One of our favorite things to do on our Florida Vacation - collect sea shells at the beach. Grace had names for all of her beautiful shells. And the best part of about Disney - Soarin' at Epcot, Toy Story ride and finally meeting Minnie Mouse!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Florida Fun
One of our favorite things to do on our Florida Vacation - collect sea shells at the beach. Grace had names for all of her beautiful shells. And the best part of about Disney - Soarin' at Epcot, Toy Story ride and finally meeting Minnie Mouse!
Spring - Grace Story - Speech Part I
Spring is springing her in Michigan this week. I truly cannot remember a time in recent years that we have gotten this kind of consistent 50+ degrees for an entire 1-2 weeks at the very beginning of March. It has been wonderful!
We are planning a trip somewhere warm for spring break. In the midst of reviewing the summer clothes we pulled our of basement storage, Grace excitedly asked me to measure her. On the back of her bedroom door, we have a secret growth tracking that we mark periodically with a pencil dating each dash and marveling at how big we are getting. Well, we must have been a little aggressive on the measurement last time (about 2 months ago. Because when she stood with her back to the door, eyes excited and a smile on her face - I used the pencil to record her height- but this dash was slightly below the last dash - OOPs! And before I could try to cover up the error - Grace turned around her smile immediately changing to a frown. I explained to her that mistakes happen sometimes and her growth progress is still excellent! That didn't help so much. Patrick arrived home a half hour later, picked up Grace to give her a big hug, and afterward she looked him in the eye and said - "Daddy - I Shrunk!!" Yes, a sad moment for the girl who is already the smallest in class!
Her corrected height is right where we predicated - 2nd percentile! At least we are on the chart!! Thank you God!
On another note, I am finally getting ready to post the written copy of my speech from November 2009. I had a computer glitch in December and lost all my documents. I had my hard copy, though, and I am in the process of retyping. So I am happy to be able post Part I. The other parts will follow shortly- I promise.
GRACE SPEECH PART I
Story of Grace
As delivered by Sandi Seyferth at the Benefit for Life Conference on November 8, 2009.
Our story of Grade actually begins in June 2002 when we found out we would again be parents – this time with our fifth child. We had John in 93, Paul in 95 and our twins, Patrick and Annie in 1999. Honestly, we were very grateful and excited about this pregnancy; however, it was no question a surprise. I was 27 years old at the time which is very, very, young-except to the OB community – I was over the magical age of 35 and therefore of Advanced Maternal Age where the odds for problems are a lot higher. But everything felt quite normal to me, and busy with the job of taking care of four kids- I prayed that the next months would be Uneventful!
At my early doctor appointments – my doctor discussed ordering the latest and greatest prenatal tests. My age was definitely an issue. However, I declined all tests as I honestly felt I would be committed to this pregnancy no matter what. I did, however, agree to have an ultrasound. My doctor recommended that this test be performed right at 18 weeks – just in case.
The date for my 18-week ultrasound came very quickly and we were excited to see our growing baby. This test was performed at Crittenton Hospital on September 16, 2002.
The test seemed to be moving along ok, however, it was very long and oddly enough the technician seemed to be taking tons of pictures of my baby’s arms and legs. After what seemed like an hour, the Tech told me to stay in the room while she “talked to the radiologist” about the baby’s pictures. WE hoped it would be a quick conversation. But unfortunately – a minute, led to five, ten, fifteen and finally after 20 minutes she came back in the room. She asked for a few more pictures of the baby’s kidneys. And after that, the test was complete.
We didn’t have a good feeling when we left the hospital that day. And we were not surprised when our Dr. called later that day and reported to us the multiple problems were facing. He read to me the radiology report, which stated that:
Our baby’s bones were measuring small for date and femur bones were curved
Amniotic fluid level was very Low
Head was suspected to have an odd shape/and oversized
Kidney, bladder and stomach were abnormally small
In addition, the baby’s left foot was turned and believed to be clubbed
He added that the report indicated a pregnancy that in his opinion – “smelled like chromosomal problems” (due to my Advanced Maternal Age) and I should KEEP MY OPTIONS OPEN.
