Follow Up: Potential Major Heart Defect; My Fujifilm Encounter

On February 2, 2017 I posted on Facebook about something AMAZING - a God thing- that happened while I was taking the opportunity as an American Heart Association Upstate Spokeswoman, in Greenwood at Fujifilm to speak at a luncheon about heart health, heart disease, and Congenital Heart Defects.

I specifically gave a snippet of my CHD's and why I believe in a healthy lifestyle and strive to live one. In doing so, I specifically mentioned my three CHD'S, one of them- the most rare being, Ebstein's Anomaly.

Here was the post I made if you want/need to catch up:

Sooooo....her son's appointment to confirm the potential finding of Ebstein's Anomaly was on Wednesday, March 1. I have been praying for her and her sweet baby. I texted her this morning to check in and see how things went.

She happily and graciously reported that her sweet baby boy is "all clear"!!! No Ebstein's Anomaly or heart defects for him period!!!

I just wanted to post to praise God. Thank You, God for my heart defects so that You can be glorified for Your greatness in times like this- Thank You God for answering yet another prayer of a miracle for this family- Thank You God for being simply AMAZING!

Ellie's First High Risk Scan

Today, Eric and I visited a high risk center at GHS for Maternal and Fetal medicine. This is a visit we have anticipated as soon as we knew we were given clinical clearance to have a baby. I've actually known something like this and the series of other High Risk tests and precautions that will be taken the remainder of pregnancy- would happen since I was a kid myself. I've always been warned IF - big IF- I were allowed to get pregnant it would be quite an ordeal.

It becomes a greater reality when you have a real baby that you love the second you see that positive mark on the pregnancy stick. But, let me just take a moment to express- if I haven't already previously in other postings, that I don't believe Eric and I would have ever gotten pregnant if God did not have great purpose for this baby--whether that means she has a heart defect, or other defects and anomalies, or whether she is perfectly healthy and normal. God creates life with a plan and a purpose. ALL babies have God breathed life and God given purpose.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5   

BEFORE He even created any baby- He already had a purpose for that baby.....y'alll I just started getting teary eyed at this beautiful God I serve!!

Take me for example----I was not born perfectly healthy. I should be dead for heaven's sake! But, God intended great glory and purpose and power through 3 very major life altering physical heart weaknesses He gave me.

So. All of that banter to say this- before I give any results- My point is this: Ellie is a God created miracle. Period. A God given gift and a vessel we pray as parents God will use to bring Him glory. Her life- whether made strong by God through a weakness, or made strong by God through a healthy life that with which she has no limitations- shall be a precious God created, given, purposeful, blessing of a gift.

Woo! Little New mama bluster there! New mama who loves Jesus and His power!

Now to the visit today-

Eric and I arrived and the sweetest girl began our scan. God was definitely in the room and God definitely had His hands all over it all. I LOVE when I can feel God and know He is holding my hand! The sonographer had such generosity and skill as to know that I would be most concerned with Ellie's heart more than anything. Without asking, she began with Ellie's heart. Normally a scan is done head to toe.

I've had probably roughly 50 echos myself on my own heart....I am by NO means a pro....but I definitely know what I am looking for, looking at, and what looks normal. I actually know even more so what abnormal looks like.

I saw her heart. It was beating beautifully at 157 bpm. I could clearly see 4 chambers and all the flapping valves. To me, and to Eric who over the past 4 years has seen enough echos and asked so many questions that he has a clue now too what to look for- Ellie's heart looked really great.

But what did the sonographer think? She did not hesitate to tell us that obviously this was a preliminary heart echo and Ellie will have an extensive one at 24 weeks, but she guaranteed us today that there was absolutely no way Ellie had Ebstein's anomaly or pulmonary atresia!! (Which are my 2 biggest defects of 3.) She even took it a step further and took her time to show me each valve working beautifully and positioned correctly.

I then asked, "As far as you are able to tell- are there any septal defects?"
She replied by telling me from what she is able to see at this stage, besides the normal foramen (a hole in the atrial septum all babies have until birth) she could see no septal defects either. She said the foramen did not look abnormally large- if it were larger than expected it could pose a risk- but there was nothing to be concerned with. The final words on Ellie's heart out of her mouth were, "I have a REALLY good view today- it is not normal I can see a fetal heart this well this early; I am impressed! Her heart is BEAUTIFUL! She has a strong a healthy heart. So we are going to move to something else, because there is nothing alarming to see here!"

