2003 Christmas Letter
Unless Amy wrote one and never told me about it, here is our first Christmas Card Letter. Amy asked me to write one this year because so much has happened to us since last Christmas. I agreed, but my response was, “how the heck am I supposed to write everything down and have it all fit in the Christmas card envelope?” Of course, I would never use the word “heck.” She responded by telling me to make sure I fit it all on one page. I figured the only way to do that was to leave out all of Amy’s accomplishments for the year.
Instead of listing things in order of importance, and therefore having to determine an order of importance, I shall list the major events of the year chronologically. First, I again investigated the possibility of going into business for myself. It is something that I’ve wanted to do for many years, and those of you that know me realize that it was something that I had to do because every boss I’ve ever had was a complete jerk, with the exception of any former bosses that are receiving this letter. I started working on my car and I wanted to do things that would increase its horsepower. The natural thing to do in such a situation is to have the car tested on a chassis dynamometer (a device that measures horsepower). There were no “dynos” in the area, and the ones I could find were really expensive. Naturally, I wrote a beautifully elegant, mind-blowing business plan; got a loan from the bank, a lease on a shop, a business license, $50K worth of the necessary equipment, and BAM!, I’m in business. Bristol Dyno, LLC was born. Of course, in the middle of it all, Amy had to go and get herself pregnant, but I didn’t let that stop me.
The pregnancy was not a pretty one. For Amy it wasn’t morning sickness, it was all-day sickness. It didn’t last for the first two months; it lasted for the first four. I couldn’t let Amy deal with just a pregnancy though, that would be too easy. So, I got myself fired from my regular job. I was working there during the day and at the dyno shop in the evening and on the weekends. The head of H.R. (who was always out to get me) didn’t like it when I posted humorous pictures of my messy cubicle and the dirty factory on the Bristol Dyno website. Amy didn’t take the news too well. Of course, all of that paled in comparison to the news we were about to receive.
Amy wasn’t sick anymore, and she finally had a few weeks worth of an easy pregnancy. We went into the 20-week ultrasound excited to find out the sex of our baby. Before the technician looked at the spot we wanted her to, she examined the rest of the body. The words “I’m very concerned about this” were ones Amy and I will never forget. She then told us that we were having a girl. Amy’s Ob/Gyn told us a few painful minutes later “ventriculomegaly.” The fluid containing ventricles in her brain were enlarged and they were squishing the brain against the inside of her skull. If the condition went unchecked, the brain would not be able to grow and form properly, and… you get the idea. The condition could be corrected by implanting a “shunt” which is an artificial tube that runs from the ventricle all the way down into her abdomen, allowing the ventricle fluid to drain and get re-absorbed by her body. There was also a two-vessel umbilical cord instead of the usual three, and some of her bones appeared to be a little short, all of these being indicators of genetic abnormalities. We had an amnio and a level 2 ultrasound at UConn Health Center the next day, and an experimental fetal MRI at Beth Israel hospital later that week. We also met with a Neurosurgeon, a Neonatologist, and a Genetic Counselor. Somewhere in the middle of it all, we added “Hope” to the name “Emma.” The amnio results had come back negative, so her condition was diagnosed as “aqueductal stenosis” which is a constriction in one of the ventricle drainage tubes. After much research and many consultations, Emma Hope’s chances were set before us. She had a 40 - 50% chance of being perfectly normal after the shunt was implanted, a 20 - 30% chance of suffering from a varying degree of developmental delay, and a 30% chance of not making it at all.
Emma was born by C-section on September 2nd at 37 weeks. Everyone involved had agreed that taking her a few weeks early and implanting the shunt as soon as possible would improve her chances. Everything went perfectly, and we are now blessed with the most beautiful baby the world has ever seen. Except for a bad haircut and little bump behind her ear, one would never know that anything is out of the ordinary. All of her measurements are close to the 50th percentile, she routinely sleeps at night for at least six hours, she smiles and giggles, she can bazooka barf (and poop) at least two feet, and she is quickly developing a fierce personality.
Our love and eternal gratitude goes out to all that prayed for us and assisted us through this very trying time. Please see the result of your efforts at www.bristoldyno.com/emma - and be sure to visit her sponsor, too!