My doctor referred me to a perinatologist which is a specialized obstetrician who deals with high-risk pregnancies and we were lucky enough to secure an appointment by Thursday-September 19th
We are planning a trip somewhere warm for spring break. In the midst of reviewing the summer clothes we pulled our of basement storage, Grace excitedly asked me to measure her. On the back of her bedroom door, we have a secret growth tracking that we mark periodically with a pencil dating each dash and marveling at how big we are getting. Well, we must have been a little aggressive on the measurement last time (about 2 months ago. Because when she stood with her back to the door, eyes excited and a smile on her face - I used the pencil to record her height- but this dash was slightly below the last dash - OOPs! And before I could try to cover up the error - Grace turned around her smile immediately changing to a frown. I explained to her that mistakes happen sometimes and her growth progress is still excellent! That didn't help so much. Patrick arrived home a half hour later, picked up Grace to give her a big hug, and afterward she looked him in the eye and said - "Daddy - I Shrunk!!" Yes, a sad moment for the girl who is already the smallest in class!
Her corrected height is right where we predicated - 2nd percentile! At least we are on the chart!! Thank you God!
On another note, I am finally getting ready to post the written copy of my speech from November 2009. I had a computer glitch in December and lost all my documents. I had my hard copy, though, and I am in the process of retyping. So I am happy to be able post Part I. The other parts will follow shortly- I promise.
GRACE SPEECH PART I
Story of Grace
As delivered by Sandi Seyferth at the Benefit for Life Conference on November 8, 2009.
Our story of Grade actually begins in June 2002 when we found out we would again be parents – this time with our fifth child. We had John in 93, Paul in 95 and our twins, Patrick and Annie in 1999. Honestly, we were very grateful and excited about this pregnancy; however, it was no question a surprise. I was 27 years old at the time which is very, very, young-except to the OB community – I was over the magical age of 35 and therefore of Advanced Maternal Age where the odds for problems are a lot higher. But everything felt quite normal to me, and busy with the job of taking care of four kids- I prayed that the next months would be Uneventful!
At my early doctor appointments – my doctor discussed ordering the latest and greatest prenatal tests. My age was definitely an issue. However, I declined all tests as I honestly felt I would be committed to this pregnancy no matter what. I did, however, agree to have an ultrasound. My doctor recommended that this test be performed right at 18 weeks – just in case.
The date for my 18-week ultrasound came very quickly and we were excited to see our growing baby. This test was performed at Crittenton Hospital on September 16, 2002.
The test seemed to be moving along ok, however, it was very long and oddly enough the technician seemed to be taking tons of pictures of my baby’s arms and legs. After what seemed like an hour, the Tech told me to stay in the room while she “talked to the radiologist” about the baby’s pictures. WE hoped it would be a quick conversation. But unfortunately – a minute, led to five, ten, fifteen and finally after 20 minutes she came back in the room. She asked for a few more pictures of the baby’s kidneys. And after that, the test was complete.
We didn’t have a good feeling when we left the hospital that day. And we were not surprised when our Dr. called later that day and reported to us the multiple problems were facing. He read to me the radiology report, which stated that:
Our baby’s bones were measuring small for date and femur bones were curved
Amniotic fluid level was very Low
Head was suspected to have an odd shape/and oversized
Kidney, bladder and stomach were abnormally small
In addition, the baby’s left foot was turned and believed to be clubbed
He added that the report indicated a pregnancy that in his opinion – “smelled like chromosomal problems” (due to my Advanced Maternal Age) and I should KEEP MY OPTIONS OPEN.
