Time October 10 · 2:00pm - 5:00pm
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Location Shawnee, OK -specific location pending....
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Created By Leslie Click
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More Info Save the Date.....
1 mile, 5K, 10K run/walk
All ages welcome, coordinated by Morganne Lyon
t-shirt with registration.. $20.00 or less
See below for Ella's story and why we are running!
...
Ella’s Story
By her mother, Amy Burk
It all started on December 8th! I was feeling nauseated in the evenings and so we decided to take a pregnancy test… yup it was positive at only 4 weeks! With the possibility of me not being able to have a baby, we were beyond ecstatic! On December the 19th I started having severe cramping and then began to bleed, I bled for 4 days and after talking to the doctor we knew that the chances that we had lost our baby were very real. I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant when I had my first ultrasound; there it was, the most beautiful flutter on the screen. A heart so small it just flickered but we cried and thanked the Lord for His protection over our baby! We knew right then what a strong heart she had! By January 8th I had become very sick and the vomiting had become so frequent that I could not even take a sip of water and keep it down, so Jon and my mom took me to see my doctor. I had lost 8lbs. and was so weak I couldn’t walk. I was immediately admitted into the hospital and remained there for the next month. During my stay I was given every nausea medication you can think of but still no relief. I had 2 separate ultrasounds while I was there to check on the baby, a scary time waiting to see that heart beat. But again there it was beating so strong it brought us to tears. After I was discharged I continued to vomit 3 to 5 times daily. At 21 1/2 weeks we had the BIG sonogram, we watched intently, waiting to hear if we were having a boy or girl! They said everything looks great and IT’S A GIRL!! The excitement quickly changed to a gripping fear when the nurse called the next day to tell me they had found an abnormality with Ella’s heart. I listened in shock and then she told me we had an appointment with a perinatal specialist in ten days…longest ten days ever! We were told at that appointment Ella had something called hypo plastic left heart syndrome. All the information was new to us, and at that time they gave Ella about a 75% chance of survival. We returned in 2 weeks for a routine sonogram and to meet with the pediatric cardiologist. It was at that visit we were told that Ella had another very rare heart defect, a restrictive PFO. The combination of these 2 defects was extremely rare and very complicated. They gave her about a 20% chance of survival, we were devastated. It was then we had to make the decision on where to deliver. After much research and prayer, we felt the Lord leading us to Dallas Children’s Medical Center. Because of the severity of Ella’s condition the doctors in Dallas all agreed that Jon and I would need to be in Dallas to stay by 37 weeks pregnant in case I was to go into labor early. They planned on delivering her via c-section at 39 weeks. We were blessed to be accepted into the Ronald McDonald House to stay the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. Ella was born on 8-9-2010 at 3:23pm, what a miracle! Jon and I got to touch her little hands for a few seconds before they whisked her away into the cath lab where they immediately did her first heart procedure. When she was 1 week old they took her in to do her first open heart surgery. Unfortunately her lungs had more damage than the surgeon had anticipated so he did something that had never been done before, and did a temporary fix and sewed her up. They watched her closely for the next week and when she was 2 weeks old they attempted the same surgery, this time it was a success! Since then the doctors have had a few concerns from time to time, but overall her recovery has been phenomenal! We have seen the hand of God time and time again as He has protected her. Although this journey is not what we would have chosen for ourselves, we wouldn’t change it if we could because it has helped us to learn to appreciate the small things in life, grow stronger in our faith, and we have felt God’s love greater than we ever have before. God has showed His love to us through other people by them praying, sending encouraging words in cards, and gifts. Ella’s journey has not been an easy one and certainly not typical, but God is so good all the time and Ella has been VERY worth it all!
* This Run is to help Baby Ella’s parents with the financial hardship of complicated heart surgeries and other medical bills, not to mention the living expenses and future surgeries that Ella may have.
You can follow Ella's Journey @
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Shawnee, OK -specific location pending....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Created By Leslie Click
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Info Save the Date.....
