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Friday, February 13, 2004 9:59 AM CST

We have just returned to the ICN from our first night away from Allie. Last night we stayed at the Ronald McDonald House here in Sioux Falls, What a wonderfull place!

Last night was a rough night for Erica and Myself. The Doctors talked to us for a couple of hours before we went home and told us their recommendations. We have some very tough decisions to make about the care that we want Allie to recieve. PLEASE pray for us while we make these decisions based on the information that we have reiceved.

Allie had a good night last night. She slept most of the time and was only restless a couple of times. Today the doctors might attempt to feed Allie through a special bottle for chidlren who have Cleft Lip. PLEASE Pray with us that Allie will be able to recieve her food this way.

It is hard to be by Allie's side all the time when we know that we have 2 wonderful children at home. Please pray with us that Zachary and Brooke understand the reasons why we are here and not with them at the current time.

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support that we have recieved during the past 3 days. We hope to have Allie's picture up on Sioux Valley's "Cradle Roll" today if you would like to see her.

Thanks again and God Bless

Friday, February 13, 2004 9:32 PM CST

Today was a good day for Allie. She recieved her first feeding today. The feeding was through a tube, but she never spit up, so we were very happy for that.

Allie's Billi count was at 16.9 early this morning so she was recieving Phototherapy. Then early this afternoon, her count rose to 17.4. She is recieving Phototherapy with both the blanket light and two external lights. With these lights she has to wear her "sunglasses" because her "tanning bed" is very bright and they dont want to damage her eyes.

Allie opened her eyes for really the first time since she was born. Erica was holding her and was very excited to see those baby-blues. I haven't had the honor yet to see those, but I know that soon I will.

The care that Allie is recieving is unbelievable. They are very open to letting Erica and myself care for our girl. They allow us to change her diaper, feed her, and take her temp. We are blessed to have such caring nurses and doctors.

We are overwhelmed with the support that we have recieved through family, Church and friends. we know that the Lord is watching over us. We thank everyone for their prayers and concerns. we would like to thank our care group for the wonderful "supplies". and all the gifts that we have recieved from everyone. It is very much appreciated. As of right now, we are really not in need of anything except your prayers. We spend most of our day in the ICN.

Our prayer concerns for the night and tomorrow are that Allie will have a un-evenful night. We also are praying that in the next day we can increase the amount of food that we can feed her in each of her feedings. The oxygen level that Allie is recieving is at 30nd we are praying that she will be able to remove that and breath on her own.

Also please pray for Erica and Myself, for the tough decisions that we are going to have to make about the care that we want Allie to recieve. Please pray that we feel at piece with ourselves on whatever our decision is going to be

Thank you again for all your prayers and concerns and God Bless you All.

P.S. We have found the verse the decsribes Allie the best to us and it is Psalms 139 13-16. Please read this and pray for our little girl that we love so much.

Saturday, February 14, 2004 9:41 AM CST

Another good night!!!

Last night when Erica and Myself were getting ready to leave, Allie became a little restless. I think she was getting use to being held and didnt like laying on her bed. After about 20 minutes she settled down and fell asleep. At about 12:15 a.m. we were able to let go and go to the RMH (Ronald MacDonald House) and get a much needed couple of hours of sleep.

We are praying for another day like yesterday. Yesterday was full of firsts for Allie. First meal, first time opening her eyes, first time that most everything went as planned. Today we are going to be increasing her amount of formula to 12cc's per feeding / 4 times a day, so we are praying that she will be able to handle that.

Today will also be the first day that Allie will not be having any major tests, so we are very thankful for that so we can spend just that much more time with her.

Again we would like to thank everyone for the kind words and awesome prayers that have been asked on our behalf. Knowing that we are not in this alone, and that we have SO much support from freinds and family is AWESOME. Our God has truly be watching over us during this time. Please continue to pray for Allie, that she may be able to be taken off oxygen and breath 100% on her own. Also, That with every day, her strenght will be more that the last day.

If anyone wants to call us, please call our cell phone at 712-230-2283, we check it every couple of hours.

Any cards that you may want to send, please send to our home address, My parents will be bring all our mail to us while we are in Sioux Falls.

Allie De Jong
107 Highland Avenue
PO Box 422
Hospers, IA 51238

Thanks again and God bless you all

Sunday, February 15, 2004 8:23 PM CST

What a day. The last 24 hours has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Yesterday (Sat), Allie was having awesome day. She was bumped up in her feedings to 12cc’s of full-strength formula/4 times a day. She also was more active than she ever had been.

