Olivia Jane needs your PRAYERS!!

Unfortunately the ultrasound showed that Olivia Jane's ventricles (in the back of brain) are really swollen and she does have Hydrocephalus also known as "water on the brain". Normally the doctors would put a shunt in but her brain is too little right now, so they said that they can't do that at this time. That is so scary because the fluid is just going to continue to build up until the shunt is put in. Also, once the shunt is in place, it is there for life. It is causing Olivia a lot of nausea and vomiting, which we do not need for her! This is such a scary time for Olivia, Melissa, and Mason so please pray that Olivia will pull through this ok. Please pray for Melissa to have strength; she is obviously and understandably devastated! No matter how strong someone is, there are no words that can describe the agony that Melissa and Mason are going through!

Olivia Jane is my precious niece, and it brings me to my knees in prayer and tears just knowing what is happening to her right now. I love her so much! Savannah does not understand, and I just pray that she will not have to understand anything but that her sister is healthy and going to come home soon! I question myself, is there something in my life that I am doing wrong that I change to help Olivia? Am I being punished for something? I just don't understand why this is happening; Olivia does not deserve to go through this. I just want her to be a bouncing baby girl and I want to hear her call out "Aunt Jessie" one day soon! Savannah just melts my heart when she says that, and she knows it too!

God, please help Olivia-heal Olivia! I know that you are our maker and that you do things for reasons that we will never know. I just pray that it is in your "will" for Olivia's brain to heal and that the fluid goes away. Only you know our exact days that we have here on earth, God I pray that Olivia has a long healthy life with us-her family! Please wrap your arms around Olivia and keep her strong! She is a fighter! PLEASE PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

PLEASE PLEASE PRAY PRAY PRAY

Olivia Jane's little head is still swelling and the doctor's have ordered an ultrasound for Monday morning! Please pray that the ultrasound shows something that can be easily corrected. If the swelling does not go down, they have talked about having to put a shunt in Olivia's head to help the fluid drain from her brain. We need tons of prayers, so please remember Olivia in your prayers as you are going about your daily routines. I pray that God will heal her, and that the fluid will go away. I have faith that God can heal her. Please don't give up on Liv! PRAY PRAY PRAY! I love you Olivia Jane so very much! Stay strong little angel; please know that we are praying for you, my beautiful niece!

~Aunt Jessie

Precious Pictures...



Olivia Jane sleeping and holding onto Mommy



Olivia Jane's little hand in Mommy's...

Olivia in her new outfit...all stretched out

Olivia holding onto Mommy's pinky finger

The NICU nurses made Olivia Jane a "bow-hat"..they are so precious!



Beautiful lil' Olivia Jane!

 

Olivia got wear clothes for the first time. Mommy was so excited to dress her!



PRAY PRAY PRAY

Olivia had to have a spinal tap today. Her head has started to swell and they believe she is getting fluid on her brain that can cause blockage of CSF (spinal fluid). They were only able to to get 2.5 ml out when they did the spinal tap and they were really hoping to get more than that. If her brain continues to swell they are going to call the neurosurgeon in and he may have to drain the fluid from the top of her head. They sent the fluid off to the lab to check for bleeding and infections. I should hear something by Monday. Please God let her be ok from all of this. The scary thing about all of this is the brain damage that can occur from all of this. Dear God please take care of my sweet baby Olivia she is such an amazing and beautiful baby. I love her so much and i want her to be ok. I can't explain to anyone the pain and hurt i go through on a daily basis.  I am so unconditionally in love with this little girl. This has been the hardest thing i have ever had to go through in all of my life. I pray to God all day, everyday that he will heal her brain and she will be a normal, bouncing, silly little girl one day. I remember when i found out i was having another girl i was over joyed. I could not stop thinking how amazing this would be. Savannah would have a sister, a best friend for life. I could not imagine my life without my sister, she is the most incredible, most loving, and one of the strongest women i know and she is my big sissy. I want Savannah to grow up with her sister just like i have with mine. I want them to run and play together, and sit up all night laughing , and go to college together. I know god hears all the prayers for Olivia because she has come so far so PLEASE continue to pray for her everyday and say an extra prayer for my sweet angel's brain. God please heal Olivia's brain and let her be ok Please God Please! Thak you to each and everyone of you who have continued to pray for her throughout this long journey. I beg you to continue. God is so incredible and i just know with all the prayers for her he will heal my baby.

