Please Pray...

I have been waiting to talk to Pat. I finally did, and he not only gave me the O.K. to tell this, but he asked me to put it on my blog for any and all prayers.

**if I get any of this wrong, I apologize. I am doing some of this from memory only.

I got a call from Pat last night at, I don't know-around 7:30. He was quiet and sad and I had such a hard time hearing him that I had to leave the boy's room to talk to him. He was pretty vague, but told me Jen was in the process of getting discharged because Hackley was sending Abbi to DeVos Children's Research hospital in Grand Rapids. * Ultrasound had detected an irregular heart beat earlier in Jen's pregnancy. I believe her doctor wasn't too concerned originally, but when it was detected again, she sent Jen to G.R. Those test results came back "okay". It was possible that the delivery would correct the problem. Abbi was hooked up to a heart monitor at the hospital...just precautionary I presumed. She was perfectly fine, sleeping in the beginning and waking up later for her visitors. It wasn't until the alarm went off that they knew there was a problem.*

Pat was very emotional on the phone. He didn't offer much info. I told him to keep me posted. It was a hard night. Keith told me not to tell anyone, not even Kristin, (WHAT??) because we need to respect Pat and Jen's privacy.

Pat's mom called me this morning. She has actually called me three times today to keep me up to date. I also talked to Pat after lunch. The doctors don't know much. Dr. Golz, the pediatrician, says this might be Ventricular Tachycardia. It is a fast heart rhythm that starts in the lower part of the heart. It is not usually known what causes this, especially in young children. In most cases, it is caused by underlying heart disease. I read that, Pat didn't tell me that. The doctors also think it could be hereditary. They discussed the possibility of testing both Pat and Jen, as well as Caleb and Andrew. The doctors had a list of 3 meds they wanted to try on Abbi. They noticed while putting a catheter through her belly button that her heart rate went up and it was actually a good thing. They wanted to mimic that with the meds. Two of the meds failed. Instead of trying the 3rd med, which I think Pat said they called the good drug and bad drug, they opted for a longer list of meds to try first. This GD/BD could be fabulous or it could stop Abbi's heart, causing the need for the doctors to shock her heart. Jan called this last time to say 3 meds have failed so far and one slowed Abbi's heart rate so much so that her feet turned blue.

As of last night, Pat didn't want me to mention any of this to the boys. Today he said they need to know. How are they holding up? Like I mentioned, Pat is very emotional. I asked if Jen was being a trooper or if she was just a wreck. He said it depends on the moment. At one point, she said she wasn't strong enough to handle it. You never know your own strength until you are faced with something that tests it. She is strong and she will make it through. Pat said to me, "We will be taking our daughter home with us!"

For them, I am sorry that I, of all people, get to tell this story for them. I left out all the perfect and fabulous details of Jen's journey to motherhood (Monday) so she can share it all with you on her blog when she comes home.

UPDATE...Pat just called again and said they are still on the 3rd med. It works for awhile and then wears off so the doctors keep upping Abbi's dosage of the same med. Right now, all seems "normal". The doctor isn't 100%, but strongly believes Abbi will have a pacemaker (forever). She is still a bit small to insert one (if that is proper wording) so she will be in GR for weeks, according to Pat. PLEASE KEEP THE TALLQUISTS IN YOUR PRAYERS. They have a long road ahead of them, but are believers in everything good and have faith that everything will turn out the way it is supposed to be.

I may have left out a few things, but the important stuff is here. Thanks for being patient. I will keep you all posted.