Sarah’s Story

Site created on July 5, 2020

We are asking for help with meals, chores, and, most importantly, prayer now that little miss Havilah Lynn has joined our family. After a beautiful and successful home birth, Havilah was admitted to the NICU at less than 24 hours old because she was not eating. Our midwife and the hospital staff have also prepared us for the likelihood that Havilah has Down syndrome. After 11 days at the hospital, she is now home with us and thriving. We are continuing to ask for prayers as we settle into life as a family of four and navigate Havilah’s development and needs. 


Particular needs as of 7/12: we have been overwhelmed by the blessings we have received in the form of gift cards, donations, and meals. At this point, we are continuing to ask for dinnertime meals (see Meal Train: https://mealtrain.com/v1k2eg). Beyond that, our main concern are the hospital bills. At present we have no clue what they will total or how much will be covered by Medicaid and insurance. We also do not know what if any continuing costs will exist once Havilah comes home. If you feel led you can assist with donations on the meal train site. 

Newest Update

Journal entry by Sarah Russell

Miss Havilah will be 2 months old on Friday and she is continuing to thrive. She is about 10.5 pounds and LONG; she's already wearing her 3-6 month clothes. Last week we had our final postpartum appointment with our midwife team, which is always bittersweet knowing we will not see them again for awhile. We had a wonderful visit with the team and are so thankful for the many ways they supported us through this pregnancy and Havilah's first weeks. Later this week we have a 2 month checkup with our family doctor.

This morning we had a Zoom call with the Early Intervention team to assess Havilah's development and make a plan for Early Intervention. Going into the call, we felt that Havilah was developing very well. She has been consistently doing tummy time, lifting her head, smiling, and holding a rattle for a few weeks now. Well, she was a superstar during her assessment. While there are a few areas that we need to work on, there are other areas where she is at a 3 & 4 month development. We were very encouraged when the physical therapist told us that it looks like Havilah's low muscle tone is mild to moderate, and possibly leaning more on the mild side. Praise God! We are so thankful for continued prayers as we know those have certainly played a part in Havilah's development. We would ask that you pray for improvement of her low muscle tone, improvement in her speech development (cooing, babbling, laughing), and that as we begin physical therapy in 2 weeks that her development would continue to meet or surpass the age recommendations.

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