Gillian Updates

Two kids slows us down...

2007-06-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since we updated the blog. Here is a link to some recent videos of Gillian before and after her foot surgery on June 1st. She is doing great and we're looking forward to her learning to walk once the cast is off.

Gillian's YouTube Stuff

T&C

An Update....

2006-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to be able to share this with all of you! We have
finally scheduled Gillian's dedication at our church (Adventure
Christian Church in Roseville) on October 29th at 9am. We know that
many of you live out of town, but we wanted to invite you all to come
celebrate with us. We will be hosting an open house after church that
day, and would love for you to come. Please let us know if you can
make it.

Gillie has been doing really well! She's even starting to stand
during therapy sessions with her braces on. We were also so excited
to watch her climb all the way up the stairs in our friend's house
the other day!!! Wow! God is good! As you know, she had a shunt
placed in her brain in June. We really think this has made a huge
difference in her development. She started crawling the day after we
brought her home from the hospital! She is also able to do things
with her hands that she had previously had trouble with (holding and
releasing objects, etc.). She started talking about a month ago too!
She loves to imitate words and sounds. She will even pause while
she's drinking her bottle to say a new word she's learned (today it
was... drink, drink, "bus," drink some more, "bath," drink again,
"elbow..." and on an on with a HUGE smile on her face). Feeding time
is taking a long time now!!

We also discovered during one of our UCSF visits that her bladder
hadn't grown since she was born. We were able to start a new
medication to help stretch it out and hopefully decrease the chances
of a future bladder surgery. We were having some trouble with night
wakings after staring this medication, but it seems to have leveled
out. Hooray!

We hope all is well with all of you. We thank you again for your
prayers and words of encouragement for our family! We would
appreciate your continued prayers for Gillian's motor development.

Love,
Christy, Todd, Jordan, and Gillian

The News

2006-10-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hi again everyone,

We are so excited to be able to share this with all of you! We have
finally scheduled Gillian's dedication at our church (Adventure
Christian Church in Roseville) on October 29th at 9am. We know that
many of you live out of town, but we wanted to invite you all to come
celebrate with us. We will be hosting an open house after church that
day, and would love for you to come. Please let us know if you can
make it.

Gillie has been doing really well! She's even starting to stand
during therapy sessions with her braces on. We were also so excited
to watch her climb all the way up the stairs in our friend's house
the other day!!! Wow! God is good! As you know, she had a shunt
placed in her brain in June. We really think this has made a huge
difference in her development. She started crawling the day after we
brought her home from the hospital! She is also able to do things
with her hands that she had previously had trouble with (holding and
releasing objects, etc.). She started talking about a month ago too!
She loves to imitate words and sounds. She will even pause while
she's drinking her bottle to say a new word she's learned (today it
was... drink, drink, "bus," drink some more, "bath," drink again,
"elbow..." and on an on with a HUGE smile on her face). Feeding time
is taking a long time now!!

We also discovered during one of our UCSF visits that her bladder
hadn't grown since she was born. We were able to start a new
medication to help stretch it out and hopefully decrease the chances
of a future bladder surgery. We were having some trouble with night
wakings after staring this medication, but it seems to have leveled
out. Hooray!

We hope all is well with all of you. We thank you again for your
prayers and words of encouragement for our family! We would
appreciate your continued prayers for Gillian's motor development.

Love,
Christy, Todd, Jordan, and Gillian

More UCSF Pics

2006-06-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

More UCSF Pics
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

More UCSF Pics

2006-06-24T22:15:00.002-07:00

More UCSF Pics
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

More UCSF Pics

2006-06-24T22:15:00.001-07:00

More UCSF Pics
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

More UCSF Pics

2006-06-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

More UCSF Pics
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

UCSF Pictures

2006-06-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

UCSF Pictures
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

We Survived the Wiggles

2006-06-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

We Survived the Wiggles
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

Sittin' with Dad

2006-06-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Sittin' with Dad
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

Gillie & Faith

2006-06-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Gillie & Faith
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

Miss Gillie

2006-06-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Miss Gillie
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

