SPECIAL Prayer Request From David, Mary And Danny Bay
March 20, 2008
Julie and Alanna
Our family has just received devastating medical news, and we really need your fervent prayers.Pictured at left are our beautiful identical twins, Julie and Alanna, born February 15 in Warwick, R.I. to our son Ryan and his wife Marcia. Julie was born 5lbs 13 oz, and Alanna was born 4lbs 12oz. They were apparantly in normal health.
This morning, we received the devastating news that these wonderful children have multiple, multiple birth defects.
At three weeks, Julie developed constipation. It was a week before her bowels moved. This incident was troubling for their Pediatrician, "˜Dr. Alla"™, who made an appointment for an intestinal ultra-sound for Julie at Hasbro Children"™s Hospital just a few miles from their home. There were more tests yesterday and Alanna had a cursory exam, but will be checked more thoroughly in a week or two, as she gets a little larger.
These are the multiple birth defects we know as of now:
1) Both girls have polysplenia. They each have 6 spleens. It is unsure if any of them are working and further testing is required.
2) Julie also has bi-lateral left-sidedness. This means that she has 2 left lungs, missing the 3rd lobe that is present normally.
3) Julie has no descending aorta from her heart! Her tiny body has adjusted already, creating several small blood vessels to carry blood away from her heart. However, this is no long-term solution and Julie may die if doctors cannot create an aorta.
At this time, the doctors are unsure if Julie has other heart abnormalities. Further testing is required.
4) Julie also has a problem with the location of her duodenum (connector from stomach to small intestine). It is rotated and may be the cause of her recent bowel problem. In the future, she will have to be closely monitored for bowel obstructions.
Testing is under way to determine if the girls are identical twins. Because they were not in the same amniotic sac, it was assumed that the girls are not. However, since both girls have 6 spleens, it is imperative that doctors know for sure; if they are identical twins, Alanna will most definitely have each of the medical defects which have already been identified in Julie. Since Alanna has already been diagnosed as having 6 spleens just as does Julie, doctors are believing right now that she has all the birth defects of Julie. Alanna is the smaller one so testing will have to wait a short while.
Many doctor appointments and medical tests are ahead for our sweet babies.
Of course all of us are heartbroken over the news of sweet Julie and Alanna. We really need your prayers, for healing especially.
We are also sad that Ryan, Marcia, Isaac and the girls won"™t be moving to South Carolina to live close to Gramma, Grampa and Uncle Danny. They were planning to move down here in July of this year. We were all looking forward to them being here so we could be an integral part of their lives and we could be family support for them. However, there is no better place in the entire USA for them to be medically treated than in the Northeast. Not only are they just a few miles from Hasbro Children"™s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, but they are only about 50 miles from Boston Children"™s Hospital as well.
They are also fortunate to have a great church, Friendship Baptist in Warwick, R.I. Ryan was interim pastor there for 2 & ½ years until a new pastor was hired this January. Pastor Robert and Pam Mathis are wonderful people who have helped them immensely so far. Please pray with us that several people will find time in their busy schedules to help out when needed, as we cannot be physically there. However Friendship is so small, the resources they can bring to bear are not great.
One thing that we know is that God is in control. We praised God when these babies were born and though we are devastated now, we are still praising God for all things. Please agree with us in prayer for all things related to this news; we are especially concerned for Marcia, our wonderful Daughter-in-law. We have not talked to her since Ryan called early this morning, but I know that she must be especially devastated as only a mother can be. Please pray for heart-peace and rest for her.
We are comforted by Scripture at this point. A few of our favorites:
"Many evils confront the consistently righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." - Psalm 34:19
"... they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord by right of their need and on the authority of His Word, none of them shall lack any beneficial thing." - Psalm 34:10b
"This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, who revere and worship Him with awe, and each of them He delivers." - Psalm 34:6
"I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth ... O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together." - Psalm 34:1, 3
"So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads before God in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will. We are assured and know that, God being a partner in their labor, all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose." (Romans 8;26-28)
Please be in much prayer for all of us at this most difficult time.
May Jesus Richly Bless You,
David, Mary, and Danny Bay
Cutting Edge Ministries
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