day continues to bring with it new babbles like "gooyuh-kuliddle-liddle" and "yeeeyah-lurlur!" Every item in the house has its own texture, and Presleigh's keen to examine it under the wise fingertips on those little hands. If you're wearing a shirt with a picture or logo on it, she'll have to give it a quality assurance exam with her pointer finger. If you were hoping to keep that necklace around your neck, you'd be wise to reconsider. She's got a knack for repo'ing earrings, sunglasses, and anything dangley. As aforementioned, she's into the cabinets and drawers, especially when in the kitchen (MY whisk! Engarde!!!). Don't bother with those child safe cabinet locks... they're not Presleigh proof. Yep, she figured out how to bypass those suckers the first day we brought them home.

Sadly, Presleigh will be missing her big sister. After spending a month with her Dad, Michael, in Washington state, Brianna has decided she wants to stay with him and get to know who he really is after not seeing him for the past 5 years. As a guy who grew up with limited Dad-ness, I can appreciate the timeliness of this major decision.

After much prayer, Mommy and Daddy have decided to honor her rather grown up wishes and let her give it a try this year. We feel very confident that God informed our decision and He has Brianna's best interest at heart. But, Presleigh still passes by Brie-brie's door and chirps out a wistful "Bee-bee?"

Tear jerking, but adorable. We miss you, Brie-ski...

The Good News Is...

Before we get into Presleigh's status, please pray for our dear friend, Debbie Russell. She's in the middle of a crazy battle in the hospital and could use every ounce of prayer to fight it. She's in great spirits, confident that however this turns out, God will be glorified. Her faith has been an incredible beacon, even to those who are walking in the light.

Well, of course, the Good News is that the Kingdom of God is near, Christ is risen and sin has been defeated. But, in other news, Presleigh's in great hands.

We met Dr. SuperMacDaddy, the urologist, last week. He's very much a Clark Kent - closer to the nerdy guy than the life of the party, but isn't that what we need right now? Dr. Smith knows his stuff. His very manner is calming and reassuring based on his calm confidence in the subject matter at hand. (Yeah, that's how a conversation would go with him.) Otherwise, a man of steel when it comes to his field of expertise.

He inspected Presleigh externally, which made her wail nervously as she recalled her most recent medical run-in (the VCUG required pumping contrast dye into her bladder through a catheter... wouldn't you be a bit leery of the next person who inspected your goods?) No trouble apparent. Then, he invited us to look at the images below. These are from her VCUG.

What you're looking at is Presleigh's bladder filled with dye (the dark stuff), and the ureters pumping it backward, up into the kidneys. (Wrong way on a one way street, remember?) You can see the thickness of the ureters, which connect the bladder to the kidneys, is wide on the right and wicked wide on the right. In Med-speak this is called "grade 2" and "grade 5".

The fact that there's a duplicate (not visible in this photo) ureter on the grade 5 side is not a problem in and of itself. As Dr. Smith explained in terms only a man would appreciate - "think of it as 'dual exhaust'". Cool. In this case, the exhaust is trying to make its way back into the muffler. Not so cool. When that happens, Presleigh's at risk for another UTI.

Prognosis: Presleigh will be on a once a day preventative dose of antibiotic for at least the next 4 to 10 months while her body grows. Once her bladder wall is thick enough to withstand surgery, she'll get to have a brief (2 hour) operation where Dr. Calm-Confident-and-Collected will get rid of the two little bulbs (diverticulum) in her ureter where they meet the bladder and reinsert them into the bladder wall.

The better news is, we got to go to Florida for Presleigh's great-grandmother's 80th birthday, a huge celebration with all of the brothers and sisters, etc. I'm so glad I married a woman of God like Cristine. The fact that she's Italian is a mad bonus - yum, Yum, and more YUM!!! We really enjoyed getting to be with all the family, especially those who hadn't yet met Presleigh.

Presleigh got to dress up with her sister to go out to a big dinner for Nana! Both sisters looked dashing, as you can see. Thank God they get their looks from Mommy! Poor Presleigh, the life of the party, refused to go to sleep until the wee hours of the night. She got the social butterfly side from Daddy, didn't she?

