Baby Girl

..."Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,And the light around me will be night,"

Even the darkness is not dark to You,

And the night is as bright as the day

Darkness and light are alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother's womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them. Psalm 139:11-16

When God was weaving this little baby girl in my womb, apart from our knowledge, He chose to place a fluid producing cell in her upper left chest where there was no place for it to drain. Thus, the cell produced fluid, and since it had no place to drain, it created a cyst in that location. The condition is known as Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation (CCAM) and is very rare. There are 5 different types of this malformation and of those types, this baby has the most treatable, Type 1 which means instead of several cysts, there is only 1 cyst. The cyst, however, is rather large taking up about 1/4 of her chest. The concern is that if the cyst continues to grow, it could push the heart over (it has already a little but not enough to cause damage) causing damage to the arteries and veins that are connected to the heart. Also damage that could be done is the cyst pushing the esophagus over affecting fluid intake/outtake, and the cyst is in the way for the lung, once she is born, to expand as much as it needs in order for her to breathe properly. God has been kind to not allow the cyst to cause any harm to any organs at this time.
The doctor, a specialist in Columbia, wanted to treat the cyst immediately by inserting a needle through my stomach into the baby and into the cyst to aspirate the fluid in the cyst. The baby, however, was turned in such a way that her left side was down toward me and they wouldn't have been able to get to the cyst. It's comforting to know that God is in control of everything! The doctor decided to not push, to give us time to read some material and think about it, and we'll return in one week, next Thursday at 1:30, to evaluate the cyst and see if the baby has turned in a way that they could reach it. After reading on it, I saw that these cysts have been known to go down on their own, or even stay the same while the baby still grows allowing room for the organs to locate in their proper places. The doctor didn't indicate this, but hadn't had time to read the information he gave me and with it being so rare, I don't know how often he sees this. I think he was hoping to treat it quickly because it's border-line dangerous right now for the baby. After asking more about draining the cyst, the doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if the cyst filled back up (it was almost as if that's what he expected, but there was no way to know until we drained it). If it did fill back up, then he would have to go in and put a shunt into the cyst and baby's chest to stay until delivery, and then treated immediately by a surgical pediatrician.
We have so much to be thankful for in this like for David's job where he only has to work 4 days a week and those are flexible allowing him to take a day to travel to Columbia with me without taking time off, that the type of cyst the baby has is the easiest to treat, that the cyst hasn't caused any harm to the baby as of now, that He is sovereign and Lord over everything! What a privilege and blessing to be His children, to know that all things work together for the good of His children, that He loves us with an infinite love, that He's "too wise to be mistaken and too good to be unkind", that there are NO accidents!, that His love and compassion are infinite and that He has, can and will take far better care for this little girl than I ever could. I could go on and on!!! Our prayer is that above all, Christ would be glorified through this little child that He has created, that He would display His glory and power through her; He created her, she is His! That we would say and respond exactly how He would desire before the doctors, nurses and everyone. That as the rose petals are crushed by His loving Hand (just as His Son), we would pour forth a sweet smelling aroma pleasing to Him and too fragrant to be missed by all around us, and that through the fire of tribulation, we would be made more pure in order for others to see Him and Him alone reflected in us! Oh the blessing of being His child!!!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. " Psalm 103