At about 4:30 P.M. Allie had a breathing spell. It took a little bit to get her oxygen level back up to normal. While talking with the doctors Allie had 7-8 more spells that, each one, more sever than the last. With the information that the Doctors have given us, but mostly Prayer, We had come to the decision that if something would happen to Allie that we didn’t want her to go through the pain of resuscitation.

The Doctors took her off all the monitors and placed Erica, Myself, and Allie in our own room so we can enjoy the time that we have. Figuring that the spells were going to continue, we didn’t think that we were going to have that long of a time left.

The most enjoyable moment that we had last night was when Pastor Dave drove down to the hospital and Baptized Allie in our room, in front of all our family.

After all the family had left, Erica and I sat with Allie and prayed for the next couple of hours. At about 12:45 A.M. Carol, Allie’s night nurse, came in to the room to check Allie’s vitals. Erica asked if she would be willing to rock with Allie for 1 hour so we could get a quick rest and then spend more time with her. Carol, knowing how exhausted we were, rocked with Allie for 3 ½ hrs. What a God-sent that was. As I have stated in the past, the Doctors and Nurses at Sioux Valley are all awesome.

This morning was very uneventful for Allie. By this afternoon we had received a couple of visitors, when Erica’s Mom, My Mom & Dad, My Sister & Brother-in-law, My niece, Zachary & Brooke came to the room.

We celebrated Zachary’s birthday in the room. A cake that was given to Zachary that had a John Deere tractor, some corn, and a fence on it. His face lit up when he opened the box.

After everyone left we were just enjoying the time when we noticed that Allie’s breathing was once again becoming more stressed. We have notified Carol and her vitals are still good. It is scary not knowing how much time we have left with our daughter.

Please pray with us that the time that we have left with Allie will be as special as the time that we have already had. We know that she is in no pain, and that is very comforting to us.

Thanks for all your prayers, calls, and visits. The support that we have received from Church, Family, and friends is unbelievable. Our Allie has touched our lives in such a way that they will never be the same. We thank God for all the good times that we have had with her already.

That is all for tonight, Thanks for the prayers and may God bless you for all the support that you have given us.

Monday, February 16, 2004 9:55 AM CST

Hi again.

Allie had a good night last night; she slept most of the time. Carol, Allie’s nurse, rocked with her for a couple of hours again while Erica and I got some sleep. I just can’t say enough about the people who work at Sioux Valley Hospital.

Today is going to be a scary day. We are going to re-try feedings again. The only difference this time from the other time is that we are going to be using what they call a “kangaroo pump”. This will feed Allie over the course of 1 hr, so she doesn’t receive so much at one time. Pray with us that this will not cause any more breathing spells.

We have talked with the doctors about getting transferred back to Orange City Hospital. We decided that since Allie wasn’t receiving any “specialized” treatment, that if the feedings went well, we would like to be closer to family and friends. We don’t know how long this will take, or even if Orange City will be able to handle this option, we will know more in the middle of the week.

The prayer concerns that we have today are with the feedings that Allie will receive. Also we have a little concern with the fact that they are going to be stopping her antibiotics; these are for infections that could come up in the IV line that is in her belly button. They feel that there are not going to be any infections at this time.

We would like to praise God for all the time that we have spent with Allie. She is a special person. The help that we have received has been awesome. We have really felt all your prayers and concerns.

Here is a scripture that was read to us this past week. It has helped us get through the hard times.

Romans 8:18-26
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Thanks for all your Prayers, If you would like to visit us, we are staying in Room 3440 on the 3000 level at Sioux Valley Hospital. Otherwise you can ask the nurses in the NICU, and they will show you to our room.

Love
Scott, Erica, Zackary, Brooke & Allie De Jong

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 8:11 AM CST

First off, thank you for all the prayers, phone calls, visits, food, and everything else that everyone has done.

Allie didn’t have a very good day yesterday. Her feedings were going to be started back up at 2 P.M. In the morning Allie was doing really well. She was awake most of the morning, and her Billi count was getting better. Around 1:45 P.M., Erica was holding Allie when she took a deep breath and then quit breathing. Erica and I were trying everything to wake her up and get her to take another breath. After about 5 minute, she took a gasp of air. Her face was very blue and her heart beat was dangerously low. After about another minute she took another gasp and then she started breathing. It was very hard looking at her pretty face turn blue and knowing that there is nothing that you can do. After her breathing episode, I was thinking to myself about the decisions that we have make and prayed to God to give us the strength, should that happen again.