My doctor referred me to a perinatologist which is a specialized obstetrician who deals with high-risk pregnancies and we were lucky enough to secure an appointment by Thursday-September 19th
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Sharing our Story of Grace Marie
On January 10, 2010, we celebrated Grace Marie's 7th birthday. She had a fun celebration with a group of 1st grade friends at a local Pottery studio in town. It is hard for me to conceptualize the fact that my story of Grace started over 7 years ago. She is the youngest of our five children and life since her birth has been - well should I say - quite full! The importance of her birth story lives on, however, and with her entry into full-time school - I have taken on a personal mission to widely share her story.
About 1 week before school started in September, I started discussing with my husband Patrick ideas for my "life" now that my kids were returning to school. Patrick immediately encouraged me to take on the task of sharing Grace's story. Coincidentally, a day later, I received a phone call from the director of a Benefit for Life Charity asking me if we would keynote speak about Grace at their fall event. My heart raced fast as I accepted - trying to ignore my very real fear of public speaking. I knew it was a calling and something that I have been longing to do for a few years. I had never publicly spoken about our story, other than as a volunteer speaker at a few small school events.
The next several months were spent in dusting off the details of my fall 2002 pregnancy and birth of Grace in January 2003. It was a very emotional journey and a thrilling hunt of all details releasing some indescribable emotions. The letters, journals, doctors notes, cards, pictures, and video made it feel so real to me again as if were happening for the first time. My speech was delivered on November 12th, 2009. Dave LewAllen, a newscaster from our local ABC affiliate, spoke first about a news story he did in 2003 about the miracle of Grace's Birth. Patrick then did a wonderful introduction to the story. I was thankfully very prepared. I was completely humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response that I received. There was not a dry-eye in the room and I was shocked at the end with a standing ovation.
Since that time, I have come to realize fully the significance of our Story of Grace Marie and have decided to widely share the intimate details. I have had our story including in the book "Defiant Birth", but I now feel that it is important to preserve the details of her story in my own book - which I have started to write. I will share details of this writing journey on this blog.
Yesterday, we filmed an updated News story that will air this Monday on the 11:00 news. I will try to post the promo clip.
My future posts in the next few weeks will include a written copy of my speech, a clip of the original news story that aired in 2003, and the follow up news story. Thanks for visiting my blog!
About 1 week before school started in September, I started discussing with my husband Patrick ideas for my "life" now that my kids were returning to school. Patrick immediately encouraged me to take on the task of sharing Grace's story. Coincidentally, a day later, I received a phone call from the director of a Benefit for Life Charity asking me if we would keynote speak about Grace at their fall event. My heart raced fast as I accepted - trying to ignore my very real fear of public speaking. I knew it was a calling and something that I have been longing to do for a few years. I had never publicly spoken about our story, other than as a volunteer speaker at a few small school events.
The next several months were spent in dusting off the details of my fall 2002 pregnancy and birth of Grace in January 2003. It was a very emotional journey and a thrilling hunt of all details releasing some indescribable emotions. The letters, journals, doctors notes, cards, pictures, and video made it feel so real to me again as if were happening for the first time. My speech was delivered on November 12th, 2009. Dave LewAllen, a newscaster from our local ABC affiliate, spoke first about a news story he did in 2003 about the miracle of Grace's Birth. Patrick then did a wonderful introduction to the story. I was thankfully very prepared. I was completely humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response that I received. There was not a dry-eye in the room and I was shocked at the end with a standing ovation.
Since that time, I have come to realize fully the significance of our Story of Grace Marie and have decided to widely share the intimate details. I have had our story including in the book "Defiant Birth", but I now feel that it is important to preserve the details of her story in my own book - which I have started to write. I will share details of this writing journey on this blog.
Yesterday, we filmed an updated News story that will air this Monday on the 11:00 news. I will try to post the promo clip.
My future posts in the next few weeks will include a written copy of my speech, a clip of the original news story that aired in 2003, and the follow up news story. Thanks for visiting my blog!
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