I love you so much Olivia

Love Mommy

Olivia Jane has gained for weight!

Praise God; Olivia has gained more weight! She now weighs 2 pounds, 12 ounces! Yay Liv! Please continue to pray for her health and strength! Lord, I pray that Olivia Jane's little brain is ok, and that you heal her. I love you God, and I THANK you for Olivia and my entire family so much!

~Aunt Jessie

We Give THANKS to JESUS!

Thank you God for this precious angel, Olivia Jane, that you have blessed us with! I am proud to say that Olivia weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces now! WooHoo! Those extra calories and good ole' breast milk is working! She is 15 inches long now too! Olivia seems to be thriving so well, and again thank you for your prayers! That is what has gotten Melissa, my family, and I through this crazy roller coaster so far! Thank you to Plainview Church of Christ for your card that you recently sent my sister! Thank you to everyone else that has sent prayers and well wishes her way, just to show that you care! You have no idea what that means to her! She is keeping every single card, and is going to show Olivia one day just how much we prayed and cared for her! So again, THANK YOU!

On another note, I blog about how well she is doing....and she is doing well, but Melissa asked about Olivia's little brain. The doctor said that he did feel some mild swelling in her head, but was not sure if that was there before or new. According to her chart, she is not in "red zone" yet, but needs your prayers to stay out of there. Please pray for her brain to be ok, and that all of the blood is just re-absorbed by her little body! God can heal her, I am a believer in this! It's called FAITH, and we have that....so please pray for Olivia! Happy Thanksgiving Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Praise Jesus! Olivia's eyesight is GREAT!

Monday, Olivia Jane had a scan done on her eyes, and it showed that she has no known damage to her eyes! YAY! Hopefully, this will continue and Olivia will show no problems later on! The doctors will continue to scan her eyes, and before she comes home - they will check her hearing. Please continue to pray that Olivia does great, and that she will not have any problems with her vision or hearing! Thank you so much for all of your prayers! Olivia Jane appreciates them so much! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Olivia is a SENIOR!

Catchy title..huh!? Olivia Jane moved up to "Progressive Care"! Yay! This is where she will be until she comes home in late December-early January. Today, not only did she get to move up, but Mommy got to give Olivia her very first bath! Big sister Savannah got to visit again and was so proud of her little sister! Please continue to pray that Olivia keeps doing great and that she stays strong! I love you so much Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Kangaroo Care.....

Melissa got to spend a hour holding Olivia Jane on her bare chest today for "kangaroo care". Olivia tried hard to keep her little eyes open and try to look at her mommy, but just could not last. She fell fast asleep on Melissa as she just rocked Olivia, and held her close for a whole hour. After the hour was up, the nurse took Olivia back to put her in her bed, and Olivia whimpered....as if she was saying that she wasn't ready to leave her mommy! As of 5:30pm, Melissa called to check on Olivia, and she was fast asleep. The nurse told her that preemies tend to do that after "kangaroo care". It is like having a good dose a "mommy" before bed.

Speaking of bed, Olivia's bed got face-life! She is now in an isolette, which is another version of an incubator, but it is a step-up. The isolette is also the same bed that she will be in once she is strong and healthy enough to go to Progressive Neonatal Intensive Care. Please continue to pray for Olivia and that she keeps doing so well! Thank you all for your prayers! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

More CC's for Olivia Jane!

Olivia is getting fed like a big girl! Yay! Most full-term infants are fed on average of about every 2 to 3 hours...well, the nurses have changed Olivia's feedings from 6cc every hour to 20cc every 3 hours! They fed her 20cc at 12 noon, and at 3:00pm, her residual was empty, meaning that her body digested all 20cc!!

Also, the nurse told Melissa that if she continues to do well throughout the night that they will allow Melissa to do "kangaroo care" with Olivia tomorrow. "Kangaroo care" is when the preemie is put directly on mom's chest - bare skin to bare skin..this helps the baby thrive because it can hear mom's heartbeat and feel her. There have been many stories of preemies not doing well at all, and the mom tried "kangaroo care" and then the baby did wonderful!

