A note from Amber

Well, greetings to all! For some of you this will not be a surprise, but to some of you, you have not heard our latest news. Well, I ended up back at the hospital last Saturday morning. I woke up with heavy bleeding at 2:30 a.m. and my Mom rushed me to Sierra Vista in San Luis. Once there, I was put on monitors, and meds. They continued to monitor me and the baby throughout the day. They had me on meds to minimize the contractions, but it didn't seem to be working. I felt miserable most of the day, as the magnesium they were giving me gives you extremely bad flu-like symptoms, and the terbutaline makes your heart race. Not a fun day at all. Well, the surprise came at about 8:15 p.m. when I started throwing up and my water decided to break. Well, with a few quick decisions by the doctors and nursing staff, I was rushed to the OR and had an emergency c-section. Abigail Joy entered the world at 9:00 p.m. She weighed in at 2 lbs. 13 oz. and is 15 in. long. They took her to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and began her evaluations. They determined that she had lost about half of her blood supply, so they gave her blood and hooked her up to oxygen, among many other wires. As for me, the surgery went well, and I am on a slow road to recovery. (Vicodin is my friend). I spent the following 2 days after delivery in the hospital, and then was dishcarged for home on Tuesday morning. As for Abigail, she will remain in the NICU at Sierra Vista until her expected due date of February 4, 2008. If all goes well, it could be a little sooner too. Erik and I will be making daily trips from Santa Maria to San Luis to visit our dear little daughter. Once she stabilizes a little more, and gains a little more strength, we will be able to hold her. I am really looking forward to that day. As for now, we are able to put our hands in her isolette and lay them on her head and her rear. Please keep us in your prayers for this long journey ahead. For medical decisions, for daily improvements with Abigail, travel safety, my recovery, Andrew & Madelyn (they are still a little confused because they have not seen her), my Mom & Dad as they continue to take care of the kids (and me!), and just the added pressure of having to leave our newborn at the hospital. The kids and I will continue to stay with my Mom & Dad, while Erik will resume his work schedule at Hartland next week. We would love to hear from you.
Love, Erik & Amber
ea.johnson@juno.com805-934-4447399 Wilson Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93455
P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.