The feedings were pushed back to 5 P.M. Allie had taken 3 feedings when, at 3:30 this morning she had another breathing episode. This one wasn’t as bad as the first one, but it does show that there is a good chance that this is going to become a problem. Erica and I took turns during the night holding her and listening for her breath.

This morning, Allie’s first nurse Charlotte, is caring for her again. We know that there is nothing that we can do for Allie, but it is comforting knowing that Charlotte is there for support.

Please pray for Allie, Her feedings, and her breathing. We believe that Allie’s time with us is going to be short. But we are amazed at the impact that she has had on our lives. Our little girl is one week old today. She is a fighter. Like I have said in the past, we are lucky to have met her, let alone have and hold her for one week.

Again, thank you for all the prayers that have been said on our behalf. We can honestly say that we have felt the power of prayer this past week. We would like to thank everyone who have come a visited with us, it is relaxing for us to sit and talk to all the people. Thanks for all the food that has been given, for us to snack on. But most of all, Thanks be to God, for the honor of having a daughter that has touched our lives in such a way, that we will never be the same.

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 8:36 PM CST

Hello again.

Today was a very long, but yet, uneventful day. After Allie’s “episodes” yesterday, Erica and I haven’t gotten much sleep. It is very hard to lie down and close your eyes when you don’t know if your little girl will still be with you when you wake up.

Allie didn’t have any major breathing problems today. She is breathing very hard on her own when she is awake. When she sleeps her breathing gets a lot better. The Nurses continue to check her vitals and she remains steady in that area. We continue to thank God that Allie is resting comfortably. She does get a little restless when she is awake sometimes, but most of the time she seems very relaxed. This really helps Erica and I feel better about the whole situation. We are praying that we are making the right decisions for Allie. Everyday that Allie is with us makes Erica and I re-think all the decisions that we have make.

Our prayers are that Allie’s feedings continue to progress, so that there might be possibility of either re-turning to the Orange City Hospital, or the change to bring Allie home. We have at least one more week of feedings here before she’s receiving the amount of formula to take her off the IV. In order for Sioux Valley to consider transferring Allie either to another hospital or home, she needs the IV off.

Again, I would like to thank all of you for all the prayers and concerns that have been offered. We know that God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes it is hard to understand why things happen. We continue to be amazed at all the people that Allie has touched in her 7 short days here on earth. She is a very special person, and we praise God for the time that we have been able to spend with her so far.

Good night and God Bless

Scott

Wednesday, February 18, 2004 11:18 AM CST

Hello everyone

Last night was a good night for Allie. Allie’s night nurse last night was Michelle, She had worked with Allie the day before. By 9:00 P.M. Allie was starting to have to breath harder than usual. We were thinking that she was going to have another spell, but thank God that nothing happened.

Around 10:30 P.M. I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I was going to sleep for 2-3 hours while Erica held her, and then I was going to get up and let Erica get some sleep while I held her. Michelle, knowing that we are operating on little sleep her, told Erica to lie down at around 1:00. Michelle rocked with Allie for about 3 ½ hours and let both of us get some much needed sleep. Around 4:30 A.M., Michelle woke me up and had to help another Nurse in the NICU. You can say that our prayers for a little more sleep have been answered.

Allie’s feedings have been going good and right now she is up to 18cc’s/feeding. The number that they want to reach is 56cc’s/feeding, so we still have a way to go yet.

Tonight Erica’s mother, Dawn, is going to stay with Erica so that I can go home for the first time since last Monday. Tomorrow I am going to start working again, so Dawn is going to stay with Erica all day long. It is going to be hard being that far away from both Erica and Allie, but on the other hand, it will be nice to return to a half-way normal life again. Sioux Automation, where I work, has treated us awesome with the fact that they told me that when-ever I wanted to come back was fine and that work was my #2 priority and I was at my #1 priority with Allie.

Please pray with us that with me returning to work for a while will not bother me as much as I think that it might. We are going to be taking one day at a time, and see if both Erica and I can handle the fact that I am not going to be by Allie’s side if anything should happen to her.

As I have said in the past, all the prayers that have been said on our behalf have definitely been felt. We know that God is walking with us at this time. The Poem “Footprints” comes to mind when I think of the where we are at right now. God is defiantly carrying us right now, and there is only one set of footprints in the sand at this current time.

Wednesday, February 18, 2004 10:40 PM CST

Hello all,

Praise God for another good day!