I started crying such huge happy tears. I never like to cry in front of people. It happens more frequently than I like because I am so emotional, but I silently let my big happy tears roll down my cheek as I held Eric's hand. Eric looked to have little happy tears in his lower lids. He had a huge happy smile on. He squeezed my hand lovingly. He is the very best supporting person I have ever had in my life. I am so thankful when he can be beside me! He could explain my heart matters better than me he is so well involved!

We go back April 6 to get the extensive fetal heart echocardiogram. I am over the moon. I have not stopped praising my God. I prayed specific prayers before getting pregnant. I got specific answers from my amazing God. I don't know how He sees me as a person to bless the way He does but man am I immensely thankful!! My God cannot be outdone. You cannot limit God and the miracles and actions and powers He performs.

On some other little happy notes, Ellie looked healthy overall. She is now measuring one day ahead so she is starting to get a little bigger. 9 oz today.

I just want to thank all of you for showing love, consideration, and care for our personal lives. Thank each of you for investing your prayers, time with messages and texts, and for having joy with us in our good news! A prayerful community of friends is so important. 2 is greater than one and so on...

Thank y'all! Please be in prayer for my personal heart echo on March 22 as we see how I am handling pregnancy. reminder: Pregnancy is technically supposed to weaken my heart a bit and bring my pending surgery closer to reality. I am praying I have not been weakened or affected at all- I feel amazing and still get a 5k in daily along with other exercises!
And please pray for Ellie's next echo on April 6. Thank y'all again!!! Much love from the Gladden family to y'all!!

Left Foot

Kissing Mommy on the Placenta :)

Alien picture as we look in the orbits to see she has 2 eyeballs!

Side profile again

Long legs like mommy and daddy!

Crossed legs at the ankles like a little lady!

Domestic Diva: Healthy Zucchini Spaghetti Casserole!

I LOVE to eat! I constantly tell my husband that Food is an unwritten love language. If he spoke words of affirmation to me while serving me some yummylicious food- I'd drown from the love waves! And he does it, too!!

But, I want the food I eat to be healthy, nutritious, and beneficial to my body! God gave me a body to care for and honor Him with- so I need to care for it! I believe healthy food can be really tasty- in fact I know it is. Healthy dinners are all I cook for my family- and you wouldn't know the difference in taste!

Last night, I made a comfort food special- Zucchini Spaghetti Casserole. A healthy spin on the carbs!

INGREDIENTS:

* 3 large zucchinis

* Jar of low sodium, vegetable filled spaghetti sauce. My fave is Mia's Kitchen: Pasta Sauce: Kale.    (If using just a regular jar of spaghetti sauce, I like to jazz it up slightly with one chopped onion and a teaspoon of minced garlic.)

*1 lb of lean hamburger meat. (Usually I use lean ground turkey, but I am pregnant and borderline anemic- so I have to get that red meat! So make it as lean as possible!)

*Sharp shredded cheddar cheese and Mozzarella shredded cheese

                                                                                                  

                                                               ( Note: These pictured above are NOT my photos.)

SUPPLIES:

*Large mixing bowl

*9x13 casserole dish

*Vegetti (preferred) or can use a Mandolin slicer- Anything to help you easily achieve the noodle shape from the zucchini.

* Skillet or pan for browning meat

Note: Still not my photo- I'll do better next time! ;)

But, here you can see the Vegetti, and what it does for your zucchini. Awesome!!

DIRECTIONS: 

*I start by using the Vegetti to "spiralize" or "noodleize" the zucchini. It is super easy, just hold it over a big mixing bowl and get to twisting!

*Then, I brown my meat and drain any grease in the pan. 

*I dump the browned, drained meat on to the zucchini noodles, then add the sauce, and anything else I may want to add such as the chopped onion and minced garlic. 

*Stir well so that the noodles are coated well by the meat sauce.

*Spray or lightly coat a casserole dish with olive oil to prevent sticking, then pour the mixture into the casserole dish.

*I chose to lightly coat the top with a little cheese. This is optional.

*Then, let bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. 

Ready for a cheese topping!