She also ate her first strawberry. Very impressive. Grandma introduced her to some new rice crackers that are now equal in favoriteness to Cheerios. But, those strawberries... Mmm...

While away, I distinctly heard the voice of God telling me to be calm and rest in Him. In other words, "be on vacation". For once, I was obedient in this situation. I did no fundraising, made no phone calls, answered no emails, but did all I could to lean into Him and let His name be known. We returned well rested... for once. God has used many hard circumstances to reveal blemishes in my character that He wants to transform into the likeness of Christ. This time, it was great for Him to use the company of family, tastes of great food, and salty surf of Pompano Beach instead.

in Him,

AP - Grateful Son of the Lord Most High

The Waiting Game

Isn't that a Boy George song?

With a word in to Super Doc's office, it sounds like we've got our hands on one of the most sought after Pediatric Urologists in the country. Nice. Since Presleigh doesn't have any blockages in her uretermonsters, we can stick to the regimen of antibioitcs, probiotics, and fully bellies each meal until next week.

Next week, Presleigh will have an appointment with Dr. MacDaddyUrologyUSA (I think that's supposed to be a hyphenated name), who will likely call for an MRI and then make a decision on what type of surgery will be necessary and how soon it has to be done. Good news is, we're catching this at 8 mos. rather than scratching our heads for a few years wondering why she's always getting UTI's and running crazy fevers over "nothing at all".

The sweet part is, Grandma was nice enough to purchase tickets to FL for us to make it to Nana's 80th birthday shindig, and now we can still attend. I think the tickets were a firm but nice way of saying "y'all better not miss this..." But, hey, who's going to turn down plane fare to Florida? Thank God for Grandma. Now, if only we can finagle some Delta miles for the Alumni Reunion Show for Hyannis Sound. (Has it really been 15 years?!)

Anyway, we're back in the queue for another round of "the waiting game". More info next week. Thanks, again for all the prayers! Presleigh's feeling them for sure.

And, keep praying for our friend Debbie, who we're hoping comes out of the hospital soon.

No Mistakes

There are no mistakes in God's economy - everything has value.

We are here at this time, in this place, with these people for a reason. To love God and love others. We are not worried about Presleigh. She will either make it through this scathed or unscathed. I have already confessed to God I will love Him either way, because He is bigger than me, bigger than this set of circumstances, and He loves my little girl more than I'll ever know how. Heck, He not only created her, but He invented love.

So, as I step down off my preacher podium, I just ask anyone whose life testifies that they follow Christ - would you keep this little girl in your prayers? Would you also pray that those who do not know and love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength would come to know Him and His love for them through this situation?

I'm not solid rock. Neither is Cristine. Fear and worry tap at our door often. But, fear is not of God, so we are "realigned" by the Spirit, not because we're Super Christians, because He's so awesome. I suppose you can pray for us - pray the Armor of God... Know, though, that more often than not, we are sturdy because He has left word: "My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness (2 Cor. 12.9)"

More simply stated, the more we realize that we can't handle this apart from Him, the stronger our legs grow because He holds us up. I pray that if you don't know Christ as scripture paints Him (not as movies or even His followers paint Him), that you grow to know Him as a loving, pursuing, redeemer-King, your Rock and your Salvation.

We speak with the Urologist tomorrow, first thing. More detail will follow that call. Maybe a trip to the ER for an MRI and further deets. Maybe business as usual. (Anyone want to help me write a Summer Stimulus fundraising letter?)

Keep our dear friend, Debbie in your prayers. She needs healing, too.

G'night.

VCUG Update

Just got off the phone with Presleigh's awesome Pediatrist - one side is a 2 or 3, the other side is only a 4! Woo-hoo, rock on...

So, the next step is a referral to one of the bomb-diggetiest urologists in the country, here at Children's of Atlanta. We'll need to talk to him next week, but it sounds from our Doc's reading that we may need an ultrasound and will definitely need surgery. What kind of surgery? All depends on what our urologist says...

