Translate This Page To: Spanish German French Italian Portuguese Norwegian Brought to you From FreeTranslation.com Give a gift in honor of this child. Hannah I will be printing all of your prayers and encouragements for them. If you wish to send them a card or note you may mail it to: Hannah Gates c/o Bill Gates 630 Lee Road 621 Opelika, AL 36804 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These are pictures of Hannah when she came to us. I wanted you all to see and know what a miracle God has done in her life because of all the prayers each of you have sent up.....Elizabeth This was before she had to go back to the hospital. UPDATE: 1-03-04 Dear Warriors, It is with deep sadness that I tell you that Hannah went to be with Jesus at approximately 7:30PM tonight. Bill and Katie wanted me to tell you all how much each of your prayers and your support has meant to them. Please pray for them now as they say goodbye to their precious little one. The time I spent with her will remain in my heart forever and she will always hold a place in my heart. Thank you all for your love and faithfulness to our kids. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 1-03-04 Bill left a message on my machine, stating that Hannah's body is not processing the oxygen. The doctors have told them that the ventilator would not even help Hannah because her body is not processing the oxygen UPDATE: 12-27-03 I was finally able to reach Bill and Katie. I am on the road have been out of range on my cell phone which means the couldn't call me on it and they don't have computer access so it has been difficult. I did get the hospital room number now so I can keep up with Hannah needs. I do apologize for this lapse in time and know you were all praying for her through it. Hannah is doing better. She is out of ICU and now in the special care unit. She is off the vent but still taking small amounts of oxygen. She did have to receive more blood for her anemia and this continues to be a concern. Her lungs continue to improve and look better. Her setback came when her right lung collapsed again. She weighs 5.6 lbs. and now getting 15 ccs of formula every two hours I think. She continues to need your prayers for strong lungs, healthy blood counts and overall healing. She now has some new doctors and they seem to be more experienced with trisomy care. Pray for her caretakers to have supernatural knowledge and skill as well as wisdom in decision making. Bill has been ill and is having back problems. Please pray for his health and the family as a whole. I will now keep you well updated as I can now call them. Thank you for all your prayers. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 12-18-03 Hannah has been taken by jet to Birmingham Children's Hospital. The waiting room number at the hospital is (205) 933-9672. The doctor has confirmed that Hannah has pneumonia in her right lung. Bill said that he was able to change over to the other set of doctors. This is a good change for Hannah ... she is in their care and not under the care of Dr. Jones This one doctor that they have changed over to has experience with Trisomy babies. Plus has a positive outlook for Trisomy 18's. UPDATE: 12-09-03 I spoke with Bill last night and he said that Hannah's rash is much better. She is sleeping much better and she now weighs 5lbs, 1 1/2 ozs. This is good news. Please continue to pray for her protection, growth, and overall healing. Bill and Katie want you to know how much they appreicate the love and care of everyone. The emails you send to them with prayers and encouragement are also appreciated. We will keep you all updated. Merry Christmas. UPDATE: 12-06-03 Hannah's rash is looking better so please continue to pray for it to heal. She is doing pretty well overall. There is a major struggle going to try and get her the care she needs. Please pray for God to help them find the right people in the necessary fields to take care of Hannah. They are saying now that she only needs to see a doctor if she is sick. There are no plans for preventative checkups for her kidneys, lungs, heart, and airways to be monitored. There is still no therapies scheduled and basically all the home health nurse does is weigh her. They need much prayer in these areas. UPDATE: 12-04-03 I've just talked with Bill and he says Hannah is doing ok except that she has a terrible rash. They have tried several things and can't seem to get it to heal. She is getting 12cc's an hour of formula and she weighs 4lbs. 13ozs. This weight concerns me. She doesn't seem to be gaining and the doctor doesn't seem to be concerned about it. Bill says she cries all the time and acts as though her stomach or something is hurting her. Still no tests have been done to try to find out what is wrong. Please press in for her protection and that she will get the proper medical treatments and tests that she needs. Pray for her healing and especially for her growth. Pray for Bill and Katie as they continue to fight battles to get her properly and adequately cared for. I will call back on Sunday to see how she is doing and will update again. We thank you all for your love and prayers for Hannah....Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-29-03 Hannah is doing well and is on her way home from the hospital...PRAISE THE LORD!!! We thank you for your prayers. Please keep Hannah covered in prayers of healing and protection. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-28-03 Hannah's lung has inflated and is back to normal. She is on 1/8th liter of oxygen. They are going to keep her for a couple of days to be sure she does ok and they expect to go home on Sunday. The nutritionist also increased her formula to 14 cc's an hour. Everything is looking good and I will keep you updated on any changes. Thank you all for the prayers and for the emails. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-27-03 11PM Update: Hannah's right lung has partially collapsed. They are giving breathing treatments to try to get it to re-inflated. Her oxygen level is at 100% and she is on 1/4 liter of oxygen. Giving her 20cc's blood. Her hematicrit was 23 and they want it to be 30. She is stable and they expect to get her lung inflated and they will repeat the RSV test to be sure. We will update more tomorrow but they don't think she is in any immediate danger. I will call again tomorrow evening and will update if I hear anything before then. Thank you all for your prayers. They are no doubt protecting Hannah. The other hospital did not want to help her and said her lungs were fine when in fact they weren't. This is a typical response to Trisomy babies. Keep praying daily for her healing and protection....God Bless Elizabeth Hannah is back in the hospital. They are saying that she has some kind of mucas type buildup in her throat and that they can't do anything about it. They plan to give her blood and send her home to die. We are trying to get her transferred out to another hospital. Please, Please, pray for her protection and healing. We know that a trach could be done if there is no other way. I will keep you updated...Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-26-03 I spoke with Katie and she said Hannah continues to do well at home. She is now 4lbs. 10ozs. The doctor has put her on a vitamin suppliment because she was a little anemic. Please pray that God will bless her nourishment to the needs of her body for good health. She is still on a small amount of oxygen and she is having a little trouble with her nose because of the feeding tube and the oxygen being in her nose. Please pray that these will not cause her any discomfort or problems. Continue to pray for Bill and Katie and they care for her, for wisdom for all caretakers, and for her overall health and healing. Katie and Bill thank you for all of your prayers and love for them and you may send cards and letters to address above. Have a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day! God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-21-03 Hannah's doctors appointment went well yesterday. He gave her three of the five shots she needed, put her on a vitamin supplement, and gave her some drops for her stomachache. She weights 4lbs. 7ozs. She does have a small hernia just above her belly button so please be in prayer for that to heal. She will see him again in two weeks for the rest of her shots and a checkup. He said he would do everything in his power to help her reach her greatest potential. Only God and Hannah knows what that will be. She is doing well and he said her heart sounds great..Praise God...what a miracle that her heart is strong and no surgery is anticipated. Please focus your prayers on her protection from colds and illness as well as any other possible complications while claiming her total healing and wholeness....God Bless, Elizabeth. We will be updating her page twice weekly unless she has a need in-between. UPDATE: 11-19-03 I've just talked to Bill and he says Hannah did great at home last night. She has an NG tube for feeding and all the necessary monitors to keep an eye on her oxygen levels and her heart rate. The Home Health nurse came in today and weighed her and checked her out and said her heart and lungs both sound fine. She will see her new doctor tomorrow morning so be in prayer for His wisdom in assuming her care. She does have a slight runny nose so prayer that it goes away and that she isn't catching a cold. She is getting her RSV shots. Everything seems to be fine and they are all enjoying having her home. Continue to pray for protection and healing in all areas as well as wisdom in decision making by all those responsible for her care. I will update tomorrow night after I hear how the doctors visit went. We thank you very much for all your prayers and mail. I have changed the address above to reflect their current home address so feel free to send cards and notes if you wish. Blessings, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-18-03 Hannah is on her way home as I type this. They have sent with her all necessary equipment to monitor her breathing and oxygen levels. She will have oxygen at home so it looks like they have all they need to care for her. I missed Bill's call because I was at the hospital visiting one of our other children. I will call him tomorrow to get a full update. Please continue to pray for Hannah's protection and healing...God Bless...Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-17-03 I talked to Bill last night and this morning. Hannah's feeding tube came out yesterday and they have been unable to get it back in. They are taking her to radiology this morning to try and get it back in. She is still on a small amount of oxygen and seems to be doing well otherwise. I will call back later to see if they send her home or not. Please keep her covered in prayer. Pray for protection from errors, digestion and tolerance of her formula, strength in her lungs, and for overall healing. Thank you all so much....Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-15-03 Hannah had a rough day yesterday. It seems the throwing up was due to her feeding tube getting bundled up in her throat. Her blood count is back up. She is still on a little oxygen and this is normal for Trisomy and is something she will need off and on until she grows some and gets stronger. She is still about 4lbs. They are planning to send her home Monday and she will be seeing a new pediatrician who has agreed to take care of her. Please keep her covered in prayer and continue to ask for her healing and growth. Your prayers are so greatly appreciated and coveted. UPDATE: 11-14-03 Hannah has been moved to a regular room. However, her stats have dropped and she back on oxygen. Her blood count has dropped again, she has diarhea again and she is throwing up continually. They are just watching her residuals and still intend to send her home on Monday. Please pray for her healing and protection and for her parents. UPDATE: 11-13-03 Hannah is scheduled to go home Monday. She will be on a continuous feed of 11cc's and hour and a home health nurse will be checking in on her daily and monitoring her weight. She has lost 2 ozs. If she doesn't gain weight or tolerate her feeds at home she will have to go back at which time they will look for other options. Her heart is strong and her lungs are clear so she will go home with no monitors as it stands now. Please pray for her protection and growth. I continue to be amazed at the fact that her heart is all but healed and that her lungs have remained so strong and clear through all of this. It is nothing short of a miracle. God has His hand on Hannah. The only the doctors have done during her hospitalization is rehydrate her and get her built back up nutritionally other than the drug to try to open her stomach back up. They still don't know to what degree of success the drug worked but it did work to some degree. God has done the rest and we give Him great praise for His touch on Hannah. Bill and Katie are having to move due to some conditions at their current residence that the land lord has not corrected. They will be staying with a sister in Auburn until they find a new place to rent. Bill already has a job in Auburn and there is a hospital just 10 minutes away. We feel this is a good thing since it gets her away from the local hospital that would not treat her and puts her in a new area. They have found a pediatrician who has agreed and promised to care for Hannah and do all things necessary for her well-being. Please keep her parents and all these things in your prayers...Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-12-03 All of Hannah's bloodwork is looking good. She weighs 4lbs, 4ozs. She is totally off her oxygen and doing great! She is still having some runny stools and they are trying to get the C diff toxin test redone to be sure that it is cleared up and that there is no more bleeding. She is taking 8cc's of formula that is down from 11cc's. Please keep them all in your prayers and I will keep you updated. UPDATE: 11-11-03 Hannah had her scan today and Praise God it was negative. She still has blood in her stools and they are talking about sending her home with the blood in her stools if they can get her feeds back up and tolerated. Hannah basically is still where she was. She is up to 4 lbs., 4 ozs. The only thing they have accomplished thus far is getting her re-hydrated and trying to get her back on her feeds. Please be in prayer for these things. The doctors seem unsure about what actions to take and therefore aren't really taking any action. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for her doctors so that she can get the treatment needed and go home with a chance at life. UPDATE: 11-08-03 Hannah has been put back on her feeds by tube. They are starting her off with 10cc's every three hours. Her first feed she did not have any residual and she did fine. They will slowing increase her amounts. They have set a scan up for Monday that will identify or illiminate one possible cause of the blood in the stools. Please pray that this test is negative. If positive, she will require surgery. Also please pray that the source of the bleeding can be found and that it will be easily corrected. Continue to pray for her protection, wisdom of her caretakers, and overall healing and wholeness. God is good.....Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-07-03 There's not much new with Hannah. The surgeon doesn't want to do a g-tube. He says she is too small. They seem unsure how to proceed with regards to the blood in her stools so please pray that they will find the cause of this bleeding. They are weaning her back off the oxygen again and she is still not getting any formula. They think the drug worked on her stomach but they don't know to what degree it worked. I'm hearing a lot of speculation and let's wait and see but not much about testing to find out what is really going on and this concerns me. Please pray that the doctors will know what to look for and what tests will be safest for Hannah and get the job done. Otherwise, we just keep praying for total healing and protection. UPDATE: 11-06-03 PM... They have done a swallow test on Hannah and it seems this morning she aspirated and they had to put her back on the oxygen. They have taken her off the bottle again. They feel that they will have to do the stomach surgery but will have a gastriologist examine her first to try to determine what is causing the blood in her stools. This may require a scope which they say is dangerous for Hannah. Please press in for these things asking God's protection of her and supernatural ability and knowledge of all of her care takers in the decision making process as well as wisdom for Bill and Katie. We must keep petitioning God for her healing and protection....I will keep you all updated...Elizabeth AM... Hannah is off the oxygen and they have given her bottle back. She is not getting any tube feeds only what she gets from her bottle which right now is about 10cc's every three hours. They made her a make-shift bottle out of a pacifier nipple. The other bottle nipples were just a little to big for her. She is still on the super IV so let's pray that this will not cause a fluid retention issue. She now weighs 4 lbs., 8 ozs. The cardiologist re-evaluated her heart and said it is very strong. She is doing great overall and the antibiotics seem to be working on the infection. The possibility for the need for stomach surgery still exists so please pray for her stomach healing as well as her over all healing. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-04-03 Bill just called. Hannah has a bacterial infection in her intestines. She began having diarrea and they saw visual blood in her stools. The infection is C Diff Toxin which can be deadly if not treated. They caught it early and feel the antibiotics will take care of it. She will be off her feeds until the infection is cleared up so they have started her back on the super IV. The doctors think this has been the reason for the trace amounts of blood in her stools so praise God they now know what to do for her. She is fine otherwise and very upset that she can't have her bottle. Please join with us as we ask God to remove this infection from her body and bring healing and wholeness. We will keep you updated....Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-03-03 Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the delay in posting. We arrive in Birmingham at 4PM yesterday and spent about 7 hours with Hannah and her parents then we got up early and went back to the hospital to say our goodbyes and got home about 7 tonight so there wasn't much time for posting. Miss Hannah looks absolutely wonderful. Her color was great, her heart rate was strong and steady and her breathing was good. She has not had anymore apnea the last three or four nights. He is taking 30 ccs of formula every three hours. She is taking 6-10 cc's by bottle and then the rest by her feeding tube. Yesterday she no residual left in her stomach two times and then about 1/2 cc the third time. She did have a 6cc residual this morning I think. She is on 1/8 liter of oxygen. They were discussing taking her off the stomach drug today and they were going to give her just a little blood to keep her hemocrat (sorry, I know this is not how you spell it.) up. She has a left club foot which will be corrected when she around 8 months old. She obviously hears well. She responded to voices and noises around her. She has not needed any more lasix for fluid and her lungs were clear. She truly is amazing. Please continue to pray for her total healing and that no surgeries will be needed. Now for the really fun stuff! Bill and Katie are just precious and we felt as though they had been part of our family always. I got to hold Hannah and rock her for a long time and when feeding time came they let me feed her. They were trying a new type bottle so I got a lesson on how to hold the bottle...She took 10 ccs by bottle from me...Yeah! Later I watched as mom gave her a bath, which she absolutely didn't like...LOL..and she let everyone know it. Before leaving, I got to rock her to sleep and sing her a lullaby. I was in heaven for sure. We all gathered around her and prayed for her healing this morning before we left. It was such a wonderful visit and we just enjoyed them so much. The hospital staff and nurses were totally wonderful. Very attentive and very good at what they do. Hannah is in good hands. Katie and Bill want you to know they appreciate each one of you and each prayer so very much. They both love her so very much and that love just radiated from them. We are so blessed that they are sharing her with us. I will post some new pictures tomorrow and I think you will see what a true miracle God has done. Much Love, Elizabeth UPDATE: 11-02-03 Hannah continues to do well. We spent about 7 hours today with her and Katie and Bill. It is very late so I will update tomorrow with all the wonderful details of her progress. Keep praying...Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-30-03 Hannah continues to do great! She has gained another ounce and is now on all formula with only 1-2ccs residual left after each feeding. The doctor feels the drug is working and will continue it for 5 more days. After which, they will do another untra-sound of her stomach. So keep praying for no surgery needed. She still has a trace of blood in her stools so pray for the source to heal or be found. It is so amazing what God has done in the life of this sweet baby. Bill and Katie are so thankful for all of you and your prayers. We are planning to visit with them on Sunday and come back home on Monday. I will keep you updated on this amazing child. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-29-03 Hannah is doing great! She has not had any apnea for the last several nights. Praise the Lord! She is up to 3lbs, 12 ozs. She is getting 30cc's of half and half every three hours and now only has a 2-5cc residue. This seems to indicate that the drug is working on her stomach. She loves to suck her pacifier and knows when it is feeding time. She is very mobile and active and just looks great. There is still some blood in her stools so pray for this to be gone. They are giving her some zantac to see if that stops the blood in her stools. They gave her a dose of lasix and the swelling in her legs and arm went down. They say her lungs sound clear and she is doing very well. Pray for no stomach surgery to be needed and for her heart to complete healing and for overall healing and wholeness. Your prayers are working and are so greatly appreciated...Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-27-03 Hannah continues to do well. They have taken her off the Lasix again so please pray that her lungs stay clear. She has some swelling in her right hand and left leg and foot. Please pray that this swelling will go down and not get worse. Pray for the continued healing of her heart and strength for her heart and lungs. She did not have any breathing or heart slow downs last night. Also contnue to pray that the drug is working and she will not need stomach surgery. She looks good and seems to feel good. Keep the prayers coming and if you would like to send a card or note the address is above. Bill and Katie appreciate you all so very much and want to thank you for how you have helped them and supported them in this time of crisis. I will keep you updated....Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-26-03 Hannah continues to do well. She is not getting 30 cc's of Half formula and half sugar water every three hours and she is not spitting up. Her weight is up to 3 lbs, 8 ozs. Her color is great and she had an excellent night last night. She moves around alot and loves her pacifier. Bill and Katie are allowed to hold her and play with her and she loves that. Her blood levels continue to remain good except for a slow drop in her blood counts which could be the result of how often and how much they take from her. She is getting stronger each day and when I talk to Bill and Katie they are just so proud of their little girl and so happy she is still with them. Giving God praise and thanks for His touch on Hannah. Please continue to pray for Hannah's stomach to be healed, for complete healing of her heart, and for overall total healing and health. Also pray that if there is a blood loss it will be healed. They are still getting some blood in her stools but not enough to really bring her counts down. So let's join in agreement that where ever it is coming from, God will heal it. I am very excited and trying very hard to get everything handled so we can make a trip to see her about the middle of this week. I can't wait to hold her in my arms. Pray that we will be able to go this week and that I can get everything in order to be away for a couple of days... Be sure to send us your notes and letters by email so we can take them with us when we go.....God Bless...Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-25-03 CURRENT UPDATE: I have just talked to Bill and what an amazing story he told. First she is now getting 16cc's of half and half and doing well with it. He said she looks better today, her color is good, and she seems to feel better. Now for the amazing part. The nurse put her on her stomach and turned around to do something. When she turned back to Hannah, she had rolled over back onto her back...PRAISE GOD!!! For a Trisomy this is truly amazing...prayers are working...keep them coming... ************ They were unable to get the tube into Hannahs intestines. They have put in a PIC line for her super IV and she is being given 12cc's of half premie formula and half sugar water every 4 hours. She is tolerating this amount well and they will continue to try to increase the amounts of her feedings. She had one episode with her heart last night but with stimulation it picked right back up. Please pray for this drug to correct her stomach problem and for her overall growth, strength, and healing. All in all she is doing well... Praise the Lord! I will you the page updated as I get new information. Bill and Katie appreciate very much your prayers and please remember to send a short email to be taken with us to the hospital when we make the trip....Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-24-03 More good news...I just called to check on Hannah and Bill said that she had a good night. She had no breathing episodes..Praise the Lord!!! They have discovered that a small amount of bile has gotten into her stomach and will attempting to insert a tube through her nose into her intestines for feeding. They feel if bile is getting into the stomach from the intestines then they should be able to get a small tube from her stomach to her intestines. They will be giving her more blood because her count has dropped. They have been unable to find any area where she might be losing blood. Please pray that God will reveal to them any area of blood loss if there is one. They will be inserting the tube at 4:00PM Eastern time. Please be in prayer for this procedure and for Hannahs protection. She will not be put to sleep for the procedure and they will be doing it under exray so they can clearly see where the tube goes. Keep praying...It is working and God is with her. Thank you all....Elizabeth and Hannah's Family Morning Update: As of last night at midnight, Hannah was doing ok. Her oxygen saturations were in the upper 90's to 100 percent. They have looked at the options should she continue have the breathing episodes but let us come against her breathing problems and claim healing and strength for her lungs. They have decided to postpone the surgery and are trying a drug that has been used in Japan and England successfully in treating her type of stomach issues. If the drug doesn't work, they will have to do the surgery. Let's call on the powers of heaven anda command that her stomach will be healed. NOW...for some wonderful news...Praise the Lord! The senior cardiologist has evaluated Hannah's heart. He says the big hole she had in the top ventricle of her heart has closed to the point of being almost non-existent and the big hole in the lower ventricle has closed to a very small hole. They now feel there is an excellent chance she will not need heart surgery at all and if she does the repair will be less extensive. Let's claim total healing for her heart. I have not known of a Trisomy 18 baby whose heart healed itself so I do believe it is the prayers from all of you that has motivated God touch Hannah. She is without a doubt a miracle by her very life after what her little body has been through. Thank you warriors. Thank you Jesus. I will keep you posted...Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-23-03 Bill just called and said that Hannah stopped breathing last night and it took two minutes to get her back. The doctors feel if she is put on a ventilator she won't be able to come off of it. We have heard this many times before about trisomys but all of our trisomys have been able to wean off of the vent. We feel there are other options that have not been explored. Please pray for wisdom for all involved in her care and that they will try these other options. I will keep you updated. UPDATE: 10-22-03 It is 9:34PM and I have just gotten off the phone with Bill. Hannah's levels still aren't back to normal so she is on a kind of floating surgery schedule. They have done sonograms of the brain, stomach, and are checking her intestinal tract for any signs of bleeding. So far everything looks good and they are doing these things more as precautionary measures than really expecting to find a problem. They have taken her off Lasix for now and say that her lungs are much better. The cardiologist has said that her heart is in really good shape considering she needs surgery and what she has just been through. They continue to be very optimistic about her stomach surgery and just want to be sure everything is as it should be before going into surgery. If her levels are normal, she will go to surgery tomorrow. I will keep you updated. Bill and Katie are holding up well and looking forward to taking their baby home. Please continue to pray and lift them up to God for protection, peace, and wisdom. Join us in claiming healing for Hannah asking all things in accordance with God's will. Many blessings and much love in Christ, Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-21-03 Hannah's surgery was postponed. Her blood work this morning was not good enough for surgery. They are doing a spinal tap to be sure she doesn't have any kind of meningitis. They are also giving her a transfusion to try to help get her levels back up. Her potassium level was 34. She was beginning to get some fluid on her lungs so she has been put on Lasix. She went almost a week with no food or fluid so one can understand why it might take these measures to get her blood levels stabilized. Please continue to pray for her healing and for wisdom for all of her caretakers. Pray for her parents strength as it is very hard for them to see their child in this battle for life. Bill and Katie want you to know how special you to them and how much they covet and appreciate your