Mmm! Cheese! ;)

VOILA! Bon Appetite, mes amis!! This feeds easily a family of 6-8. I make large family proportions because leftovers are easy for our busy schedules. 

Scrumdidilyumptious!

Domestic Diva: First time Using Chalk Paint!!

I have this really awesome chest of drawers and changing table/dresser that were mine in 1990 - and I used them all the way from birth through....until the day I got married. Then I upgraded to Eric's furniture.

However, those two pieces are good solid pieces and so we saved them for our future child. Now with Ellie coming in 5 months, it is time to give them a not so late 80's early 90's look!

Eric had begun to sand the pieces to stain them with a beautiful espresso wood stain. But, much to our surprise, all of the pieces are solid wood with the exception of the top main surface....which is some cray cray vinyl or something that even the toughest grain on the sander could NOT touch! Soooo.....what were the options? We have this furniture, we have already saved hundreds of dollars by owning these....we did not want to buy or register for something new or even used. That money could be put towards/ saved for better things.

So, we looked into Chalk Paint. I was hesitant at first. While I love the vintage, distressed look...this would not match the espresso modern crib my sister is giving us. But it was the best option.

My faith in Chalk Paint grew when we paid a visit to "Vintage Now Modern" in downtown Greenville. A shop that specializes in restoring old furniture especially via Chalk Paint. In fact, they hold fun classes on how to revive your special piece!

Vintage Now Modern showed us how to obtain a modern (less distressed) espresso finish and gave us a lot of tips and advice for the process. Overall it is really simple. Which is why this Domestic Diva decided to take on the project while hubby works!!

Here is the BEFORE:

FIRST: It is suggested to do a light sanding of the furniture. Eric went to town on one piece's top, but mama here is gonna finish the dirty work. This called for a picture obviously,,, 4 months pregnant using a power tool wearing my pearls of course. It doesn't get more Domestic than this!!

Please note: Sanding is NOT necessary for every piece you may decide to chalk paint- only those you wish to obtain a modern look versus the distressed look. The Chalk Paint would have gone over even the vinyl surface with no problem without the sanding. Again- this is a step necessary only for a modern look. 

SECOND: Sanding is finished-any dust has settled- It is now time to use some Dawn dish soap and water and wash the furniture. This helps get any old grease, oil,and residue off the furniture- helping the paint to adhere at its best. I also vacuumed the space to suck up any residual dust. Then, I laid my old paint sheets under the furniture and drawers (painting in the nursery, not outside or in the garage).

THIRD: Begin to paint! You will need a special Chalk Paint Brush. These can be bought at Vintage Now Modern for the Greenville townie local supporter OR your local Lowe's, Home Depot, or even ordered online. What makes these special are the soft bristles. Here is a photo:

The Chalk Paint we selected to obtain our desired Espresso modern finish was the Annie Sloan, Honfleur. This color was coated with Annie Sloan Black Wax to give it the darker finish. 

Blondie of course wanted to help ;) My constant sidekick!

To obtain the "modern" look versus the "Distressed/vintage" look, I lightly watered down the paint with some lukewarm water as was suggested. It helped the paint to spread smoothly.

Blondie, my sidekick- ready to get started!

When painting, you will want to do two coats. One 32 oz. jar of Chalk Paint covers roughly 150 sq. ft. which easily covered the two pieces. I had over half the jar left at the end. The second coat may be applied 20 minutes after the first is completed, or once all is dry- use common sense! Allow your brush strokes to be easy, even, and to flow with the grain of the wood.

First coat almost completely dried.

Once the second coat is completed, and roughly 50 mins. to an hour has been allowed for drying (again use common sense and make sure it is completely dry), it is time for the next step!

FOURTH: Wax time! The wax is an essential step in completing that perfect look for your "new" furniture. I again, used the Black wax to obtain the Espresso look. There are different wax finishes contingent upon the look you desire to achieve! The application of the wax is different than the paint. Apply the wax with a fresh brush. You will see above I have two of the same soft hair brushes pictured. Use the clean one now, for the wax. 

Apply the wax firmly with a bit of a push. Don't force it, but don't be delicate- just a firm swiping of your brush. Apply the wax in small amounts and surfaces as it dries almost instantly!

