Friends!

Look at me! I am out of the house only 9 days after surgery and my mommy had some long time friends come over to see me! We also went to church that morning, where mommy gave her testimony of the POWER OF PRAYER! Miss Lana and Miss Julie have been praying for me. They have been such good friends with my mom. Miss Lana and Miss Julie both were roommates with my mom back in the day. It is great that they still keep in touch.

You can see more pictures of my Sunday visit under "photos"! I love getting my picture taken. Tomorrow, we have an appointment to see Miss Rainy at her photography studio...she has updated her website with a special feature all about me! Wow, I feel like a little celebrity! Miss Rainy sure does love me...I think I have had about 1,000 prayers per staple in my head...and that is A LOT!

Images by Rainy: www.imagesbyrainy.com
Click on: Special Kids

Gotta love going to see Dr. Lewis...

Dr. Lewis is my gastrointestinal doctor... wow... that's a lot to say in one breath!

This is the guy who took me OFF my Reglan and prescribed Prevacid... now that I'm off my Reglan, I'm a happy, wiggly, talkative, ALERT baby!!! Mommy and Daddy says if it weren't for Dr. Lewis, I would still be kind of "comatose"... that means all I would be doing is laying around sleeping all the time (like I did when I first got out of NICU).

Dr. Lewis is a really nice guy, and my mommy and daddy like him a whole lot.... and my Mimi REALLY likes him... a whole whole whole lot... she says he's a cutie! You can probably tell by this picture that I think so, too... I'm just staring and talking to him... and maybe flirting a little, too... ;-)



This is the staff at Dr. Lewis' office in Fayetteville. They're all really sweet women who have been praying for me ever since they first met me. They're all really nice women, and my mommy and daddy like them, too. My daddy likes to pick on them, though, cause every time we go there, he takes all their pens and pencils and lays them all over the desk. My mommy tells them that she didn't realize when she got married that my daddy would turn into a kid. :-D

Home again, home again...

Well, the doctors let me come home yesterday… they were all so great to me… the doctors, the nurses, and the techs / nursing assistants. Mommy and daddy were a little nervous about bringing me home, but nurse Kimi told them that I would be “faaaaahne” (“fine”, with a REAL southern accent).

Mimi’s going to be helping my mommy and daddy the next few days to take care of me while mommy and daddy try to get back into the swing of things with work.

I’m talking up a storm!! …and I’m eating better now that I’m home from the hospital. I think I’m more at ease here at home, so I feel more comfortable eating.

I go to get my staples out in about 2 weeks. Please continue to pray for me and my family. We’re over the big part, but we still have a ways to go!!

Out of PICU!!

Hey everyone! This is a picture of Dr. Burstein (the plastic surgeon) with my mommy and me.

They took me out of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit today around noon and put me in my own room!! I guess that means I'm doing better, huh? :-) Dr. Burstein says that my head is closed up with staples and stitches underneath that. Mommy and daddy don't want to put any pictures of me online right now because I am so swollen. I'm not feeling very well because I hurt so much, but that will get better.

God's taking good care of me and my mommy and daddy. ...and my mommy and daddy are taking good care of me... and each other... we're all working together to get me better and ready to go home. The doctor says that I may even be ready to go home tomorrow... but mommy says SHE'S not ready yet... :-) Any way it goes, we'll all be alright... thanks to you and your prayers... and God's healing touch.

More later!!

I'm already looking lots better!!

What do you think? Am I a 10, or what??

I can't wait to go home and start feeling better!! I miss my brothers and everyone else, too! I want to get better so that I can have my friends Madelyn and Sarah over for a tea-party... and I want to watch movies with my big brothers and love on them because I miss them so much!

My mommy and daddy say that they love everyone very much for all that they have done for me. You are all very very very sweet people, they tell me. I'm sure you all are, too, 'cause my mom and dad don't hang out with just anybody! :-)

Boy, am I glad that I can eat again!! I had to stop eating last night at midnight, and I could only have clear liquids (Pedialyte) until 4:30 this morning. Then... nothing... UGH!! I thought I would STARVE!! But now I can have my bottles again!! YAY ME!!

I love you all... mommy and daddy says to keep praying for me till I get home and get better... I want you to pray for my mommy and daddy, too... they have done so much in the past few months... they need a LOT of sleep!!

Thank you Dr. Stevenson and Dr. Burstein!!!

(Dr. Kevin Stevenson and his assistant at my bedside)

My mommy and daddy would like to thank Dr. Kevin Stevenson, Dr. Fernando Burstein and everyone else who was in the operating room that helped me through my surgery. They said, "It was a boring surgery!" That means that nothing bad happened and everything went just as they wanted it to... that's a GOOD thing!

Mimi and Pop were with me in ICU after they got me in there and stable. I'm doing well. Sleeping fairly peacefully (thanks to some good pain medicine)... eating (bottles) like a champ...

I'll be swelling over the next few days, but I will get to go home when I can open my eyes again (they'll be swollen shut, too).

Next update: Close-up pics of me!!

I'm back!!

Well, it's 1:45 pm now. I've been in recovery for the past hour or so. Everything went GREAT!! The doctors had to give me a little bit of blood, but they said that's normal with just about any operation.

Do you like my helmet? It's made out of foam and gauze and tape! I like it. It helps my head to be more comfy. The doctors say that it will probably come off in a couple of days.

They're about to take me to my Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) room now, so I'll have to tell you more later!!!

Waiting with Baited Breath

There was a waiting room full of people waiting to see how I did. Besides my mommy and daddy, there was my Mimi, Pop, Aunt Regina and Cousin Tina, Rick and Sandy and Cuz Brian. They were all really nervous waiting for me to come back from surgery.