June Update

2006-06-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

We are writing to ask for prayer for Gillian once again. She had an
MRI in San Francisco a few weeks ago that showed she is developing a
syrinx (cyst) at the top of her spinal column. Her neurosurgeon
believes that the syrinx is being caused by the extra fluid in the
ventricles of her brain (hydrocephalus). Because of this, he's
decided that she needs to have the shunt surgery after all. We have
her surgery scheduled next Tuesday (June 20th) at 2 pm. We would love
your prayers for her health between now and then. She just got over a
cold/ear infection, and has now broken out in small patches of hives
two times in the last few weeks. We have no idea why (possibly caused
by a virus or an allergic reaction to latex or ??), but the doctor
didn't know if she'd have clearance to have the surgery if the hives
are still there next week. Please also pray for her on the day of the
surgery, since she won't be able to eat all day (which is really hard
for a one year old).

On to happier news... Gillian is an amazing baby! She had her first
birthday on June 1st (can you believe it?!) and ate almost an entire
flower cake all by herself! She just started "commando crawling" and
is now able to get into a sitting position. She has some sort of
therapy (physical therapy, occupational therapy, sensory motor gym,
etc.) almost every day, which we think has really helped with her
development. On top of all of that, she's really cute too! She's
still a very happy and content baby, although she's starting to
become more vocal about her wants and needs! We had to take her out
of church yesterday because she had decided that the singing time
needed to continue well into our pastor's sermon!

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. We really
appreciate all of you! We will try to update her blog with pictures
and more updates as we find out more information
(gillianosterberg.blogspot.com).

Love,
Todd, Christy, Jordan, and Gillian

Please pray for:
* Gillian's surgery at 2pm on Tuesday, June 20th
* Strength for her (and us) to deal with not being able to eat the
day of the surgery
* Her health between now and then
* A quick recovery without complications so we can get back home to
Jordan as soon as possible
* Protection from infection along the incision sites (one on her
head, and one on her stomach)

Gillian Update

2006-03-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, it’s been a long time since we updated this site. Can you believe Gillian will be ten months old on April 1st. So much has changed in the past few months. We are writing because we need your prayers once again. We just got back from our spina bifida clinic at UCSF and learned that Gillian will most likely need a shunt surgery. We will talk to the neurosurgeon on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his recommendations, but we are about 98% sure he will be recommending placement of a shunt. Gillie has always had a little extra cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of her brain (called hydrocephalus). Up to this point, her doctors have been comfortable waiting on the surgery since all of her ultrasounds and CT scans haven’t shown much change in the amount of fluid. The one thing they’ve been concerned about is that her head circumference is getting bigger every time we measure it (to the point that it’s not following a curve on the growth chart). Apparently there have been several children they’ve seen in the same situation. Some decided to put the shunt in, and some didn’t. We were told that some of the kids who opted not to have the surgery do have some subtle neurological problems (cognitive/motor delays, etc.). It is uncertain whether a shunt would have changed their situation or not, but at this point, we don’t think we’re willing to let that happen. We are feeling really disappointed and sad about this since we thought she had beaten the odds on this one. Please pray for strength, and wisdom as we have to make this decision in the next few days.

On a happier note, Gillian is blossoming into a beautiful little girl, and is learning new things every day. She is rolling over, sitting, and scooting backwards on her tummy. We’ve also been working on standing with the help of her AFO’S (Ankle Foot Orthotics) and shoes for stability. She is such a joy! Probably the most happy, content little baby we’ve ever met (and most beautiful too… ok, I guess we’re a little biased). She loves to sit in the middle of the family room with a basket of toys or books and watch her brother’s antics. She has Occupational therapy (to work on sensory, feeding, and fine motor skills) and Physical therapy (to work on gross motor skills) every week. It’s amazing to watch her learn new skills during each session. She is our second miracle baby and we wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world!!

Silly Gillie

2006-03-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

Silly Gillie
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

IMG_2543.JPG

Gillie with her friend Faith

2006-03-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

Gillie with her friend Faith
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

IMG_2568.JPG

2 great iPhotos

2006-03-27T16:46:00.001-08:00

2 great iPhotos
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

IMG_2549.JPG

2 great iPhotos

2006-03-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

2 great iPhotos
Originally uploaded by tosterbe.

