Evelyn’s Story

Site created on April 9, 2018

Exciting news! We have a baby girl - Evelyn (“Evie”) Acadia King - who joined our family yesterday at 4:23am at 9 lbs and 20 3/4 inches. She came at 41 weeks, less than 4 hours before a scheduled induction. Earlier this morning, doctors were concerned that Evie wasn’t receiving enough oxygen throughout her body and discovered a heart defect called Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (TAPVR (http://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/total-anomalous-pulmonary-venous-return-tapvr)). She is in the NICU now and receiving excellent care. Right now, the plan is for Evie to stay in the NICU until her oxygen levels stabilize with the plan to have heart surgery within two months. Thankfully this corrective surgery comes with the anticipation she will fully recover and live a normal healthy life.As you might imagine, this is a bit different than what Mary and I were expecting but we’ve been blessed by God in a number of ways already. One small way has been the care and concern of one of the cleaning staff on the floor who has reminded us that God is in control. What an unexpected source of comfort?!We are also comforted by the confidence and knowledge of the doctors working with us and we thank God for them. We also are thankful that God has designed our bodies in miraculous and intricate ways. Over the next few weeks, please pray for Evie, her cardiologist doctors, and Charlotte, Mary and me as we navigate through this unexpected turn of events. As things progress, we’ll send another update.Much love,Andrew and Mary

Newest Update

Journal entry by Andrew King

It feels good to be back in DC and in a routine. During Mary’s maternity leave, we spent much of our time staying with family for extra support, which we are eternally grateful for but it feels good to be back in our home. Starting a routine has been a blessing in keeping us grounded as Mary went back to work at the end of July and Charlotte started daycare. For now, we decided to have Evie cared for at home by family and babysitters until she gets a little older. She is a very happy and easy baby who brings us so much joy!

Evie recently had two doctors’ appointments- her 4-month wellness appointment with her pediatrician and 4-month appointment with her pediatric cardiologist. Both appointments went great! Her pediatrician said she is right on schedule developmentally and physically. Her feeding has improved and she has been able to have sustainable healthy weight gain. Evie’s pediatric cardiologist also said she looked great! The echo and EKG of her heart showed everything is working as it should and they have no concerns at this time. Her wound has been closed for a while now and she has been cleared of any remaining restrictions. Her next cardiology appointment will be in 6 months when they will check to make sure her veins are continue to grow with her heart. 

While her scar is beginning to fade the memory of what happened is still very much with us. Mary and I are still processing what went on during that scary time in our lives and how to move forward from it. Emotions hit us at different times when we encounter reminders of that difficult time and we don’t always know the best way of dealing with it. While we are a work in progress, we praise God every day for the gift of Evie’s life and that He has entrusted her to us.

Please pray with us for:

- Evie's continued growth and development. 
- For our family as we adjust to our new routine.
- For Mary and I as we continue to process things together.

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