More news as we get it. For now, we're in the comfort of the King of Kings.

Follow Up Flows Up... VCUG

Well, today was our follow up visit to the radiologist. Presleigh had a test called a "Voiding Cystourethrogram", which shoots a contrast dye into her bladder to see if it backflows (or "refluxes") into the kidney. As you're probably aware, the ureter (highway from the kidney to the bladder) is designed to be a one way street.

Now, class, what happens when cars travel the wrong way on a one way street? Correct, it gets messy and can cause damage.


Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) is the proper name for it. And, Presleigh's got it. It's measured in 5 grades, 1 being the least severe and 5 being most severe. We'll know more detail tomorrow after the full set of images is processed. But, from what we saw on the screen it looks like Presleigh has at least grade 2 on one side and when we saw the other side, somebody gasped. It's definitely a 5.

Here's a photo of what it could look like. This isn't Presleigh's images. The difference here you'll see this is a 4 or 5 on both sides, while hers is smaller on one side and a "biggie" on the other, but it gets the point across.

The most likely option is surgery of some sort - more on that as we find out more...


Mommy and Daddy are well - trusting in the least "churchy" way we can, that God is in the midst of all of this, working for His glory. He is good. He can be trusted. Keep Presleigh in your prayers. AP

See ya!!!

We're OUTTA THERE!!!

After almost 5 days at Children's Hospital I have one simple thought - we are so very, very blessed. This week, while my hopes were held high by the Lord Most High, I got to meet a whole lot of people who didn't have it as easy as we did.


Today, we're going to ask you to pray. But, not for Presleigh.

See, our little girl came home today. Others will not. Our baby has a healthy prognosis. Not all of them do. We were in residence for 5 days, not two weeks or for the fifth time in a month. So, today, we thank God with open eyes and hands held high and we thank you for all the prayer that sustained us in Him.

But, today we returned home to hard news.

We have a friend, a dear friend, a young woman who should not have tumors in her body, who does. Today, we ask you, while we guard her privacy with anonymity, to pray for our friend, who is now scheduled for chemo starting this week.

As for Presleigh:
The fever has been gone for about 48 hours. Today, she's home, on antibiotics, sleeping in a familiar crib. Her appetite hasn't completely returned, but we're working on it with prayer, persistence, and patience. Below are a few photos to chronicle the past couple of days - Daddy didn't have a way to get these photos on the blog until he got back today.

Day 3, Presleigh still looked a little pale. Holding onto a low grade fever, we did what we could to get her to drink, drink, drink. This would be the only way to get that IV out of her arm.











Here's Presleigh enjoying one of the perks of Children's Hospital - a red wagon we call "The Presleigh Express"!











Our super awesome nurses and tech's were kind enough to procure a "Jumpa" as we call it in our house. By whatever name we called it, Presleigh called it "fun."

On the Mend...

Presleigh continues to recover today, drinking several buh-buhs of formula, and coming off the IV liquids around 2:30. Aunt Sarah came by to give Mommy & Daddy a brief reprieve, so Mommy could actually leave Ground Zero. God has sustained my wife incredibly in light of the fact that she's literally been at Children's Hospital since Wednesday at noon. Regardless, the spirit is willing but the flesh was weak. Thankfully, Cristine was able to go home for a real shower, pick up a more "matching" change of clothes (since Daddy doesn't really know how to pack a Mommy bag all that well...), and breath fresh air.

The support of all of your prayers has been great sustenance for us during this time. Our spirits have been high, Presleigh has been delightful in spite of her malaise(s), and the nurses are all thoroughly entertained by her surprisingly positive demeanor. That's our girl!

CRP level (which measures infection vis-a-vis inflammation) will be checked again tonight. She's due for another round of antibiotics and once her "output is 'solid' ", she'll be free to go home. Oh, and we will, too!!!

Keep praying for restful sleep for Mommy, God's sustaining grace in Daddy, and "solid output" for Presleigh.