IMG_2549.JPG

Gillian Picture Refresh

2005-07-05T18:57:00.004-07:00

Gillian gets a cast

2005-06-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our first visit to the UCSF spina bifida clinic. Having made the rounds to way to many specialists for Jordan, we were looking forward to being able to see of the of SB team in one visit. Our expectations were far exceeded. UCSF delivers again. On to what we learned at the clinick..

PT - keep streching her feet and lower legs. Good movement, doing well.
Ortho - Cast applied to address her club foot, measured for ortho shoes that we'll get once the cast is off.
Neurosurgery - Wound is healing well, don't worry about the blister.
Urology - Keep cathing for the next year and repeat the VCUG to see if we can discontinue the cathing.
Social Work - Will arrange for PT and other therapy as needed plus respite care.

All in all, Gillie is doing very well. Did I mention she weights 10 pounds?

In two weeks, we have a return visit for another head ultrasound and to remove the cast. More news and pictures later...

Todd

We ain't no daily publication

2005-06-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Our home office has been receving a LARGE number of VOCAL complaints that there has been no update in the past week. Well, here are some more pictures. In an effort to provide more timely information and pictures, we will gladly allow you, our readers, to come over and pull 24 hour shifts dealing with poopie diapers, feedings, and all other manner of family duties and responsibilities.

Suffice to say, we dont' get any sleep around here. Gillian is doing well and therefore, we are not.

Asleep at the keyboard,

Todd

Friday Edition

2005-06-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Gillie has moved to another location in the ICN. She is in bed 1, North Wing. We are also going to be moving today to the Koret Family House. This is the same place where two other families with SB kids are staying. We will also be a bit closer to the hospital.

Things are still on track for us to leave next week. All three of us are doing well and we are looking forward to coming home.

Hopefully, I will find a way to post more pictures tonight...

Todd

Thursday News

2005-06-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

The PT consult today said that Gillie's foot doesn't require surgery and that she will have an answer as to wether Gillie will be splinted or casted by tomorrow. Things look to be on track for us to head out of UCSF by Wednesday of next week. The hospital is already making outpatient follow-up appointments for us on Monday... not sure how realistic this schedule is, but we will gladly work with it.

Christy and I are doing better. We've managed to get some rest and all things considered, we're not doing bad at all.

More later...

Todd

More pictures and info from UCSF

2005-06-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Gillie Update --- Just talked with Dr. Gupta

First, let me HIGHLY recommend that you never attempt to park at the UCSF garage on a rainy day. It took just short of one hour to find (I really mean fight for a spot) a parking spot.

Dr. Gupta just spend some time talking with us about Gillie's progress. He is pleased with how her wound is healing and very pleased that she is not showing and signs of hydrocephalus. We also got the info that ortho and PT CAN begin their consults so that we can still aim to head home next week. Gillie still needs to avoid being on her back so that we minimize the changes to injure wound. All in all, we are all doing better since talking with Dr. Gupta.

Here are some more pictures.
More later...

Older Update that didn't get posted

2005-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

This post didn't make it until today.. we've been busy.

Todd

_____________________
Gilliean Update

First, thank all of you for your continual prayers and thoughts for our family over the past few months. All three of us are doing very well. Christy is going to get out of bed this morning, Gilliean did very well during her surgery yesterday, and I am doing my best to enjoy being Gilliean's daddy.

So here is the recap of the past two days. We arrived at UCSF on Tuesday morning at 10:00 to prep for the 1:00 c-section. UCSF had thee emergency procedures that needed to happen before Christy's c-section and because of this, the UCSF team decided to wait until Wednesday morning. So promptly at 8:30 Christy way prepped for surgery and was walking down the hall when they turned her back because of another emergency. Do you see a pattern here? A few minutes later, the OR was ready for Christy. We provided the traditional elbow-elbow-wrist-wrist Ms. America wave to Christy as she headed into the OR. There were some challenges in getting the epidural & spinal placed and while I waited outside, it seemed to take forever. There was some discussion that the surgery had started without me, but that was not the case.

