8/29 Niece update

Today has been a hard day. They were at the hospitals for most of the day so are just generally drained and also emotions are starting to struggle.  The news from the appointments is not all that promising.  They are concerned about the heart.  They can't tell exactly where the problem is, but it is with the valves.  If the problem is on the left side, then there will be no surgery, I'm guessing because it is too severe..... Also, the docs would not give a percentage chance because they are never accurate enough, so that was discouraging to them.  There may also be a problem with one of the arms.  The result of today:  Induction for September 10th as of now.  More appointments tomorrow and then they are done until September 5th.

On a lighter note, they are at the Ronald McDonald House now!  We plan to go out to dinner with them Friday and do some fun Seattle sights, like the new Great Wheel on either Sunday or Monday.

As for us, the boys had dentist appointments today; Logan's first and he did awesome!  He didn't even cry until the very end when he tasted the fluoride.  Shaun did great also including x-rays, and both have no cavities!

Ethan & Coral are here

Ethan and Coral arrived via train yesterday morning. The train was about an hour late; they traveled for 12.5 hours overnight! When taking Amtrak, overnight is the only option going to and from Montana.  We did it once back in 2000, not fun. The boys picked them up, Shaun loved it; trains are so exciting at 4! They then relaxed and visited at our house until I came home mid afternoon to take them to Seattle.  It was nice to see Ethan again and meet Coral. I got them to their first hotel, The Talaris, which was paid for by Children's.

They then had a couple of appointments today at UW Hospital to check the heart and lungs, etc. The doc said that there may be an issue with the heart, but won't know for sure until after birth. Tomorrow they get to go to Children's to meet the docs, nurses, etc who will be caring for baby and get a tour.

Tonight they are in a 2nd hotel that is affiliated with UW, The Collegiana.  They found out today that a room is opening up at the Ronald McDonald House tomorrow, so they get to move there tomorrow; yay!  This will be cheaper and better because it is more home like with a common kitchen where they can cook or even volunteers sometime come in and cook for them.

Niece update.....

Here is the latest:

There wasn't a surgery before birth like I thought.  They both will be on their way here Sunday night on the train.  Ethan was able to get a month off from work, thank you God! They arrive here in Everett at about 8:30 in the morning on Monday.  Bill is then going to pick them up and bring them back to our house for the morning so they can relax/recover from the 12+ hour train ride.  They have a hotel booked in Seattle, which I will take them to Monday afternoon.  They are hoping to be able to get other housing, like maybe the Ronald McDonald house at some point.  We would have them stay with us, but there are a bunch of things that don't make it a good idea: possible hour+ drive in traffic to get to all the appointments and if something urgent comes up (or longer bus ride), they would be relying on us to drive them, no extra beds here just a couch. The main reason being, we don't want to be responsible for getting her to Seattle in an emergency situation since this is not a healthy baby. The doctor has also concurred.

Then, they have several appointments with the doctor at UW this week where they will learn what the exact game plan is.  Her official due date is mid September, but they could do this pretty much any time I think. 

Be praying for the obvious and how we can be there to help.  Whether it be our presence, buying them snacks/food, taking them around Seattle to get them thinking about other things, etc.... Thanks!