Weekend Update: Presleigh and Infection

Update:
So, it appears Presleigh may have a 3rd ureter. This is the connector between the kidney and the bladder. One side has one, the other side may have two. Alright! Spare parts - anyone need another ureter?
Apparently, this is not so rare, occuring in 1 in 4,000 infants, 90% of them being girls. You'd think, if you're anything like me, two tubes would mean a more efficient system, wouldn't ya? Apparently, if you factor in all of the laws of physics, the second ureter uses the capillary effect (like when the level of soda in your straw is slightly higher than the surface of the rest of the soda) to create backflow or "kidney reflux." Not so good long term.

Long story short:
Presleigh's temp is back to normal - Praise God. Her infection numbers were at 19, came down to 17.6, and are now at 8.6. It's a far cry from 1 or less. But, I'm just going to give God the credit for making her body work the way He built it. Thank y'all, all of you, for your prayers. (Some have even sent "positive thoughts". God knows your heart, even if you don't address Him.)

How Big is your God?
One of my favorite verses of scripture from Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonika is "Faithful is He who calls you and He will bring it to pass." Ain't that the truth?!
1. Not only was I needlessly stressing out about possibly not having quorum for our Board meeting Friday, but a previously excused absentee was able to make it last minute.
2. We were supposed to speak at a retreat this weekend and I'm lying on my face with God telling Him how He's got to reconcile the fact that I need to be with my little baby and relieve Cristine from no-sleep-land. Meanwhile, He brings the only 3 guys to my mind that I would trust to deliver these messages - and one happens to be registered for the retreat!
3. While stressing out like God's all small or something, I get to the board meeting and Brent (the guy who's registered for the retreat) calls me and says "I've got a couple of talks already prepared that cover the topics you were going to cover..." If that ain't a Godsmack...

When God's got a job to do, He sometimes calls the equipped, more often, He just equips the called. And while he sometimes calms the storm, other times He lets the storm rage, but calms His child. Keep Presleigh in your prayers (healing). Keep Mommy in your prayers (sleep). Pray for our daughter, Brianna, that despite all the attention her little sister is getting, she knows Mommy and Daddy love her just as much and Christ loves her even more.

How great, how awesome is He?

Hospital Fun...

Many of you know that Presleigh suffered a febrile (fever-induced) seizure last Wednesday evening after her temp spiked over 102. While it's not life-threatening, it's always a scare with a 7-1/2 month old. We had a brief visit to the hospital that night resulting in a few tests, treatment for dehydration, and a late night for Mommy, Daddy, and Presleigh. Brianna was spared the trip down because of her awesome Grandma, who came to the babysitter rescue!

Throughout the week, Presleigh seemed okay, except that she never really kicked a low grade fever. Well, she surprised us on Monday with her first ever episode of technicolor yawning. (Daddy's famous for making cookies, Presleigh just tosses them... for now.) We followed a strict regimen of Pedialyte that night and she was able to get back to buh-buhs and apples later the following day. Late night for Mommy, Daddy, and Presleigh. Brianna? Zzzzz. Thank God.

Tuesday night was quite a scare for us when Presleigh woke up very lethargic with a serious fever of 104.8 at about midnight. Not gonna lie, I was a touch wigged out. Motrin and Pedialyte helped bring her back down to "jovial" in a few hours. The power of the Holy Spirit brought Mommy and Daddy back down to "calm" in the meantime. You guessed it, late night for Mommy, Daddy, and Presleigh.

After a follow up at the Pede's office, a pale, dry Presleigh tried to muster a smile (above) as we rushed her back to Scottish Rite, where she was eventually admitted and pounded with fluids, Tylenol, Motrin, and love from Mommy while Daddy took photos and tried to get a hug in edgewise. (And Aunt Sarah, the angel, brought Mommy and Daddy some much needed tummy relief from Moe's! THANK YOU, Sarah!!!)

Net-net: an overnight stay plagued by spikes and drops in temp from 101 to 104, little sleep for Mommy, a less than pleasant experience in hooking up to an I.V. bag, and a positive test for urinary tract infection. Today, Mommy and Grandma are still at the hospital with Presleigh, as we wait for ultrasound results on her kidneys to make sure things aren't any more severe than they look.