Thank you for your prayers, every prayer is so much appreciated! Please continue to pray; Olivia's eye scan is Monday. This will determine if and how much eye damage she has attained from the oxygen she has received from the ventilator and C-Pap. Lord, please protect Olivia Jane and her eyesight; please wrap your arms around her and keep her safe! I love you so much Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Yay for extra calories!...for Olivia anyway!

Now most of us definitely do not want extra calories in our diet, but in Olivia's case, we most certainly do! She started having her breast milk fortified with extra calories today, and so far she has done great with it. So well in fact, that the nurses increased her breast milk to 6cc an hour, equal to 5 ounces a day! WooHoo Liv! With increased milk fortified with calories, Olivia will be 3 pounds before we know it! Thank you God for giving Olivia the strength and health to eat like this!

Also, Olivia is still off of the C-Pap, but she was given oxygen through a simple nasal cannula, like the ones that you are given in the hospital if needed. This was given to her so that she does not have to try so hard, and to just give her a break. Olivia is doing the breathing on her own though! Thank you God, and thank you to everyone for your prayers. She will continue to grow and do well, I just know she will! Please continue to pray for her! Olivia Jane, I am so proud of you sweetheart, and I love you so much!

~Aunt Jessie

Thank you God! Prayers are AWESOME!

Words can't explain how thankful my family and I are for each and everyone of your prayers! Today has been a wonderful day for Olivia! First of all, she was given another cc every hour, so she is now on 5cc per hour, which is equal to about 4 ounces per day! Yay Liv! Second, Olivia Jane lost an annoyance in the arm called an IV! Yeah, the IV is gone and so is the C-Pap! Yes, Olivia is breathing room air, and all on her own!

The nurses said that there is a chance that Olivia will have to go back on the C-Pap, but right now, we are just praising God that she is breathing on her own! Thank Lord! You are an amazing God, and thank you so much for making Olivia Jane strong and healthy! Thank you so much for our lil' blessing! And to everyone else, please continue to pray for her; today is a perfect example of how prayers work! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Mommy and Olivia's First KISS!

Mommy got to kiss Olivia Jane for the first time today, November 17, 2010! She said that it took her breath away!...This is the reason we are praying so hard, for moments like this! Thank you to everyone for your prayers, and please continue to pray everyday!

Olivia Jane and Mommy pictures

Ok, so does Mommy think Olivia is beautiful or what? I don't think that you can stare any harder! Thank you God!!

Olivia Jane....Look different? Yeah, she only has a feeding tube now! No C-Pap...No ventilator!!! Thank you God!

Olivia and her pacifier!

Ok, so I am going back to school for nursing, and I had to look up an article to write a report on. Well, before Olivia was even born, I chose a report on preemies in the NICU, and how they found a connection to giving them a pacifier and a quicker sucking reflex time. When preemies are born, they typically do not have the normal reflexes. So, the article seemed relevant enough, and I chose it. In the article, I found that some hospitals gave the preemies a pacifier during feedings through the feeding tube. This stimulated the sucking reflex over time. In the study the preemies that were on the pacifier were sucking on a bottle faster; therefore, off of the feeding tube faster. Also, they got to go home on an average of 8 days sooner! Less than 2 weeks later, Olivia Jane came into this world! Isn't it funny how God can put things in front of us with out us understanding it at the time??!! Needless to say Olivia Jane has a pacifier EVERYDAY and with EVERY feeding! 

Eating again!

Olivia's blood transfusion went really well! Melissa said that before the transfusion, lil' Olivia was very lethargic and was not active at all. Today, she was back to herself and eating again! Her feedings were increased by a 'cc' as well too! Instead of 3cc, she is on 4cc every hour!

Also, the doctor said that if she continues to do well on her feedings, they are going to remove the IV within the next 24 hours. When they do that, the nurses are going to try to put extra calories in her breast milk for weight gain. They said that some preemies can tolerate it, and some don't. If not, they will take the extra calories out and she will just be on breast milk, but no IV!