Allie had a very good day. We started the day with her feedings at 12cc’s/feeding, and her breathing being very labored and are ending the day with her feedings already up to 24cc’s/feeding and her breathing becoming more stable. She is off all medications and is slowly being removed from her IV as her feeding increase. It is quite funny; the nurses fight over who gets to watch Allie. Tonight, there are 3 different nurses who are working, who have taken care of Allie. We love all 3 of them and we can tell all 3 of them love her. This is one special little girl, who has touched many lives.

Allie has also started a tradition that Zach and Brooke have done. She loves lying in our bed!!! She spent almost the whole day dozing off, while lying in the bed in our room.

Also, tonight is one of the hardest journals that I have had to write yet. While Erica and Allie are currently sleeping in the room at Sioux Valley Hospital, I am writing this journal in the basement of our home. It was very hard leaving the hospital tonight, but I think the hardest thing for me was walking into our house all alone. Seeing the car seat on the kitchen table and seeing the double stroller in the garage. I know the Lord has brought Allie into our lives for a reason, and I also know that whatever happens to Allie is in his plan. Even though seeing all these reminders at home about the condition that Allie is in. I feel honored that Erica and I have even had the chance to enjoy her. We Thank the Lord everyday that we get to spend with her.

Our prayers tonight are a little bit different than what they have been in the last couple days. We pray that Zachary and Brooke don’t feel rejected, because of the lack of time that Erica and I have spent with them the last couple days. We also ask that you pray for both Erica and me, for the fact that this is the first night that we have spent apart since the birth of Allie. But most of all, we pray that Allie has another good night and day tomorrow.

Being the fact that I am going back to work tomorrow, I will not be posting a journal in the morning.

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns; we have felt the power of prayer this last week!

Friday, February 20, 2004 6:44 AM CST

Hello again,

Thursday was another great day for Allie. Allie’s feeding have increased enough that they have removed her from her IV line. In the afternoon, the Nurses came and took Allie back into the NICU and removed her line. After they removed that, she had to lay flat for three hours so they could watch her belly button and make sure that she wasn’t bleeding. Allie also starting having to have her diapers changed a little more often. This was a good thing because now we know that not only is she digesting her food, but her whole digestive system seems to be working well.

Thursday was also Erica’s birthday. A bunch of girls from church went to the hospital and had a small birthday party for Erica. You could say that Erica enjoyed the fun and fellowship.

Today (Friday) is hopefully going to be another fairly uneventful day. They are still increasing Allie’s feedings and by God’s grace she will be at “Full” feeding by late this afternoon. We thank God for the fact that the last couple days have been very “uneventful”. We are hoping that there could be a chance of the possibility of either moving to the Orange City Hospital, or even the chance of bringing Allie home by the middle of next week.

Please pray with us that Allie’s feedings keep going as good as they are. Also be thankful with us that she has been doing so well the last couple of days.

After watching Allie’s progress the last couple of days, you can really see the power of prayer.

Love,

Scott & Erica

Saturday, February 21, 2004 10:16 AM CST

Hello all,

It is Saturday, and another good day and night for Allie. All of her feedings have been good, and by 11:00 A.M. She will receive her first “full” feeding, 66cc’s. Today we are going to be getting a new feeding pump. This pump is the pump that the parents use when they bring their kids home. Another big step! We are going to learn how to operate this pump in the next 2-3 days. After that? We might be able to bring Allie home! Praise God!

Like I have said before, I am not going to write very much for the fact that not much new has happened in the last couple of days! Another thing to be thankful for. I would like to thank everyone who has signed up to be with Erica and Allie, either here at the hospital or maybe even at home, for the next 2 weeks. This will be a great help to all of our family.

Thanks again for all the prayers, concerns, and support that all of you have shown us. I don’t think Erica and I would have been able to make it through this past week with out all the help that has been offered. In a time when you hear a lot of bad stuff going on in the world, we know that no matter what the problem is, God is always watching over us and helping us get through it.

Love

Scott & Erica

Saturday, February 21, 2004 10:16 AM CST

Monday, February 23, 2004 1:54 PM CST

Hello again,

Well, I can honestly say that last week I didn’t expect this day to come. But tonight we are going to bring Allie home!! Allie has been taking her feedings very well and the doctors said that whenever we felt comfortable bringing her home we could. We have gotten used to her feeding pump and we know how to give her medicine to her, so we are going to bring her home.

