So we will enjoy these precious events with even greater appreciation because it will be our last rodeo. Change is the only constant in life and so bring on the change and Lord give us the strength to finish the race strong.

God Bless,

Joseph’s status

Joseph was born at 6 lbs 6 ounces, and as we left the hospital he was down to 5 lbs 13 ounces.  At his one week check up, he was back up to 6 lbs 4 ounces.  Weight is the only concern that our Pediatrician (Kimberly Albert) has mentioned, but he eats well and everything seems to be in perfect working order.  He sleeps most of the time, usually in three hour stretches and he only cries when he is hungry or has a dirty diaper.  I would have to say that thus far, we have the ideal baby.

Denae’s status

Denae is doing well, all things considered.  But to fully understand that statement, I will tell you what she had to go through to have this child.  As I mentioned in my first post, Denae had some complications with this pregnancy and the main issues were her blood loss during pregnancy and during the surgery to deliver the baby, and the size of the baby.  The good news is that the doctors were very ready for all possible scenarios and had a plan in place for each possibility.  Many of those possibilities did not materialize and so Denae made it to the desired due date of March 10th without further bleeding.

On the day of the delivery, Denae was given a spinal blocker so that she could be awake during the birth portion of the surgery and be able to at least meet her new baby (but she was not able to hold him).  After he was delivered, she was given sleeping medicine through the IV and the doctors proceeded to continue the operation for another 2 hours, while I went with Joseph to get him checked out and cleaned up and introduce him to the rest of the family.

After Joseph and I left the operating room, the real work began.  Denae’s two primary doctors (Berry and Cowan) assessed the placenta and determined that it was indeed securely attached to the uterus and thus the uterus needed to be removed.  So they sewed up the uterus (to prevent additional blood loss via the embedded placenta), and then proceeded to cut off the blood supply to it.  When trying to remove the uterus, the bladder was injured and the Urologist was on hand to sew it up right away.

During the operation Denae lost 2 liters of blood (most people have about 6 liters total) and was given 4 units of blood in a transfusion.  Even though she had a blood transfusion, her red blood cell count was still well below normal and is still low, but should be back to normal within the next week or so.  Low red blood cell count is probably the cause of her lack of energy.

Denae has had much pain during this recovery, the strongest pain killers have not completely taken away the pain, only lying in certain positions (usually flat on her back) have provided a lessening of the pain and discomfort that has been with her since the delivery.  The level of pain is decreasing, but it is a slow process and she expects it to last for at least another week.

The bladder injury has required her to have a urinary catheter for three weeks, we are looking forward to this coming Monday as that is the day when hopefully it will be taken out.  The urologist will be taking a look at the bladder to see if there are any leaks, and as long as everything is water tight, then the catheter comes out.

The short story on Denae’s recovery is that she is still experiencing much pain and is unable to do too much more than sleep, feed the baby and have an occassional dinner with the family downstairs.  She is getting better every day, but it is slow going.  Fortunately , these problems are expected to go away with time and there are no long term issues expected.

Please keep up the prayers.

To access Denae’s personal CareCalendar site, visit

http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/12537

and enter the following information in the appropriate spaces:

CALENDAR ID : 12537
SECURITY CODE : 2030

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Dr. Cowan

Dr. Cowan has delivered 6 (soon to be 7) of our 9 children.  He is a fellow Catholic and attends St. Theresa’s in Austin, TX.

God Bless,

Allen

Since we don’t know the sex of the baby, I thought it might be fun to conduct an online poll to see what everyone else thinks.  I have already voted (but I don’t think Denae has), so please visit our blog to cast your ballot.  In this election all votes are pro-life :^):

http://go-bless.com/

The poll is located on the right side of the opening page of the blog.

I will send pictures and details tomorrow as the become available.

God Bless,

God bless

So the final check off has been completed and everything is set for a c-section on Tuesday  morning (March 10th) at 7:30am.

I will be posting pictures via Twitter (www.twitter.com/allenhebert), so if you are not signed up for Twitter maybe you want to sign up and sign up to be a follower of mine (@allenhebert).  This photo will also make it into Facebook due to the link I have between the two of them.  And of course, I will also publish a picture and full details on this blog later in the day.

God Bless,

Only 8 more days to go until the C-section.  The nurses say that every once in a while a patient who has placenta previa will start bleeding prior to the c-section date and when that happens things move very quickly.  So while Denae is doing fine convalescing at Seton Medical center, that could change without much warning and turn into a very serious situation.

Whenever I see our friends or family, they always ask how Denae is doing, and the reply is usually the same, she is doing great, but a little bored.  And when they ask about me and the family, I give a similar response.  Often when I tell people how good things are, I feel somewhat awkward because things are going so well.  Then I remember that prayer is very powerful and if not for the multitude of prayers that are being said for us things might not be going as well as they are.  Denae might have not stopped bleeding, she might have slipped into a depression or despair from being separated from her husband and children.  On my side the house could be a wreck, bill not being paid, kids not getting to their events and not having regular meals.  But the support of prayers as well as volunteers and visitors have ensured that none of these worst case scenarios have come to pass.  Denae and I have had our share of challenges, but they are minor compared to what could be happening.

So keep up the prayers, they are powerful and keep up the support, we still need it.

Current Status for Denae

• C-section scheduled for March 10th
• Probably be in the hospital for 4-5 days after delivery to recover from the C-section.  Hopefully coming home on March 15th.
• Denae is in room 204 at Seton Medical Center on 38th street near Lamar in Central Austin
• Her phone number is 512-845-0757
• Email address – denae [at] hebert.austin.tx.us
• Facebook – Denae Hebert
• Skype video call – denaehebert (phone call first)

Current Status for Allen and family

• We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received.  It has certainly made life run pretty close to normal.
• We have been eating very well, for the most part, kids have been making their normally scheduled outside of the home events and they are going to bed on time.
• I have had to give up my morning swimming routine, but that is a very small sacrifice given the circumstances.  I have also given up attending daily mass on a regular basis.  As a single parent there is not much time for anything other than washing clothes, feeding the family and resolving sibling disagreements, oh and working my day job.
• And lastly one of the most important things that have kept the family running smoothly, is our wonderful Nanny Maria.
• Meals are being provided for us until March 15th and will probably be adding more dates early next week to assist us after Mom and the baby come home.  So keep an eye on this blog for further details.

May God continue to bless you and your families.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers, they have been and continue to be very helpful.