Meet Mycandra... our Kid of the Month!

From the begging we knew this pregnancy was a blessing. I had gone through two Prior miscarriages. When we found out that we were pregnant with our Rainbow baby our hearts were filled with both fear and joy. But once I made it to 15 weeks we knew this pregnancy was going to stay. We went in at 20 weeks to do the BIG ultrasound. I remember my husband and I arguing over finding out the sex of the baby. He wanted to know and I wanted a surprise. We already had one of each there was no point in finding out till he or she was born but our plans changed. The ultrasound was going great we didn't realize that the DR saw something abnormal. What should have been a 1 hour visit turned in to 2. She finished with the ultrasound and without a word gave me the Pictures she had taken and walked us into a consultation room. By this time our nerves were at their limit. She sat us down and started to explain what she saw, and that our little one had a problem called SUA (single umbilical artery) and that he or she could have major growth issues along with other problems. At this point my mind changed I had to know the sex of the baby. IT'S A GIRL she said. She scheduled us to come back at 32 weeks to check her growth and see what other birth defects she may have. The wait for that second ultrasound was hard and I continued to have premature labor and noticed I was retaining a lot of amniotic fluid. 32 week came along and we went in with hope things were going to turn out great. At this appointment the specialist preformed the ultrasound herself. She spent 30 mins measuring everything and looking at all her parts. She spent another 30 minutes looking at her stomach and heart. Little did we know these actions would change our whole world. She sat us down again and explained although she was measuring perfect there were some serious issues and that our baby would have to have surgery and be in the NICU for a while after birth. She Explained she had a Duodenal Atresia (a bowel blockage) and that usually babies with this condition not only have other issues like central nervous system disorders and heart problems. But that 45% of babies born with DA have genetic issues Like Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 21. She wanted us to do an amino to test so if that was the case we could make the decision to terminate if we wanted to. We refused we would prepare ourselves for the worst but hope and pray for the best we loved her already and would take what god gave us. She scheduled me for twice a week appointments to monitor her growth and how much fluid I was gaining. With all the amniotic fluid we had to make sure it didn’t get to dangerous levels and that my uterus didn’t become over stretched. At 33 weeks I went into the office for my regular appointment to measure everything. I was at 66cm and normal is 20cm. They rushed me to the University of Utah for an emergency amnio to let out some of that fluid. They pulled out 4 1/2 liters off of me that day and watched me for observation. They also sent my fluid for genetic testing. At this point we truly believed our little girl wasn’t going to make it. But in my heart I held on to that hope she would. At 36 weeks I went into the office with contractions I was dilated to a 2 and they didn’t want my water to break for fear of a cord prolapse. They were getting ready to send me back to the U of U for a C-Section and right before he handed me my paper work to take with me he said. By the way all the genetic testing was normal she definitely has angels looking after her. My mom and I cried we knew that the worst possible outcome wasn’t going to happen, we were so happy. At 6:18pm on June 25 2012 Mycandra Faith Ralphs was born. 5 lbs. 8 .5 oz. and 17 inches long. She was rushed strait to the NICU. Mycandra had her first surgery to repair the blockage at 24 hours old. They also discovered while they were looking at her tummy that she also had Malrotation of the bowels so they removed her appendix and put everything back the best they could. She spent 17 days in the NICU at Primary Children’s Hospital. When we brought her home our lives felt complete she made it despite all odds. At 2 months old she started throwing up again from then on we were back and forth to the hospital and having hospital stay after hospital stay with no answers as to why. Mycandra is 7 months old now and we have been in the hospital for the last 2 weeks finally some answers. She had another blockage due to her bowel folding on her and fusing together along with these things called stricture (a lot of scar tissue blocking the way). She has major constipation but it’s being treated. She is finally eating and she was able to go home before thanksgiving. Through all of this she has tried so hard to keep a smile on her face she is the calmest and happy baby I know. I sit and think how people meet their HEROS through their lives when something is either wrong or going just right. I am lucky I gave birth to mine. All 3 of my kids have saved me in some way but this little girl has taught me so much in the last 4 months I have learned throughout my 26 years. I look forward to watching her grown and learn and I strongly believe she was sent her to bring our family back together to remind us all what love truly is. We continue to fight for her and would love for you to pass her page along the more prayers the better.