On a funny note, Melissa had just changed Olivia's diaper after a feeding. All of a sudden, Olivia Jane stretched out so big, put one arm above her head, and spread both legs 'wide eagle' to prop them up on her bedding that surrounds her in the incubator. I guess that after a good blood transfusion, feeding, and a diaper change - Olivia was ready for a good stretch and nap! Olivia, you keep growing, stretching, getting healthy, and strong little one! I love you so much! Everyone else, please continue to pray for Olivia; thank you so much for all of your prayers!

~Aunt Jessie

Another Transfusion

Olivia's RBC (red blood cells) count was low today, so she has been taken off of the feeding tube for now. The nurses told us that she had to be taken off 4 hours before, during, and 4 hours after the blood transfusion. Hopefully, by midnight or a little after, Olivia should be back on the feeding tube according to her nurse. The nurse said that low RBC count is common in preemies, but this will be her 4th blood transfusion. Olivia's little body is using up more RBCs than her body can produce, so she needs a little help. A BIG thank you to all blood donors; you guys are awesome! Please continue to pray for lil' Olivia Jane! Every prayer is so important, and we thank you for each one! We should know something about her eyes, hopefully, by next week. I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Lil' Piglet...

Today Olivia was moved up from 2cc of breast milk every hour to 3cc! Yay Liv! She also had a really big bowel movement, which the nurses were very happy to see. Her intestines have seem to accepted their job titles and have begun to work! Thank you God! Also, the doctor told Melissa today that if Olivia keeps doing well with her feedings, she will get to be IV free in about 2-3 days!

Ok, that is all the good news; however, there is a downer today. The nurses told Melissa that with preemies, they are always put on oxygen. Well, with oxygen like she has been on comes hazards to the other parts of the body. The nurses told Melissa that there is a chance that the extended use of oxygen could hurt Olivia's eyesight and hearing. That is where prayer comes in! Olivia has been on oxygen due to her immature lungs, but has not needed as much as we thought. She will have her eyes tested soon and hearing tested before she comes home from the NICU later on down the road. Please pray for a clean bill of health!

Also, please pray for Olivia's brain. Remember, she had a stage 3 brain bleed. Well, the bleeding has stopped...Praise God! However, if there was any damage done..it is done. But I have faith in God that he will heal Olivia Jane and that she going to be a bouncing, laughing, running, screaming baby girl sooner than we can ever hope for! Thank you for your continued prayers! Please keep praying; God hears you and it is working! Olivia is getting better each day, but we still have a long, rough road ahead. We still have many obstacles to overcome. But with prayer, faith, love, and hope...it can be done!

I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

New Pictures of Olivia Jane!



Savannah checking in on her new sissy!



Big Sissy Savannah Grace and Olivia Jane, this was the first time they met!



Beautiful Olivia, you are such a blessing! Thank you God!




 


Olivia Jane...

 

Liv resting, but Mommy most certainly didn't forget her bow for pictures!

 

Olivia Jane resting...precious little angel!







Congratulations Mommy!!

Today was a very good day for Olivia Jane! The nurses increased her feedings to 2cc every hour! She is digesting it very well, and having good bowel movements. I know you guys want to know what the "congrats mommy" is all about...right?! 

Well, today Olivia's blanket had gotten damp and Melissa asked the nurse for a new one. When the nurse brought the blanket to Melissa, she asked Melissa if she would like to do the honors. Well, Melissa thought that she meant to cover her up, and she said yes. Melissa turned to Olivia Jane, and the nurse gave Melissa her beautiful baby girl to hold for the first time! Olivia Jane is 20 days old today, and today was the first day that mother and daughter were united, with Melissa's arms wrapped around Olivia. Until today, my sister was only able to touch Olivia's hand or foot, and occasionally change her lil' diaper! Congrats Sissy! I am so happy for you and I love you so very much!

Thank you Lord for our beautiful, wonderful blessing named Olivia Jane! God, please continue to wrap your arms around Olivia and keep her safe and healthy. Thank you for helping Olivia through these tough 20 days, and for giving her the strength to do so! Because of you God, Olivia Jane is growing and becoming stronger everyday! I love you God! Also, thank you EVERYONE for your continued prayers! Please continue to pray for Olivia and our family! It is because of our faith and belief in prayer that Olivia is doing so well! Olivia Jane, I love you sweetheart! Hang in there, keep getting stronger, and come home soon!