prayers. God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-20-03 Bill just called. Hannah will be having stomach surgery tomorrow but the exact time they didn't know so please keep her covered in prayer all day. They said her blood work was looking good but not quite where they want it for surgery so they will be giving her special feeds with extra vitamins and nutrients to bring it up. They are doing blood work every 8 hours and every time it is better than before. The doctors are very optimistic about the surgery and do not expect any problems but let's keep them covered in prayer to assure that there are no problems. She is up to 3lbs, 7ozs and is doing well overall. She had a couple of minor episodes with her breathing last night but once she was stimulated she was fine. They do have her on all the necessary monitors. Bill said she is moving around and kicking her feet. They feel very good about her care and her care takers and we praise God for them. I will update you tomorrow as soon as I hear something. Bill, Katy, and myself appreciate your prayers and support more than you can know and I pray a special blessing on each one of you....Elizabeth They were able to get a room at Ronald McDonald House yesterday and we have raised funds to cover their first two weeks. If you wish to help them with the remaining weeks, just below you will find instructions. The next weeks will be 56.00 per week and we are expecting them to be there for 6 weeks. (NOTE: AS OF 10/27/03 WE HAVE RAISED THESE FUNDS. THANK YOU!) UPDATE: 10-19-03 PRAISE THE LORD!!! Hannah's Father just called. Hannah is doing great. She has gained 5oz of weight back since last night. They are looking at the options for her stomach problem and seems are leaning toward surgery. The surgeon is very optimistic and feels she will have no problems with the surgery. She will be evaluated by the cardiologist before a decision on surgery made. Bill seems to feel that the cardiologist their will want to do her heart surgery when that time comes and we will give more details on her heart needs when they become available. The most urgent need right now is getting her stomach repaired. UPDATE: 10-17-03 10:30PM I just got off the phone with Bill, Hannah's Father. Praise the Lord! She has arrived at Birmingham Children's Hospital and they are doing everything they should and everything they need to be doing to give her good care. They got an IV started and are getting her hydrated and stablized. They will then begin to deal with the stomach issues. They are very happy and very relieved and feel that the hosptial and staff have been great and will take good care of Hanna. Thank you for your prayers. We do know that was the real power at work here. Keep the prayers coming and check the page for good news updates. Many blessings....Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-17-03 8PM Hannah is on her way to Birmingham Hospital...Praise the Lord! They will upon arrival attempt to insert tube to unblock her stomach passage so that she will be able to process her food intake. She is now receiving feeds again. If they can't get the tube in place, they will take her to surgery to make the necessary repairs. Thank you all for your many prayers and please keep praying until she is out of this crisis. Things are still very critical for her and I praise God for getting her some help. I will keep the page updated throughout the night as I get more news...God Bless, Elizabeth UPDATE: 10-17-03 We need you to press in for protection and healing for Hanna. I have one the phone all morning and her current situation is this: She has had no nutrition or fluid since Monday. The doctors say there is no way they can get fluid into her and are basically doing nothing. We are all working on getting her transferred to a hospital with experience with Trisomy children and who are willing to care for her. The problem is she has been without fluid for so long that time is running out...Please pray for God to intervene an sustain her and that they will transfer her immediately to this other hospital. I will keep you posted.... Elizabeth ADDED: 10-17-03 Hannah has trisomy 18 and turned one month old today. She weighs only 3lbs and 3oz. She went back into the hospital because she is not absorbing her milk. Hanna's dad demanded that a GI study be done today, and it was. It showed that Hanna's stomach is being blocked by something and it is not letting the milk absorb. I understand that they are not doing anything for her at the hospital. She needs lasix to keep the fluid off of her heart and lungs and she isn't getting anything other than IV fluids is what I am told. I will be calling her parents in a few minutes and will update after I talk with them. We need all your prayers to motivate God to move and protect this child from harm. Hannah will need heart surgery for a PDA, VSD, and ASD. The dad says that he wants to do all that they can for Hanna. He calls her a little fighter. That she is!! They are having to deal with all of the negativity from the doctors there. It all sounded to familiar. Please pray for compassion and wisdom for her care takers. Bill and Katy want to thank you for prayers and support. They are in Alabama and we will keep you updated.