We are going to have a lot of help when we get home, thankfully. We are going to have people with us 24 hrs-a-day. That is going to be a lot of help. The Lord has blessed us with an awesome church family. We would have never been able to get this far without all the prayers and support that not only our church family has done, but everyone who has heard about Allie. The support that we have received has been a blessing and words cannot express the gratitude that Erica and I have to everyone.

Please pray with us that the ride home is uneventful and that the rest of the night goes as well as the last couple of nights. We know that we have, hopefully, a long road in front of us. Please pray that Allie is able to receive the nourishment that she needs when at home.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the nurses and doctors that helped Allie, both in Orange City and Sioux Falls. The friends that we have made in the last couple of weeks are true friends. We love all of you, for all the help and support that you have given to Allie and us. Every night, when we go to bed we will be praying for you, and thanking the Lord that, even though it was a tough time, we had the opportunity to meet all of you.

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 10:13 PM CST

Good evening all,

Today was the first full day that Allie spent at home. This morning we had the HOSPICE nurse’s come over and talk about the care that they can offer for Allie. The rest of the day was very “normal” with nothing more than a few spit-up’s. When Allie spits, we need to make sure that her mouth gets suctioned out so she doesn’t get any of the liquid in her lungs.

Our “staff rotation” started up last night, and we are on our 3rd shift. The people that are home with us are awesome and help us get a lot of things done around the house. We could have never gotten through this with out all the support and prayers that everyone has given.

Our prayers tonight are:

Let Allie have another good night and day tomorrow
To keep all viruses away from Allie for the next couple months
Giving strength to all the people helping us out at home
Allie’s breathing patterns become more stable

Thanks again for all the support and help that everyone has offered. Tomorrow night (Weds) I will be at the fund-raiser at the Pizza Ranch, but I think that with the Cold and Flu season here, Allie and Erica will both be at home relaxing.

Good Night and God Bless

Scott, Erica, Zachary, Brooke & Allie De Jong

Thursday, February 26, 2004 7:19 PM CST

What a night last night was!

First off, I would like to thank each and everyone that came to the Pizza Ranch for the benefit. Seeing all the people who are supporting us was an overwhelming experience.

The last two days have been up and down. Tuesday was a good day for Allie, not much happing except for the occasional spit-up. During the day on Wednesday Allie was doing well. When the Nurse came to our house to check Allie out, she could see that Allie had some mucus in her mouth. The Nurse thought that she might be coming down with a cold, so she prescribed some anti-histamine.

When I got home from work, everything was going good. I got washed up and Zach and I took off for Orange City. Like I said before, the benefit was awesome. We got back home and started getting ready for bed. Erica stayed up with her aunt and my sister Beth. At 12:30 A.M. Beth came into the room and told me that Allie was having problems breathing. She was taking short breaths and her face was turning blue.

We called the nurse at HOSPICE, and she said that the anti-histamine was making Allie “dry” and she couldn’t get the mucus out of her throat. After holding her different ways, she started taking bigger breaths and her color turned back to normal.

After that “episode” she has had a little more mucus because we stopped giving her that medicine, but she is breathing much better.

We feel very blessed that we have Allie with us for another day. The Lord has blessed our family. Brooke just sits by Allie and watches her all day long. Zachary still things she is cute. We are thankful that Zach and Brooke both understand that Allie is sick and love her for who she is.

Thanks again for all the support and God Bless

Scott, Erica, Zachary, Brooke & Allie Rae De Jong

Sunday, February 29, 2004 6:51 PM CST

Hello again

Thankfully, it is getting harder and harder to write these journals. The reason for this is that there are very few “bad” things that are happening. Allie has had a great weekend. Other than the fact that she gets a little mucus in her mouth after she eats, she is doing wonderful.

Allie had her first doctor visit with Dr Pals on Friday. She had some blood work done and Dr. Pals did a check on her vitals. Everything looked good with her vitals and by the end of this week; we should know the results of her blood work. Erica had a few questions to ask and got some answers. One thing that we found surprising is that this is the first HPE (Holoprosencephaly) child that Dr. Pals has ever dealt with. So we know that Allie is a very special little girl.

We would like to thank all the helpers that have helped us this past week, and all the people that are scheduled to help this week with both helping out Erica, and bringing food. Words cannot express the gratitude that we feel to everyone who has helped us out. God has truly blessed us with an awesome community.

Our prayers at this current time are that Allie continues to improve. Also, that her blood work comes back normal. She does have some mucus in her mouth after she eats, that makes it hard for her to breathe for about 1 hr after she eats. We pray that the mucus will stop so she can breathe better.