~Aunt Jessie

God is GGRRRREATT!!!!!

Today has been a great day for Liv! She no longer has the ventilator and is now on the C-Pap, which helps keep the sacks in her lungs to stay open so that she can breathe on her own! She is doing just that with the C-Pap and moving around a lot too! So much in fact, the nurses had to move her IV to her lil' head.

Olivia Jane is now on a continuous feeding tube and pooping like a big girl! ;) Instead of 1/2cc every hour, they are feeding her 1cc every hour! YAY Liv! Also, the biggest praise of all, right now, is that she has moved up a notch in the NICU. There are different categories in the NICU, such as the "Intensive" area which is where Olivia has been. There is also the "Progressive" area of the NICU, and Olivia is right in the middle of those two areas! Thank you God!

Of course, our emotional roller coaster is not over; we are far from having Liv home. They are estimating her to come home around end of December-first of January, if all goes well. Olivia still has a lot of battles ahead of her, so please, please do not give up on praying for her. God is great, and with your prayers He will heal her and make her well, I just know it! It's called Faith. We love Olivia so much and realize how awesome our God is. He has blessed us with this beautiful little girl, a little too soon but we will get through this as a family. Thank you guys so much for your prayers! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Pray for Melissa too!

This morning, Mason found Melissa unconscious in the shower! We think that it was from exhaustion and worrying about Olivia so much. When Mason found her, Melissa's eyes were dilated completely, and she would not respond to anything. Luckily, she "came to" right before he called 911, but we are keeping a close eye on her. She has just been so worried about Olivia; she has neglected herself without even realizing it.

They are with Olivia now. As of this morning, Olivia has had two more bowel movements. So, hopefully her intestines have woke up and are ready for more milk! Good job Liv!! Keep praying everyone! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Yay for Poop!!

I know that the title is a little goofy, but I never thought that I would be so excited to hear that Olivia Jane had a big poop today! The nurses were literally getting ready to give her an enema when they pulled her diaper off to do so and got a big surprise! YAY for Olivia! So, needless to say she did not get the enema. Bless her, she heard the nurses talking about it, and thought that she better do something before they stick an enema up her bum! I would be getting something out too!

Another praise, Olivia Jane's chest tube is out and no problems so far! However, she still does not have a feeding tube. The night nurse told Melissa that they would wait until the morning to see what the doctor wanted to do. According the that nurse, they will probably try the feeding tube again tomorrow. Keep checking in, I will post new pictures very soon.

Olivia Jane's big sister, Savannah Grace, got to meet her today for the first time! She was so excited, and the only question was why couldn't Olivia come home. She is very proud of Olivia, and was sure to tell all of the nurses that she was Olivia's big sister! Thank you guys for all of your prayers! Please keep Olivia Jane in your prayers each day! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Another bump....

Olivia's feeding tube had to come back out. When the nurses checked her residual, it had bile in it. However, they did give us some relief by saying that this is normal because Olivia's little intestines are not used to digesting yet. It is just going to take time for her intestines to "wake-up". On a good note, Olivia's x-ray came out great...no problems were found.

Thank you so much to everyone for continuously praying for Olivia Jane! Keep the prayers going up! I will post again later tonight, and keep everyone updated on how Olivia is doing. I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

God is Good!

After many prayers, Olivia is back on the feeding tube! Thank you guys so much for your continued prayers; please continue to keep Olivia Jane in your prayers everyday! She was fed this afternoon, and as of 3:00 she has completely digested all of her milk!! YAY!! She has been fed again and we will know about that feeding later tonight.

The doctors and nurses are taking her chest tube (this is from the heart surgery) out slowly this time. They have clamped it off and are taking it out a little bit by little. It should be completely out by Wednesday, hopefully. Also, Melissa got to change Olivia's diaper all by herself today, without help of a nurse, so she is so excited about that.  