1 mile, 5K, 10K run/walk
All ages welcome, coordinated by Morganne Lyon
t-shirt with registration.. $20.00 or less
See below for Ella's story and why we are running!
...
Ella’s Story
By her mother, Amy Burk
It all started on December 8th! I was feeling nauseated in the evenings and so we decided to take a pregnancy test… yup it was positive at only 4 weeks! With the possibility of me not being able to have a baby, we were beyond ecstatic! On December the 19th I started having severe cramping and then began to bleed, I bled for 4 days and after talking to the doctor we knew that the chances that we had lost our baby were very real. I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant when I had my first ultrasound; there it was, the most beautiful flutter on the screen. A heart so small it just flickered but we cried and thanked the Lord for His protection over our baby! We knew right then what a strong heart she had! By January 8th I had become very sick and the vomiting had become so frequent that I could not even take a sip of water and keep it down, so Jon and my mom took me to see my doctor. I had lost 8lbs. and was so weak I couldn’t walk. I was immediately admitted into the hospital and remained there for the next month. During my stay I was given every nausea medication you can think of but still no relief. I had 2 separate ultrasounds while I was there to check on the baby, a scary time waiting to see that heart beat. But again there it was beating so strong it brought us to tears. After I was discharged I continued to vomit 3 to 5 times daily. At 21 1/2 weeks we had the BIG sonogram, we watched intently, waiting to hear if we were having a boy or girl! They said everything looks great and IT’S A GIRL!! The excitement quickly changed to a gripping fear when the nurse called the next day to tell me they had found an abnormality with Ella’s heart. I listened in shock and then she told me we had an appointment with a perinatal specialist in ten days…longest ten days ever! We were told at that appointment Ella had something called hypo plastic left heart syndrome. All the information was new to us, and at that time they gave Ella about a 75% chance of survival. We returned in 2 weeks for a routine sonogram and to meet with the pediatric cardiologist. It was at that visit we were told that Ella had another very rare heart defect, a restrictive PFO. The combination of these 2 defects was extremely rare and very complicated. They gave her about a 20% chance of survival, we were devastated. It was then we had to make the decision on where to deliver. After much research and prayer, we felt the Lord leading us to Dallas Children’s Medical Center. Because of the severity of Ella’s condition the doctors in Dallas all agreed that Jon and I would need to be in Dallas to stay by 37 weeks pregnant in case I was to go into labor early. They planned on delivering her via c-section at 39 weeks. We were blessed to be accepted into the Ronald McDonald House to stay the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. Ella was born on 8-9-2010 at 3:23pm, what a miracle! Jon and I got to touch her little hands for a few seconds before they whisked her away into the cath lab where they immediately did her first heart procedure. When she was 1 week old they took her in to do her first open heart surgery. Unfortunately her lungs had more damage than the surgeon had anticipated so he did something that had never been done before, and did a temporary fix and sewed her up. They watched her closely for the next week and when she was 2 weeks old they attempted the same surgery, this time it was a success! Since then the doctors have had a few concerns from time to time, but overall her recovery has been phenomenal! We have seen the hand of God time and time again as He has protected her. Although this journey is not what we would have chosen for ourselves, we wouldn’t change it if we could because it has helped us to learn to appreciate the small things in life, grow stronger in our faith, and we have felt God’s love greater than we ever have before. God has showed His love to us through other people by them praying, sending encouraging words in cards, and gifts. Ella’s journey has not been an easy one and certainly not typical, but God is so good all the time and Ella has been VERY worth it all!
* This Run is to help Baby Ella’s parents with the financial hardship of complicated heart surgeries and other medical bills, not to mention the living expenses and future surgeries that Ella may have.
You can follow Ella's Journey @
www.elladawn.blogspot.com
Details for the race will also be posted on the blog and on facebook!
Thank you friends & family who have been praying for the Burk's, we have and will continue to see God work in Ella's life!
Details for the race will also be posted on the blog and on facebook!
Thank you friends & family who have been praying for the Burk's, we have and will continue to see God work in Ella's life!
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