JenniferTenney

Today I am praying hard for Clara. Sweet baby girl, with a beautiful name, fighting for her life. For the last three weeks I have been following her story (she is in North Carolina) as well as Pearson's who is at Shands Hospital in Florida, where we were treated. Both babies were born around the same day. Both went on ECMO shortly after birth. Both had to have their surgeries on ECMO. Pearson has Right-sided like Dakota, Clara is left-sided. When I first started following them and praying for them, the thought popped into my head, if the statistics are right, one of these babies is not going to make it. I instantly got mad at myself for even thinking it!!!!!! I hate, hate CDH, but I love the babies, I love their strength and fight. Everytime I read a blog, I am right back to standing by Dakota's bed, listening to the oscillating ventilator, watching her little body shake, staring at the ECMO machine and the tubes of blood, following them with my eyes, staring at the monitors, putting my finger in her little hand, and praying. Pearson is doing wonderful ... Dr. Kays always said that he is never completely happy until the baby is home and healthy, but Pearson is showing all good signs: off ECMO, ventilator settings being turned down, everything is moving in the right direction. Miss Clara is still in the thick of the fight, and the signs are going in the opposite direction. Oh, how I hope they are wrong. I pray for a miracle. I pray that both these sweet babies and all the babies survive ... yet I know my prayers are not always answered and I ache when they are not. All we can do is pray, hope, and offer support. You can do it Clara!