An emotionally charged moment today was when Melissa was standing by Olivia's bed, talking to her. She looked up and there stood the most thoughtful and caring pastor that I have ever known! It was Brother Bobby of Hazel Green Baptist Church, where I am proud to say that I am a member. Brother Bobby and Melissa prayed over Olivia's bed and Melissa had a good cry! Brother Bobby, if you are reading this, thank you so much for all that you do. Even though it seems to be your "job" to make visits to the sick; you have no idea how much my sister needed that visit from you, at that moment! God knew too, and that is why you showed up when you did! Thank you so much for your prayers! 

Everyone, thank you for your prayers, and don't give up on them! Like I said before, God hears the smallest and the longest of prayers. You can be in your car, walking down the road, getting ready for work or bed, anything and anytime...it just takes a second to send a prayer up for Olivia Jane! I love you Olivia Jane so much, and I can't wait to hold you!

~Aunt Jessie

Another bump in the road...

In the previous blog, I bragged about Olivia Jane getting to eat finally. Unfortunately, she had to be taken off of the feeding tube. She started to have bile backing up and a x-ray was ordered. We should know more tomorrow, but doctors are thinking that it might be Olivia's pancreas or gall bladder. Please pray that this is a one time thing, she gets better, and she can eat again soon. Also, please pray that all goes well with the x-ray.

On a happy note, Melissa got to change Olivia's diaper today and was told that she will get to start helping with Olivia more. Lord, please wrap your arms around Olivia Jane and heal her! Thank you so much for blessing us with beautiful Olivia!..Amen...I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Olivia Jane got to eat again....

Today Olivia got to eat through her feeding tube since she got the bleeding stomach ulcers! It has been a week, at least, since Olivia was fed through the tube. She has been on only nutrients through her IV fluids. When the nurses checked her "residual"(sp), it came out clean. This means that after she eats, to check and see if Olivia has digested the breast milk, they suck out substance from her feeding tube, and if it comes out clean, she digested everything! Praise God, she has digested everything that she has been fed today! So, pray that this continues and Olivia will gain some weight! She has lost about 6 ounces since she has been born.

Also, when Olivia was born, she had a tube placed in her belly button so that they would not have to continuously prick her to get blood. The tube can only be used for a temporary time period due to the possibility of infection. They took it out today and her umbilical stump came too! However, the nurses had to replace her existing IV because it was leaking. It went well, and they did not have any problems doing so. Thank you for your prayers for Olivia Jane, but more are needed all of the time! Please, please continue to pray for sweet Olivia Jane, and that she gets strong, thanks to Mommy's breast milk! :~) 

Lord, I pray that Olivia will continue to grow and get stronger with each day! Be with her God, please wrap your arms around her and watch over her! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

It's a Roller Coaster....

Today we found out that the brain bleed is in the ventricles of the Olivia's brain, which is in the back of the head--brain stem area. Good news is that the bleeding has stopped! Thank you Jesus! Please pray that her little brain and head does not swell; the bleeding has stopped but we are told that with stage 3-you never know what will happen. It can stay where it is, or it can progress forward, and that would cause her brain to swell. They are going to see if the blood goes away before any drastic measures are taken. That is where PRAYER comes in!

Earlier today, they also were able to take out her ventilator and chest tube, and then put a C-Pap on her. The C-Pap is to help the sacks in her lungs stay open so that when she breathes on her OWN that they stay open, and she does not struggle. Unfortunately, by 6:00, the chest tube was put back in and she is back on the ventilator due to complications. When they took her chest tube out, some air got in her where the chest tube was...and it caused her distress. We were hoping to get her back on the feeding tube, but with this down hill roll, we are not sure that is going to happen this weekend.

Please continue to pray for Olivia Jane; she is such a beautiful blessing! We love her so very much, and with the power of prayer she will come home healthy soon! Thank you all so much for keeping up with her progress, and praying for her each day. I know that it is because of faith and prayer that she has done so well. She made it through heart surgery!..Wow, that is a blessing and now her bleeding has stopped! Blessing again! Keep praying! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Lord, Lift us up!

