Thank You

I again want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. This was such and unexpected and emotional experience for our family.

We never anticipated that when Anna was delivered at 36 weeks, that she would have so many problems entering this world. The chances of a baby developing PPHN (Persistent Pulmary Hypertension of a Newborn) are every 1 in 1000 births and the mortality rate in severe PPHN are reported as high as 50%. I would hope that no one would ever have to see their child being kept alive by an ambu bag manually being squeezed by a respiratory therapist or to sit bedside while their child is on a ventilator and paralyzed for over 9 days. Being away from my other children and making sacrifices for our family was also a challenging situation. Watching this tiny life struggle to breath as I got to hold her for the first time was difficult as well as seeing her struggle with the discomfort as she was taken off all of the various medications that were supporting her life for so many days. As we continue to progress through the healing process of this horrible condition with Anna, it is still difficult at times to see her struggle with some of those little life challenges. Even though Anna is home now, she still has some ground to make-up as she continues to heal and recover.

I do not believe that I would have been able to make it through this experience so well if it was not for the many people who have shown Anna and our family their love and support. The prayers, the gifts, the cards, the kind words, helping manage our other children and the many offers for support all meant so much to us. I will forever be grateful for the so many wonderful people in our lives.

Jessica