I managed to make it through the surgery without passing out. I was able to record some of the audio from the delivery including Gilliean's first cries. I don't remember the names of all of the Doctors in the OR but I must say they were very friendly and accommodating throughout the surgery. One of the docs took tons of pictures for us while we talked at length with the others about many things including good local eateries, the lack of power tools in the OR, and that we didn't want any junior mints to be spilled into Christy. I was given the opportunity to cut the cord. However, I know my limits and kindly told the OR team that unless they wanted to deal with a passed out father, I would pass on their offer. I then proceeded to walk back around the OR and sit down on my designated daddy stool. The anesthesiologist was Dr. Ben Paul. He was very pleased that I was wearing teva sandals in the OR.

We gave Gilliean a chance to rest and about an hour later Christy's parents and I paid her a visit in the ICN (intensive care newborn). Several people have asked about her 'painted nails'. I don't know why they appear to be painted red, but we will find out.

Later that day, we had the chance to walk Gillie down from the ICN to the OR for her surgery. We were told the procedure would take around two hours. The surgery started at around 4:00 and by 5:50 the Neurosurgeon was up in Christy's room giving us an update on how well the surgery went. From his point of view, things went as planned and there we no complications. We then went back to the patient elevator to wait for Gillie to come back to the ICN. We took a couple of pictures as she was moved back to into the ICN.

We were lucky enough to have David and Alyssa Forester (hope I spelled her name right...) drop by to visit. David is in dental school here in SF and his wife is in nursing school as well. We hadn't seen David in years and I don't think we had ever met his wife. BTW, she is running her first marathon this weekend in San Diego so keep her in your prayers as well. I took them into the ICN to meet Gilliean. Gillie was very still and peaceful when we saw her. She was laying on her belly and we heard a few little snores. How beautiful.

We haven't gone to see Gilliean this morning. Christy is going to get out of bed and we will see how things progress. I would venture to guess that there will be a morning visit to the ICN.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support,

Todd

Ok, we're not really homeless

2005-06-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

I think that our last post created some confusion. We have NOT been forced into the mean streets of SF. We are still staying in a parent/child room @ UCSF. We did make a decision to find a different place to stay tonight. More to follow..

Back to Gilli... She is doing very well. Our goal today (outside of housing) is to pin the UCSF folks down and get more info about a release date. We will see how much info we can pump out of these people.

Todd

Monday is a good day

2005-06-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

So we just got the prelim read of the head CT and Gilli's ventricles are still in the 13-14cm range. From our POV, this is yet another miracle since the last prenatal head CT estimaed the size of the ventricles was 16-17cm. So, how about that!

I've been searching for an economical way to post more picture of Gilli but this quest has proven difficult. I hope to make more headway and show you more pictures of our daughter.

We have been starting to be a bit more firm with the UCSF folks so that we can better understand the requirments and milestones we need to achieve so that we can all go home.

Over the next few days, can you please pray for the following:

1. That we would get into the familiy house near the hospital.
2. That we would learn when we are all going home.
3. That Gilli's back would continue to heal
4. That the other spina-bifida kids would also be healed.

We've made some new friends here @ UCSF. Faith and Kyrsten are two other girls who have SB. All of the girls have had corrective surgery and are doing fairly well. Please pray for Faith that she would be able to go home soon. Also pray for Kyrsten that she would grow and develop and also be able to go home soon as well. Kyrsten had fetal surgery and was delivered at 31 weeks.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Todd & Christy

Sunday Edition

2005-06-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Christy was discharged today and we don't have final lodging arrangements made yet. We will be crashing out in a wainting room @ UCSF tonight. Homeless in San Francisco.

Back to Gilli..

All in all, she is doing well. She is eating and gaining weight. Her head circumfrence is normal so far. We have an untrasound for her head tomorrow to check the size of her ventricles. Please pray that the test shows that her venticles are not growing. This would be HUGE for all of us if we can avoid a shunt. Well.. the UCSF people are closing out the free computer access today.. more later.

Todd

Quick Update

2005-06-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

So the fine folks @ UCSF will let use their PC to post un update, but they won't let us use our machine to send the pictures we have taken... so..

In summary, all is going well and I will hopefully send more pictures soon.

Thanks for the prayers, phone calls and all of you support.

Todd, Chrsity, Jordan and Gillian.

MG - no really..

