Author Archives: Pastor Chas

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you all for your prayers and letters. There is not a day that goes by that Amy does not receive a letter in the mail of prayer and encouragement. Your support has been overwhelming over the last several months. Amy and I went to Akron for, what is now, her last official appointment. We met with the doctors today and they scheduled Amy to be induced next Wednesday night, the 2^nd, at 5 pm. They will start the process and after a lot of anticipation, Levi should be here by the next morning.

Our visit today was quite long and there was even a possibility they were going to immediately admit Amy. She was not dilated enough, so they scheduled it for next week. They main reason for this was they found two new abnormalities today. These two problems have raised there level of concern. First, during the ultrasound they were unable to find Levi’s anus. The doctors told us the intestines were in place, but they could not see the opening. They cannot tell us for certain that it is not there, they just couldn’t find it after looking for a long time. When Levi arrives, they will be able to immediately tell and take proper measures to correct it.

The second problem concerned them a little more. There is something that has developed on the outside of the spine. There is an object of some sorts that runs from his tail bone up to about the middle of his back and they are not sure what this is. Also, the cavity within the spine is enlarged. After examining every vertebrae, they are consulting a neurologist. The neurologist’s name is Dr. Hudgins and we have met him already. He is a Christian man from Atlanta, GA. These two findings make it imperative that Amy delivers in Akron, but currently she will not have to have a c-section. My parents will be here on Tuesday and will be able to watch the kids while Amy and I are in Akron.

Many have asked us what this means. Honestly, no one knows. We have been given a range of prognosis that ranges from minor sensory issues to a very severe state of health. They do not know and will not know more until Levi arrives; so, we are waiting. We are now quickly trying to get ready for his arrival. We thought we had two more weeks, but plans change. We thank God that my parents work for and with great people that will allow them to be here on such short notice.

Please pray for:

• Safe travel for my family.
• Levi to wait until next Wednesday to come.
• Us as we wait.
• Wisdom for the doctors.
• And that above all, God will use this situation in our lives for His kingdom.

Thank you again for all your support during this time and the week to come. We will let you know what happens as soon as we can.

In His Service,
Chas, Amy, Emma, Charlie, Caleb, and Levi

On Thursday we went back to Akron for Amy’s transfer of care visit.  We are now officially going to deliver in Akron and so we don’t have to go to Mansfield, just Akron.  Levi’s ventricles had grown a little more but they are definitely growing MUCH slower than they were.  The doctors there are still okay with a regular delivery and they are alright with inducement so we can plan to have Texas family here to care for Emma, Charlie, and Caleb.  So now it is just a waiting game and praying that Levi holds out until the first week of March.  He is measuring fine and they guessed him to be about 5lbs so he’s gonna be a big boy!  =)  Next Thursday Amy is having a stress test and a fluid check.  They won’t know how affected Levi is by the dialated ventricles until his arrival.  A couple of days after birth he will  have an MRI and that will show his brain in great enough detail for them to give us some idea of what issues he may face, if any.  Thank you for your prayers and cards.  Amy continues to get a card every day, sometimes two and she has kept them all.  We know things have gone so well with Levi and in our heart because of the prayers of other believers.  You’ll never know how grateful we are for you.

                It has been a long month filled with trips to Akron.  Each trip has narrowed down the diagnosis and we finally have something certain.  Because Levi’s heart checked out Ok, the doctors believe this is an isolated case of agenesis of the corpus callosum.  The corpus callosum is the main connection between the two hemispheres of the brain.  This is also related to the enlarged ventricles in the brain.  It sounds scary at first, but they have said that many times other smaller connections of the brain make up for this.  A week ago they told us they would be meeting to discuss this case and so we waited to hear from them.  We returned to Akron yesterday for another ultrasound and the ventricles had only slightly enlarged.  Last time they checked the ventricles measured 16-17 mm and yesterday they were a solid 17.  This is great compared to the growth that has been happening.  The doctor we met with was great.  He actually set up the first ultrasound in the state of Ohio. 

