Blessings

When we first found out that we were having a baby with HLHS, we were pretty shocked. We didn't know what to expect (and still don't haha!) and I grieved. Hard. It was like my baby girl was being torn away from me and I didn't know why God would choose us to have a baby with such a severe heart defect. At first we were told that we may have a baby with Downs or another congenital defect, and we prayed it would "just be a heart issue" because we have dealt with Eli's VSD and felt like that was manageable. It's funny looking back now thinking about how we prayed for her to just have a heart defect. Talk about ironic! The Lord is so funny sometimes and shows us that we really know absolutely nothing. 😊
Now that we have had months to learn about HLHS and read other people's stories about it, I feel like it is almost a blessing that she will be "disabled". Early on, I kept praying that the Lord would help me see this suffering as a gift from Him. He has been faithful to show me that!!! It's amazing how God can take such a difficult situation and make it good. We feel like we are blessed and honored to be called to be a parent of a child like our baby will be. God knew that we could do this, but not without His help. We have seen so many blessings come from this experience already and we cannot comprehend all that God has in store for our little lady.

I wanted to share with you all some of the blessings we've witnessed so far...

-We are fortunate enough to have learned about her condition prior to her birth. We know that many do not receive that info before and it can lead to stress and complications for the parents and the new baby. I am so glad that we know about it and have been able to watch her progress and make plans with our doctors before she even arrives. I couldn't imagine not knowing and not having the time that we've been given to prepare for this.
-We have seen the community around us provide in ways that we could never have imagined. I honestly don't know anyone who has received, and continues to receive, as much prayer as our little girl. She is so lifted up to the Lord that it's incredible. We have also had a TON of people support us financially. We have never questioned God's provision over this situation and He has continued to show us how much he cares for us through others. We could not have paid for these medical expenses without the generosity of others. It's been amazing not having to worry about finances and getting to just focus on what kind of care our baby will need.
-We live in an area that has incredible medical staff and advancements that are being made all of the time. Matt and I feel so blessed that we only have to drive an hour to our doctor appointments. I asked one of the nurses we've encountered and she said that some people drive four hours one way to get to their appointments. Can you imagine?! We also have some of the most skilled doctors and surgeons in the area that we are super thankful for. We will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House and if we lived much closer, we wouldn't qualify for that. So we will only be 10 minutes away from her while she's in the hospital.
-The people we've met we've met with babies with HLHS (whether it be in person or online) have been such a blessing as well. They have shown us that our baby can be a little fighter just like their babies and have given us hope. It has also been really cool connecting and relating with them in a different way than we can with anyone else.
-Our faith and the faith of others has been strengthened through this trial. I know we haven't gotten into the thick of it all yet, but I know that God has been working in our hearts and our family members' hearts to prepare us for what is to come. He has been so faithful to us even when we start to feel sad or angry. I have seen non-believers take notice of our faith and strength and I can tell them one thing: It is not by our strength. I am usually pretty nervous when it comes to sharing my faith, but I feel like this situation has given me a boldness to share about what Jesus has done for us. He has taken care of our biggest problem, our salvation, and because of that we have the strength to trust in Him and His plans through this difficult situation.

There are many more blessings that we've encountered but you can clearly see God's hand in this whole situation!!! We are so thankful for everyone's support.

Tomorrow is our last OBGYN appointment before baby girl arrives!!! I will try my best to update everyone on that soon. Dr. Gilbert said that he will be going over what the birthing day may look like and more things to expect. Nothing is ever for sure with babies like this, but it's exciting that we get to hear what it may look like!

Love,
Jillian