Samantha Anderson

All...We made it! Laura came home yesterday! Saturday morning the steroid treatments kicked in and her numbers turned the corner. Although she is still pretty weak and VERY swollen, we are out of the woods. It's a very long, story, but to sum it up she is lucky to be alive. I didn't know what this was called before last week, but she had pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, both of which are cured by delivering a baby. The problems should go away with delivery, but Laura's did not. Her blood platelets and liver function continued to drop after delivery despite the proper medications being given. So, it was just touch and go as we waited and tried something different after the first round didn't work. God is good though, he must have something else for her to do on this earth! So..for now that is working on getting Sam home. She is in the NICU at Wilford Hall and is expected to be there another 4 weeks. She is doing great though. She doesn't even have an IV, no help needed breathing nothing. We refer to her as wonder woman already. Laura will go each morning and feed her, then do kangaroo care for a few hours. I'll visit in the afternoon to see if any changes have occurred, and then we are home at night as if it is just another day for Luke. So, basically it is just our job to get her eating and home, then we can go from there. You really can't go play with her much. They just want you to have a little contact like we are doing, but the rest of the day she is to sleep, eat and be left alone. They don't want any of her energy going to anything other than growing and keeping her weight on. So, please pray that she'll do just that, rest, eat, grow, and be healthy. The pictures below are the best we have so far. We weren't really prepared for picture taking, didn't even have a hospital bag ready, so bear with us. There will of course, be more to come.

Samantha Anderson Hurst was born 10 Jul at 0534, weighed 2.15 lbs and is 16 inches long. There is no other way to describe her but tiny and miraculous. Her head is smaller than a credit card, and there is just no way to convey that in pictures, but her cuteness is obvious!