Happy Mother's Day!

What a first year of being a mommy to Maggi - my first couple of years as celebrating was as stepmom to Zack and Michael. Last year the boys did not get to meet Maggi until she was about a month old because of being in NICU.

On Mother's Day, after church, I took some time to rest outside on the deck and looked up to the sky. Looking back on last year and how I sat out here in tears, crying to God to please take care of Maggi. It seemed like every waking moment we wondered if she would live.

A year ago we had no idea how sick Maggi really was. We didn't know she had any type of deformity, we had yet to see any specialists when we brought her home from NICU Mother's Day Weekend of 2005...we were mainly trying to keep her breathing and eating, on tons of meds and going on no sleep...then May 20th rolled around and we found out she had Craniosynostosis...then, June she almost died of a Reglan overdose...then, August with her surgery....the holidays came and we found out she had Scoliosis and a Tethered Spinal Cord...February she has surgery to release the cord...a few days later, back to Scottish where Maggi almost died of the Rota Virus. We can't count how many appointments she has had, we don't know how many emergency visits to Scottish there were...but we know this now: Maggi is a Miracle. God has taught us so much through the challenges and pain. It is amazing that she has handled everything so well, even better than us. We will continue to accept what comes next, will be patient to hear her speak, to see her sit up, crawl or walk...no matter how many years, we will be patient.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms and give your little ones a hug from me. Also, Happy Step Mother's Day to all of the stepmoms of the world...I have the best two step sons in the world. When I married Patrick I received two beautiful gifts, Michael and Zack...Happy Mother's to their mommy, too!

Much Love,
Donna

Stuffed Toy Donations in Maggi's Honor

For Maggi's One Year Celebration, we asked friends, family and church members to drop by a new stuffed animal, with the tag still on.

We will be donating all of the animals to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital of Atlanta. Maggi has received stuffed animals as a gift when she has had to have testing done, etc. while at Scottish. It makes a world of difference for us and we thought we would give back. All of the sick children who come through their door deserve a chance to smile...and what a perfect way to celebrate Maggi's first year of life, making it to one year old!

We don't mind if you would like to join in on the effort...just let us know!

So, here is Maggi and the donations we have gotten thus far! Thank YOU everyone, we LOVE YOU!

Finally, an Update!

Well, we have been so busy with all of Maggi's annual check-ups with all of her specialists that we have not had time to udpate the site!

We just celebrated her first birthday with family, friends and church. Maggi didn't get to eat cake, but she loved the icing! She did great around everyone and never cried...she is such a great spirit. We are beginning to think she loves to be in the spotlight.

Here are some updates...

Genetics: We finally got the bloodwork sent off for testing. It will take another four to six weeks to get any results. Dr. Uhas is certain Maggi has a syndrome, however, the fistula (tear duct outside of the eye) is pretty rare and she said that there is a possibility that there is not a name for what she has yet...but, we pray that we get some type of answer.

Orthopedics: May 18th we will be taking Maggi to Orthotics to be casted for her two braces. This is going to be the most challenging part of her care yet. Poor thing will have wear one at night during sleep and the other during waking hours...another words, 24/7 for maybe up to one year.

Physical Therapy: What can we say? WE LOVE IT! We have gotten over watching her struggle, but she is really blossoming. She is loud with laughter and holding herself up straighter when she is in your arms. We adore Miss Debbie!

Speech Therapy: Maggi still hasn't gotten down what it is to CHEW, but she is eating more and that is a great thing. Tonight she ate two 4oz. jars of food and then 3 oz. of formula! She has a little frog belly and Miss Heather will love that!

Pediatrician: Maggi did great at her one year, cried with her shots, but Dr. Goza says that Maggi is looking better and better. Dr. Goza feels like we do...she sure has had a hard year. Her weight is in the 3-5 percentile and her head is in the 96th...so, imagine how hard it must be for her to be so underweight and holding up such a heavy head.

Be sure to look at the photo album. We love all of you and hope this finds you well!

Donna & Patrick