The Doctors took me back at 8:30 am and actually got started with the surgery around 9:45 am. They had to get me all ready by putting in IVs, sedating me (daddy says that means putting me to sleep, but I was already snoozing), and getting the breathing tube inside my throat. They called at about 10am and said that they were starting the actual operation. This picture was taken at 12:19 pm. They were still working on me, but they were getting ready to wrap things up!!

More to come!!

Madelyn

This is Madelyn, she is the little girl on my prayer list! She is so sweet and had surgery for craniosynostosis, too! Madelyn had the same neurosurgeon, Dr. Stevenson. Madelyn's mom, Shana, has been so good to my mommy, they email all of the time!

See how beautiful Madelyn is? I think she is so pretty and how wonderful it is to know that her surgery went so well! Makes me feel so good.

Please keep Madelyn and her family in your prayers, my parents don't know what they would do without them right now.

Much Love to Madelyn and her Family...and to everyone who reads my site!

Maggi

Thank You to our Church Family!

We are so blessed to have a Church Family as

Giving as our's at McDonough Road Baptist Church!

Maggi's Dedication

A Baby is a Miracle,

A Gift From Up Above,

A Wonder Fresh From Heaven's Hands,

God's Messenger of Love.

Our little girl was Dedicated this past Sunday, Praise God for His gift to us! We can not thank Dr. Chancey, our minister (with us in the picture above) enough for his guidance. Dr. Chancey is more than a minister to the church, he is a father himself and understands what Patrick and I are going through. Dr. Chancey has been so available to us whenever we have needed him. We couldn't have asked for a better service this past Sunday, as Dr. Chancey spoke of fearing God, it confirmed that this is exactly why Patrick and I are getting through this difficult time.

We trust and rely on God. Through the entire challenges of Maggi's health, prayer has always gotten us through. How else does a parent get through watching their child suffer? There is a purpose for our daughter, Maggi. There is a reason she was chosen as one of God's special babies, one of the sick. Maggi is going to be a representation of God's strength, while honoring Him and His glory as she learns how He helped us get through these trials.

Can you imagine becoming of the age where you can understand, speak, and communicate with others...and only to learn that when you were an infant that you had been given a second chance, that you had gone through a serious surgery and overcame many illnesses? It will be an amazing revalation to Maggi, I just know it, as she hears our stories of her beginnings and of all the people that prayed for her, that loved her.

We can't thank our church family enough. The Celebration Choir made a donation to the building fund in honor of Maggi. Individuals have blessed us with cards filled with incredible words of support and monitary gifts.

Patrick and I hope that each of you know how much we appreciate your help, how much we needed it, and how far it will go.

We are blessed. Much Love to each of you, please be looking for your Thank You CARDS!

If there is anything Patrick or I could ever do for any of you, please let us know. We are good listeners and have a lot of compassion in our hearts.

Much Love - Patrick, Donna, Maggi, Zack & Michael

My New Stuffed Animal

Mommy & Daddy got this lamb that says a nite-nite prayer when his tummy is sqeezed. They bought it for me to take to the hospital!

My Family's Gift of Love

My family recently got together for the annual Family Reunion. Everyone pulled together and gave me a Love Basket. There were so many beautiful cards and donations toward my fund. We were so happy and thankful to each of them that gave so graciously.

Next time I see all of my family, I am going to be a new little girl...I won't look the same and I will be healthier! It is going to be so nice to let everyone kiss me and hug me.

God always answers prayers. He always provides when you need it. My whole family really helped us in a time of need, we were so thrilled. Here is a poem mommy found that says a little bit about how it made them feel...

My Family Are My Caregivers

Our family is the greatest, this I know is true;

You've helped me with my illness, there's nothing you won't do.

No matter when I need you, you've always been right there;

Through thick and thin, good and bad,

your love you freely share.

On the days when I am down, Feeling blue and wearing a frown,

Someone always makes me feel better

With a smile, a hug, or a very sweet letter.

Thanks to you, I never feel alone,

And as a person I know I've grown.

We've come a long way and I want you to know;

I treasure the way that your love always shows.

Miss Rainy

Miss Rainy Took My Beautiful Portraits!

Wow! Miss Rainy is the most talented lady - and SO SWEET! She was great with me while taking my portraits and my mommy let her hold me for a long time (that says a lot about Miss Rainy!).

Please visit her website and look at my new portraits. Miss Rainy, Miss Kim, and Miss Melissa worked very hard with me for two hours to help me take a beautiful portrait before my surgery.

www.imagesbyrainy.com

Just click on the "clients" icon...find my name, "Maggi Images"...there is a password, type in "blair".

Aren't I beautiful? Miss Rainy did all of this amazing work from the bottom of her heart. She has made my parents so happy by giving them these portraits as a gift. We are so blessed. She says that I am an angel.

Miss Rainy is in our prayers. Please pray for her, Miss Kim and Miss Melissa. They all have families and are giving Christians.

As you can imagine, my mom and dad cried like babies...Hey! They cried like I do when I am hungry!

We Love You Miss Rainy! Thank you so much!

Hugs and Kisses,

Maggi

Maggi's Dedication

Sunday, August 14th, 2005

10:55am

McDonough Road Baptist Church

352 McDonough Road, Fayetteville, GA, 30214

www.mcdonoughroad.org

Please come to Sunday morning service for Maggi's dedication.

Our church family will be praying for her surgery on the 18th and would love to have

you there to wish Maggi well. Our church has been so wonderful to us

through this difficult time.

Members have brought homecooked meals to us.

We are constantly receiving emails of love and support.

We are called from someone in our church every week to check on us.

We are truly blessed.