 Remember Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid"? "Wax on, Wax off". Wise words! Channel your inner Mr. Miyagi when Waxing- just don't chop your furniture with one fell sweep of the hand!! 

So to do this, have a lint free cloth. I used one of Eric's old beat up white T-shirts. Again, apply wax in small surface amounts, then wipe the wax with your lint free cloth. This should be instantly dry. 

Here are some "During" photos to show how the black wax really brings out the espresso color over the Chalk Paint. It was a very easy and quick process. I just turned on my '90s Pandora station and got to work!

 The application in process

You can easily see the comparison in the drawers as the two on the right are finished and the left has not been waxed yet.

The very LAST step I took in the waxing process was to top the black wax with a finishing wax creme coat. It's a clear creamy consistency wax that seals the black wax and the chalk paint for a more durable, long lasting finish. It was even easier to apply than the black wax! It was truly like putting on body lotion! See Below:

The wax will need 5-21 days of "curing" before it can truly be used. I will wait to decorate the surfaces with baby things!

And then we have the FINISHED PRODUCT!!

AFTER:  

Top: Before; Bottom: After

I am very pleased with how these turned out! The project took me one afternoon and one morning. A very good weekend project! Now, this is the way to save hundreds of dollars! All of this cost a total of $72. Much better than paying hundreds for new furniture or losing out on even greater hundreds of dollars from friends who would have bought us new items off the registry!!

Thank You, God, for providing even the little things- as they really add up! And thanks to my Mama and Daddy who gave their baby girl great furniture that can be passed down and trusted to stay sturdy!

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps with any Chalk Paint projects you may get into!!

Domestic Diva: Creating a Girly Flower Baby Mobile

In my new found role as Domestic Diva, I do many things. Besides the normal house keeping and cooking, I also use my crafting talents to create pretty things and save my family money!

Today, I made a Floral Baby Mobile for Ellie's Nursery! I had seen some on Etsy that I adored, yet, I'm not paying $82 before shipping and tax for something sweet baby girl will not use forever. Just not a smart financial choice. So I made my own!


I started with these supplies:
-The flowers that I needed: Rose Bud stems for the frame, and small little flower buds to hang from the frame.
-A touch of greenery to accent in between the rose buds
-A Styrofoam frame measured at desired diameter
-Fish-wire
-Large width white ribbon to cover Styrofoam frame
-Decorative ribbon for hanging the frame

Not pictured:
-Hot glue gun and sticks
-Wire cutters

Blondie wanted to pose with the supplies ;)

Once everything was gathered, I proceeded to create the little beauty for my beauty by starting with using the wire clippers on the delicate flower buds to separate buds from stem. Once I had my desired amount to hang, (which was 3-4 buds per fish-wire, and I used 5 strands of fish-wire. To each their own desired look...) I then wrapped and tied fish-wire around the buds, spacing them out. To secure the fish-wire better to the buds, I lightly coated my knots on the buds with a dab of hot glue. 

As stated before, I made 5 strands, each filled with 3-4 buds.

Once this was completed, I attached them to the Styrofoam ring frame BEFORE wrapping the ring in the ribbon covering. I wanted to conceal the tied strands to the ring. 

After all were attached, I then took the ribbon and wrapped it in medieval fashion around the ring- securing with hot glue. As the ribbon approached an attached strand of fish-wire, I cut a small slit in the ribbon to slide the fish-wire strand through, then continued wrapping the ribbon and securing with hot glue.

Once all the ribbon was wrapped around the ring and secured, It was time to take the rosebuds and attach them to the ring frame. These large rose buds did not require the wire clippers, as I was able to "pop" the roses off the stems. I did, however, use wire cutters to shorten the buds so the buds would be able to snuggle in closer to the ring.

Then, I began applying the rose buds in a pattern of my desire via hot glue. 

Nearing the end now!

The last touch I added for aesthetic pleasure were the little sprigs of greenery. I added these in after every pair of roses on the frame. 

The very last thing to do was to add the decorative ribbon to the frame by which the mobile will hang! I added four long strands positioning at top, bottom, left, and right. 

And Voila!! It is finished! (And tons of money was saved!)

It's A Girl!!

Ellie Clardy Gladden!! That is our baby girl!!