Daddy was sent home because whatever Presleigh had, he got the 24 hour version. He's feeling much better this afternoon with the help of Pepto-Bismol and some Tylenol.

If you're a prayin' (wo)man, keep Presleigh lifted up for good results on the ultrasound. Keep Mommy prayed for in the "quality sleep" department. And, keep Daddy prayed up that he's well before tomorrow's board meeting. Prayers of praise to God that things aren't worse - by the looks of some kids coming in and out of Children's Hospital, we could be in a whole lot worse shape. Plus, Presleigh's temp has been over 102 for two days now (off and on) and she hasn't had a repeat of the fever induced seizure! Win or lose, God gets the glory. We're just grateful that it's "win"!

AP

What Can Happen in a Month?!

As we stand outside of her looking in, closely observing, adoring, and wondering about her, she's growing in so many ways. She's now twice her birthwieght and 4 inches taller. Yes, we're still amazed. Yes, I'm obviously a proud, first time Dad. Not a day goes by that we don't notice something new. If you don't have children yet, this is a warning - they grow quickly. Take lots of photo and video.
A month ago, when we tried to get her to sit up, she'd fold in half and fall over. Today, while she can't do a sit-up, we can sit her up and count on her playing independently for at least five or ten minutes before growing tired of the whole affair. Stronger... bigger... whoa...
Last month, she mostly batted at things with her hands. This month, she has nearly mastered "grabbing". God, help us... She's even gotten to the point where she can hold onto her bottle while drinking. (Not for a full feeding, yet, but wow!) You can actually see the makings of hand-eye coordination unfolding in front of you if you observe her for an hour or so.

Picking things up that rattle, shaking them, and putting them in her mouth is a new past time. Alright, putting anything in her mouth is a new past time. We're thinking she may grow up to be an excellent food taster/quality control officer for Food TV or something like that. "Emeril Lagasse and Presleigh Pina Present... BAM! Taste THIS!"

About this standing and walking thing... This girl has been just itching to walk since she was 6 weeks old. I'm serious. Ever since she could grab my fingers, she's been trying to hold herself up. (Okay, she was really wobbly in the beginning, and now she's just mildly wobbly...) But, lately, we've been experimenting with leaning her up against a wall or the couch so she can enjoy the new point of view and stand - no hands, Daddy - with only the support of what she's leaning on. Assisted sitting, assisted standing, totally unassisted gabbing!!!

Can you imagine a Pina who doesn't run off at the mouth? Neither could we, until Presleigh came along. Fortunately, last month, she began vocalizing and putting a few letters together (none that exist in the English language, but they seemed familiar to her). Her conversations have consisted mainly of "raspberries" and glottal run-ons, but she's mastered the letter "m" the letter "ahooahooawwwwoooouh" and the digraph "thththththth" (both voiced and unvoiced for all of you linguists out there).

A couple of weeks ago, Presleigh showed off her first gymnastic move, which was a tumble from the seated position to a prone position, where after a few moments of frustration and some whining, she planted both hands on the floor in front of her and began lifting her head and torso a bit. Now, she's proven herself to be a capable roller, rolling from her back to her tummy, but uncertain what new move to add to the combination. America's Best Dance Crew is back on MTV, so perhaps we'll let her get some new ideas for her routine.
Maybe next month, she'll start pop-locking...

She still thoroughly enjoys showing off all the cool clothes she got from uncle Jeremy at Christmas, including a cute, hooded number she wore to her four month checkup. Hopefully, she won't associate the pain of four needles in her leg with the cute outfit. As with all of her clothes, she's decided it tastes great. She was a champ and didn't cry for more than 10 seconds after the shots, though. She's tough like her mom.

Mommy's still pushing to get her on food, but the doc says it's not going to make much of a difference. If she's sleeping through the night now (which she is 5 to 10 hours) adding the solid food isn't going to make much of a difference. We're stocked up on formula, so we might as well use it, you know? Besides, with all the things she's putting in her mouth, we wouldn't want to distract her from her new favorite delicacy - her toes!