Happy Birthday Teanna!

Well, keeping a blog up to date is a little like writing in my journal. I feel guilty forever before I actually get something in there. It's now almost a month since Teanna turned 3 and I haven't even taken the time to congratulate her or post some pictures. Some dad, eh? At least I didn't say that I haven't "had time." I'm admittedly a procrastinator extreme.

Okay. Teanna Jean Sorensen was born on November 8, 2005. Just because many of you may not be familiar with her story, I'll tell it here. To be perfectly honest, the one or two of you who read my blog probably know, but just in case...

She came a month early, which I blame on her over-anxiety to get here and get her life started. The weekend before she came, Jen started to feel a little sick. We thought at first that she had some sort of stomach virus, so we didn't worry too much about it. There was still a baby shower to be had and things to get ready as we anticipated Teanna coming to us on December 4 - her due date. I got home from a late class on Monday evening and Jen was feeling even worse than she had over the weekend. She wasn't sleeping well and decided to take a bath. Early Tuesday morning - like 3 or 4 early - she woke me up and told me she had to go the hospital. Nothing had made her feel better and she was worried.

A few phone calls later we had spoken with a nurse and both sets of parents and were on our way to the hospital. The nurse had made it sound fairly urgent, so we got there as quick as possible. Within minutes, they had determined that Jen was in an advanced stage of hypertension (high blood pressure) and had developed toxemia. Our first thought was that she might be on bed rest for the next month and taking it easy. We asked the nurse what this would entail for her and she responded that the only way to make Jen feel better would be to deliver the baby.

As time went on and more doctors came in to see Jen, we finally found out she had developed HELLP syndrome, which means she had anemia, liver and platelet problems. In other words, the hypertension had gotten so bad, her liver was starting to shut down, they were worried about her ability to stop bleeding and she was completely anemic. So, in stead of waiting for normal labor and delivery, they scheduled an emergency c-section that morning.

In order to save mom's life, Teanna was born later on at a meager 4 lbs and 9 oz. As she was born, the doctor discovered that the placenta was almost completely depleted and dry (the umbilical cord fell off in an amazing 2 days because it was already so dehyrdated) and he guessed that it had actually shut down when Jen started getting sick and Teanna had survived for who knows how long on her own stores of fat.

It was love at first sight. At least for me. Jen doesn't remember the first time they met because she was still under so much medication. Teanna spent almost the next 3 weeks in an incubator to help her stay warm as she learned to eat - she couldn't suck and instead was fed through a nose tube - and we were finally able to bring her home after she had gained some weight, eaten a few millileters by herself and was pronounced healthy. That was the weekend before Thanksgiving (and also the weekend of the Utah-BYU game, which got me in trouble because I was watching it instead of listening to the nurse's discharge instructions), which made us incredibly grateful to have our small family at home and together for that holiday.

The doctor felt that had we waited any longer, both Jen and Teanna might not have made it. Over the years I have reflected a lot on the fact that Jen felt so strongly that the right thing to do was to go to the hospital. We hadn't discussed it at all until early that morning and she knew it had to happen. I'm extremely grateful to her for listening to the Spirit and following those promptings, because it means I still have both my beautiful girls to love and learn from.

Much has changed for us in the 3 years since that horribly beautiful day in November. Teanna has grown into a beautiful little girl that brings us laughter, tears, frustration and pure parental joy. Happy Birthday little miracle baby. Thanks for choosing us.

Dad & Mom