Today we found out that Olivia Jane has a stage 3 brain bleed. There are only 4 stages, and Olivia's is on both sides of her brain. We are not sure and the doctor can't tell us at this time what that means for Olivia. There are some people that we have heard about where their preemie had a brain bleed and they are ok. That is what we are praying for. Please pray for Olivia Jane everyone! We need prayer that God will cure her brain bleeds and heal her. She will be a healthy little girl, I just know it! The power of prayer can get us there. Please don't give up on prayers for Olivia! She needs every prayer; you can pray as you are driving, cleaning, walking, texting, getting ready for work or bed! Just please, please pray!

Sissy, I love you so much and you have been so strong through all of this, even though you think you are not! You are my little sister, but I look up to you so much for so many reasons! You are my best friend and are beautiful inside and out! You are a wonderful, caring mother. Savannah and Olivia are so blessed to have you for their momma! Stay strong, Sissy...we will get through this and Olivia Jane will come home healthy! I have Faith in Jesus that He will take care of our family, and He will heal Olivia! I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Give Praise to God! Thank You Jesus!

Olivia did wonderful through surgery! She just got out and is heading back up to the NICU, where mommy and daddy are going to get to see her. Dr. Clay, her surgeon, said that Olivia Jane did so well, and that it was one of the easiest surgeries that he has done! Thank you Lord for answering so many prayers and giving Olivia the strength to get through this! Please continue to be with her and protect her! Everyone, please continue to pray for Olivia! The doctors said that the next few days are going to be an emotional roller coaster, with many ups and downs! Please keep Olivia in your thoughts as you go on through out the day. Thank you so much to everyone that is looking over this blog site and praying for Olivia Jane! Please continue to do so; she still has a very long and hard road ahead, but with your prayers, she can overcome these tough obstacles!

I love you Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

Mommy and Olivia Jane



Mommy feeding Olivia Jane through her feeding tube



Praise!

Melissa and Mason met with the surgeon and nurse that will be taking care of Olivia tomorrow. Her surgery will be at 12:30 tomorrow, so please pray for a wonderful outcome! Melissa said told me that the surgeon and the nurse are such a blessing from God. The surgeon sat down with her and Mason and told them step by step of what to expect. They were positive about the outcome; however, prayer is still needed desperately! Power of prayer is strong and with it, Olivia will be strong! The surgeon also drew out a picture of Olivia's heart and showed them where the problem was. A nurse, Elizabeth, will be taking care of Olivia during, after surgery and all day tomorrow. She is amazing, and was formally a "primary care" nurse, but got too attached so she had to go back to just being a regular NICU nurse. We need nurses like her to around Liv; that means she loves her job and the babies in NICU. God has sent angels down to watch over Olivia Jane; I believe that with everything in me!


Overall, Olivia Jane had a good day; however, she is still very sick due to the hole in her heart. It has made her very lethargic and swollen. Melissa got to change her diaper today for the first time so that was awesome! Mason, you have been so precious through all of this. You are an amazing father and husband, and I am so blessed to be able to call you a part of my family and my friend. Lord, please give Olivia the strength that she needs to get through this surgery and the "will" to get better after surgery. We love her so much God, please watch over Olivia and wrap your arms around her and please keep her safe! Aunt Jessie loves you Olivia Jane!

New Pictures of Precious Olivia Jane...

Sweet Olivia Jane



Look at that lil' foot!





Mommy and Daddy's Lil' Angel

 



We love you Olivia Jane; you are a blessing to all of us.

 

Meeting with the Doctors Today

Today, Olivia's mommy and daddy are meeting with doctors to talk about what we can expect for her surgery tomorrow. Please pray that God protects her and heals her; please Lord make her strong and give her strength! The appointment is at 3:00 today....I will keep everyone updated with what the doctors have to say. I love you so much Olivia Jane!

~Aunt Jessie

More prayers needed for Olivia Jane!

We got a call today from the doctors and Lil' Olivia Jane is going to have surgery Wednesday, 11/03/2010, to close up the hole in her heart. She will also have a test to check for bleeding on the brain. She has had another blood transfusion and still has blood in her tummy due to the stress ulcers. A blood clot was found in her lungs today, but the nurses were able to clear it out. God, please give Olivia the strength to get passed the surgery, be with her, and wrap your precious arms around her. I love you Olivia Jane.

~Aunt Jessie