Eric and I had of course primarily wanted this baby to be healthy before we cared about the gender. Still do! But we would be lying if we didn't admit that back years ago before we were quite ready to grow our family, we would dream about a baby girl named Ellie. I don't even know how we both mutually came up with the name- it just sort of came to us and we both loved it and we talked about "Ellie" and all our dreams and aspirations and goals for our child. Our little Ellie who we had not even begun to try for yet!

Eric had dreams of father daughter dances and dates, and I had dreams of hair bows, dresses, glitter, tea parties, and all things girly!

We chose my maiden name for a middle name because, I am the very last Clardy in my entire family line. My dad was the last man born to carry on the name, and I was the last Clardy given the name. But when I got married it got scrubbed. So, I always knew if I had a little girl, I would do my part to carry on the name by giving "Clardy" as a middle name.

I also wanted Eric to decide how we revealed the baby's gender to the world! So, he decided on FIREWORKS!! I was in love with it. But did they make such? Turns out, there are now gender reveal fireworks! Strictly pink or blue. And a little shop in Easley called Carolina Fireworks carries them. They were wonderful by the way- gave us free pink smoke bombs to add to the effect!

Here are some photos:

What Does it Look Like For Me To Have a Baby With My Heart Defects?

What does it look like for me to have a baby when I have three major heart defects?

It looks like a major miracle and blessing from God!

Having three congenital heart defects - one must ask themselves many questions about growing into a family with their spouse. I've had many things to consider in my life concerning my heart. But having children was one I wasn't really given the option to ponder for the majority of my life. When I hit high school- I was still seeing the same pediatric cardiologist- as there was not an Adult congenital heart defect specialist until I was already out of college. My heart problems will always be pediatric problems that follow into adulthood. Anyway- my pediatric cardi began telling me once I hit high school that having children would be something we would have to carefully look at and discuss as the time came. 

Then, when Eric and I had been dating for four months in 2013- already deeply in love- We went to my new wonderful adult congenital heart defect specialist for the first time. At this appointment- SO many hard things were presented to us. As most know- I was told then I would need more heart surgery. And that heart surgery would happen within 3-5 years. Well that was 4 years ago and as of this past spring- the doctors have no clue when this pending surgery will happen as my heart is still very strong and has showed no digression. PRAISE GOD!! But- being that in 2013 we had just gotten this news that basically in 3 years I could need heart surgery again- we were devastated. And the icing on the cake of that conversation was that I could possibly have children depending on the strength of my heart after some diagnostics, however- Eric and I would need to have children before the heart surgery for the best outcome of my heart and for the safest pregnancy. 

We had just started dating! And it did not matter we were already in love and knew we wanted to be married-  we did not want to immediately have a baby- we wanted time to date, then be married, then travel and enjoy one another alone before having a baby! We would have basically had to have a baby within the next year- maybe two. How stressful, scary, and upsetting as we feared our options were stripped from us. We wanted to do life together slowly, patiently, and lovingly- not rush and put time restraints on it! And again- we were still just dating! Can you imagine?!

Having a baby even before my heart needed the next surgery does mean that regardless of how strong my heart is- it will weaken my heart to go through pregnancy and delivery. By the way- God willing- I will be delivering the baby- as is actually safer than  a C-section with my conditions. I have been advised that if I am passionate about a truly natural birth then so long as I stay very strong and stable I can- but the doctor does prefer I have an epidural. Y'all- I love natural childbirth- women who can and choose to do that are on some crazy level of awesome. I will not be one of those women. I will take the epidural- because I believe for me- I don't want to bring unnecessary risks into my abnormal circumstances. So having a baby theoretically is supposed to bring this "upcoming unknown as to when surgery will be" a little closer on the timeline. Am I scared? It's not like I am thrilled that I have a pending heart surgery- but this is the testimony God gave me and I am not going to spend my days worrying, living inside the lines and thinking about what is coming. I will be prepared, cautious, smart and grateful to God that this is His plan! There is always good in God's scary plans! 

Having a baby with my heart also poses other things such as there are higher risks for miscarriage (Which is why we waited until the last week of the first trimester to announce), and heart specific birth defects for the baby. These are just the realistic statistical facts. And I did actually have a few scares very early in the pregnancy. We had a threatened miscarriage- meaning my body threatened to miscarry- but God allowed the baby to remain within me! 