                He told us that he recommended delivery in Akron.  So now we have to make a choice as to which hospital Amy will deliver in, Suma or Akron City.  Both of these hospitals have level 2 nurseries run by Akron Children’s so they may not be any need to transfer Levi unless they find something wrong.  When he is born they will do an ultrasound of his head and probably another MRI to see if there are any other abnormalities with the brain.  All we can do is continue to pray while we wait.  As far as a long term prognosis, they are not sure.  We have been told to be cautiously optimistic.  If there are no other defects, Levi could live and learn like we would hope.   There are many people walking around today with agenesis of the corpus callosum and they have no idea, because the technology wasn’t there to diagnosis.  More good news is that we will not have to go back to Akron until the end of January.  During this visit they will officially transfer all care to Akron and we will begin only traveling there, instead of going to Mansfield also. 

                On the other end of the spectrum, we were less than a quarter mile from home when we hit black ice on the way to Akron.  We lost control and our rear end swung around and hit a car parked on the side of the road.  The gentleman was great and told us to go on to Akron and we could take care of things when we got back.  Everything seemed fine so we went on to Akron.  We got close when the tire that received the impact started to shake.  I pulled over to the side of the road and everything looked fine.  We continued to drive slowly and made it to our appointment on time.  I am thankful to my band directors that taught us early is on time and on time is late.  We made it fine.  The truck is was not able to make it back home.  We called the insurance and they towed the truck to a body shop and sent us a van from Enterprise.  We are waiting to hear what the damage is and how long it will take to fix it.   Until then I get to drive a new little minivan.  Hopefully, it won’t take long. 

                Thank you for all your prayers.  We will continue to keep you updated, but hopefully we will not have anything to report about Levi until our next visit to Akron.  I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!

                We have just come back from a long day of travel.  Thank you for all your prayers as we have been going to doctors to see what is happening with Levi.  We went to Akron’s Children’s Hospital today for the first time.  We met with specialists and another consultant to let us know what was happening and what they are going to do from this point forward. 

                Originally the doctors were concerned about the left ventricle being slightly enlarged.  When we arrived in Akron today, they did another ultrasound to check and see if the left ventricle had dilated any more.  They found that the left ventricle had grown from 9mm to 14mm.  Also, they saw that two other ventricles were also dilated.  The right ventricle was at 12mm and the third ventricle was measurable, and they aren’t suppose to be able to see it.  The cerebellum is also enlarged and there is something else on the brain that is missing.  I am not sure what it was called; we heard a lot of large terms today.  They also discovered that the umbilical cord is not developed properly.  It is suppose to be made up of three vessels and there are only two.  They will continue to watch Levi’s growth because of this to make sure that he is getting all the nutrients he needs.  Right now his size and measurements are fine.  We did not receive the news we were hoping to get, but we are glad that they are beginning to see what is happening.

                This means several things for us.  We will be traveling back to Akron on Wednesday for a Fetal MRI.  This will give them a clearer, more detailed picture of Levi’s brain and let them know if there are any more abnormalities.  We will get the results of this test on the 15^th of December when we go again for another ultrasound.  During this visit we will meet with the doctor again, along with a neonatal-neurologist.  Then we will travel again on the 21^st for a test to check Levi’s heart.  December is going to be filled with visits to the doctor’s office.

                They are still not sure what is causing this to happen.  Around 35 weeks they are going to do an amniocentesis.  This is late enough in the pregnancy that if it does send Amy into labor, Levi will be safe.  By the 21^st we should have a better idea of what will happen after Levi is born.  The abnormalities are isolated and do not seem to be connected to anything else so, they are pretty sure this is a chromosomal or genetic problem.  Because of this, there is nothing we can do, but be prepared for whatever happens at birth.  They are trying to find out as much as they can so that Levi’s delivery will be safe.  We appreciate all the prayers and the cards.  We will keep you posted as we learn more.