Thank you again for all the prayers that have been said on behalf of Allie and our family. Being able to feel the power of prayer these past couple of weeks has been awesome. We truly know that the Lord is looking over us and helping us out in this time of need.

God Bless

Scott, Erica, Zachary, Brooke & Allie De Jong

P.S. We have uploaded 3 new photos of Allie in the photo album

Thursday, March 4, 2004 7:23 AM CST

The beginning of this week went off without many problems. On Monday, Allie did very good with all her feedings and wasn’t having very many seizures. Monday night, our “mommy helpers” noticed that Allie was having more severe seizures than usual, they would last for about 10 – 20 seconds, but she wouldn’t be able to breathe during these.

On Tuesday Morning, Erica contacted the Carter Centers in San Antonio, TX. The doctor that Erica talked with told her that with HPE babies, it was very common for them to stop breathing during seizures. The Doctor told us about a genetic test that can be done to see if Allie’s genetics we normal. She also was going to be sending out some literature on HPE and some paperwork so we could get Allie “admitted” as a patient at the Carter Centers.

Tuesday, during the day, Allie had yet another good day. She was spitting up less on her feedings and also her seizures were less severe than they were the night before. The Hospice nurse came in the morning and took all of Allie’s vitals, and they all were normal.

Tuesday night, Allie had another great night. She slept most of the night, and was very content in the arms of our “mommy helpers”. They noticed some seizure activity, but said that they thought they were very minimal.

Wednesday morning, Allie was doing very well. She was awake most of the morning. Again, she was very content being held and loved.

After Allie’s 2:00 p.m. feeding, Erica was giving her some water to help with her mucus. After about 1 cc, Allie quit breathing. This spell lasted about 3 minutes. When she started breathing again, her breaths were very short and labored. Erica called me at work and told me to come home, she also called Hospice and they sent a nurse to our house to look over Allie.

A short time after I arrived, the nurse came in and checked Allie’s vitals. After listening to her breathing she told us that she believed that Allie had aspirated into her lungs, and that she was sounding very weasy. We decided that it would be best to bring her to the Orange City hospital and have some other tests done.

We arrived that the hospital at 5:00. After talking to the doctors, they confirmed that she had aspirated and that there was nothing that they could do. At 5:10, Allie quit breathing. At this point, Erica and I knew that this was the end and had some personal time with her. Pastor Dave came in after about 10 minutes and started to pray with us, and Allie took a big gasp of air, then quit again. The nurses told us that this was common, and they checked her heart rate, 10 bpm. After another five minutes, Allie took another breath. She did this for the next 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, she started to breathe again, and her heart rate was at 80 bpm.

Allie is a fighter, she opened her eyes a couple of times, allowing many grandparents to hold her after that time. We noticed that she was getting her color back, but her breathing was still much labored.

At 6:00 p.m., Allie quit breathing again. She never regained her breath, and at 6:18 p.m. she left this world to meet her Lord.

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us out during these last 3 weeks and 1 day.

To Pastor Dave, Thank you so much for all the prayers that said with us and all your visits. You were definitely there when we needed you.

To all the “Mommy Helpers”:
Thank you so much for the time that you spent with us. Letting us sleep during the night and knowing that someone was watching over Allie all the time was very comforting. Also, the day helpers, that were there to help Erica and also being there for support.

To all the “Meal Planners”:
It was like eating a Sunday afternoon dinner, everyday. Thanks so much for helping us out so we didn’t have to plan anything.

To Sandy and Lila:

Thanks for all the planning that you did for us. Setting up the helper schedule and also lining up the meals for every night.

But most of all, Thanks be to the Lord, for allowing the time that we could spend with Allie. Having all the people here doing our normal chores, while we could hold and love Allie that much more. Also, for allowing us to feel the power of prayer the last couple of weeks. We praise the Lord that we got to meet Allie and cherish the time that we go to spend with her. We know that Allie is with him and that she is in a better place, and we thank him for that.

Again, thanks to everyone who prayed, helped, or supported us during this time. The Lord looked over us and allowed us to meet many new people; many friends were made during these last couple of weeks.

We will post the funeral announcements on here later when they get finalized.

With God’s Love,

Scott, Erica, Zachary & Brooke De Jong

Thursday, March 4, 2004 11:03 PM CST

Family Visitation will be Friday March 5, 2004 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Allies Memorial Service will be Saturday March 6, 2004 at 2:30 P.M. at Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. There will be a family graveside service before the Memorial Service.

All donations will go to caringbridge.org and Allie’s expenses