Then I had a car wreck which I was sure had taken my miracle. But no!

Then a couple of weeks later I had another big scare- we thought a miscarriage. Praise God it turned out to be a major sub-chorionic hemorrhage (the best case scenario with the symptoms I had). This was the worst thing I have ever felt emotionally. I don't know if I have ever been more upset or scared. I was in the ER for many hours because the doctors thought based on what I described I was miscarrying. And you must know- knowing how high my rates are for miscarriage and how common miscarriage is in any woman besides that- I was so sure- no doubts what so ever that I had lost our precious so young little baby, but after 9 hours in the ER- we received yet another miracle.

They ended our night in the ER by performing a routine ultrasound to indeed confirm if a miscarriage had happened. This ultrasound tech had no legal ability to tell me what she saw and I was unable to see the screen. Even if the screen were facing me, my contacts were so foggy from crying- I wouldn't have been able to make out a thing, But Eric could see. I watched Eric's face for reactions. I saw these little corner smiles come and go on his face. Then he would look at me. And I could not read him. Was he giving me the "I love you and it will be ok, I'm so sorry face"?? Or was he reassuring me that he saw something beautiful...a miracle?! 

After what seemed like an hour, the tech left the room and Eric calmly sat in a rocking chair beside me. He quietly said, "There is still a baby there." "I saw a little flicker." (The heart beating)!! I didn't get my hopes up. I remained quiet. I was traumatized, numb, exhausted. 

Then- the on call OBGYN came to me after another hour and told me I was very much still pregnant and we had us a baby with a healthy heart beat! 

After this- everything became good, normal, and wonderful and I was finally able to start enjoying my pregnancy with less fear. God had saved this baby twice. He has such a purpose for this baby and man oh man did God grow my faith! 

Before I ever got pregnant- Eric and I had talked a lot about our family plans. Praising God that no doctor could seem to find any weakening in my heart- meaning that the 3-5 year time line was abolished- we felt called by God to proceed faithfully with having a baby. And we had been able to date, get married with no rush, travel, and be alone with one another like we desired. We felt that God had made it so so so insanely clear that I am able to safely have a baby. Maybe not in the same way as most women, but I could safely have a baby soon with Eric. And so, we prayed and we planned and we prepared. My prayers have been very specific. I prayed that God would not allow pregnancy for me if it meant this baby would have heart defects. I would probably hate myself if I passed any genes for heart defects along to our baby! I truly would have a very difficult time living with myself. I would feel so selfish! I prayed fervently that the heart would be strong and healthy, the baby would love God and serve God with all of its life and heart. And I prayed that God's will would be done....which it always is! Shortly after that we got pregnant!! 

And we are soooo insanely overjoyed. We feel God surrounding us and all over this baby. 

Having my heart defects and being pregnant means I will have many extra doctor visits with my cardiologist and OB. The baby will have its first echocardiogram in a matter of weeks. I've had countless of these and before the baby is even born it will have it's first. This is to ensure that there are no heart defects. There will be the normal anatomy exam, and then later an even more extensive heart anatomy follow-up for the baby. Having heart defects and being pregnant means I have to really take care of my body and monitor everything. Swelling, heart flutters, blood pressure, etc. I am doing very well so far outside of already having some minor swelling. But- then again the hard part of pregnancy has not really hit yet. So I ask for prayers for Eric and the baby and I as the three of us and God grow, and live daily and await our extensive examinations. We have a big long road ahead. I believe in a big limitless God. I believe in a miracle working God. I believe that God allowed all the odds to be flipped so that He could do something great with this child He created. And so far, God has already given the Gladden family many, many humbling miracles with this baby starting the day he allowed Eric and I to create the little one together! 

I am not scared. I am faithful. I am confident in the God I serve. I am in love with my God, my husband, and my baby. In that order. Oh, and praise be to God- we also learned- if Eric and I desire to have another baby sometime in the future- we can even do this after heart surgery for me, now. Will not be the favored plan, but is safe and ok! I am so thankful to God. My life has come so far. A life of being prepared to never have children- to having my best friend as my husband and our love growing into a human in my tummy! Thank You, God, oh thank You Lord!! How humbled I am by this grace, mercy, and love!