2005-06-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

It is a long story but we didn't get to meet Gillian until this morning. UCSF had several emergencies they wanted to wait until today to perform the C-section. Christy is doing very well. More words later. Keep the prayers coming. Gilli is having surgery somtime today between now and 4:00.

Gillian's stats: 19 3/4 long, 7 and 1/2 pounds. Full head of hair.. very soft skin.

Perfect.

Todd

MG Day

2005-05-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

It is just after 7am on MG (Meet Gillian) day. We are both looking forward to meeting this precious little girl yet and while we are both scared of the journey ahead we know that we aren't going alone. We have wonderful friends, neighbors, family, a world-class small group from church, great doctors, but most importantly, we have a God who has brought us this far and wants to shape us through this experience. As painful and as frustrating as parts of this journey will be, we both know that in the end, we will be better for having trusted the Lord and for being Gilli's parents.

We will be heading to UCSF at 8:00 today and Christy's surgery is scheduled for 1:00. We don't know how much time we may have to see Gillian today but we are hoping to be able to post a picture here this evening.

Thanks again for your prayers, phone calls, and support. Keep them coming.

More to follow....

Gillian Update

2005-05-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long since we have send out an update. Things have
been very busy as we prepare to become parents again. God has richly
blessed us with one miracle baby and he is preparing us for another.

Things have been progressing very well and we are in the final few days
before we get to meet Gillian.

We are scheduled for an afternoon c-section on May 31st at UCSF and
Gillie will have corrective surgery on June 1st.
We anticipate coming home from UCSF sometime around June 15th. While
we are in SF, my sister and mother will be taking care of Jordan. For
our friends with kids Jordan's age... we are trying to setup a few
play-day's for them. Please email us back to see if we can possibly
have a play-day between May 31 and June 15.

In these last few days, we would ask you to pray for the following:

1. That God would perform miracle upon miracle and that Gillie would be
healed.
2. That Christy would be comfortable during the next few days,
3. That God would prepare Christy and Gillie's doctors and nurses,
4. That we would all be healthy until Gillie comes home.
5. That the Lord would be glorified through this precious child.
6. Strength for Todd's Mom & Sister in caring for Jordan.

Thank you all so much for all of your kind emails, prayers, phone
calls, and friendship. Each of you are important to all of us and we
treasure the time we have spent with you.

More to follow,

Todd, Christy, & Jordan

Past another hurdle

2005-04-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

We have passed the 30 week hurdle. We didn't make it this far with Mr. Jordan. There has been some stress surrounding this milestone but Praise God for his provisions for taking us past 30 weeks.

We have less than 60 days until we get to meet Baby Gillian. I am both excited and scared. We are starting to go back and forth thinking about the changes that are coming to our family. Part of me doesn't know what to expect and part of me thinks this will be no different than your average child, and part of me wants to push the pause button. I have been a bit on edge as of late. I am letting little things get to me and they are beginning to impact me more than I would like. Christy and I are wrestling over a few things and sometimes we are loosing site of the fact that we are on the same team. Things are getting tougher.

More to follow...

Todd

Nothing is a coincidence

2005-02-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

I've gotten several great notes back regaring our last post during our UCSF visit. Again, thank all of you for your very kind words.

Back to the subject at hand...

We have had a few people tell us that they believe God will do a HUGE miracle and heal Gillian. For me, this is really hard for me to think about. I would love for God to reach down and touch her right now and make this situation go away but I know that from her Creator's point of view, she is already perfect. In my prayer journal my number one prayer continues to be a HUGE miracle for Gillian. I feel somewhat selfish in praying this prayer. Sometimes I find myself thinking "Who am I to ask God who has made a perfect creation to make it more perfect?" and then I remember that it is the world is trying to stop me from praying for this precious little girl. The book of Job tells us that Satan roams trough the earth and that he is going back and forth in it. The world wants me to NOT trust in God. The world wants me to discount that Devil wants to use this situation to build a wall between me and the Lord. The world wants me to throw in the towel. The world thinks I am in denial. Then I remember that I've got to make a continual choice.

At somepoint during these struggles it hits me -- who is your best friend and why can't you pour our your soul to him.

Update from UCSF Visit

2005-02-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cold and Rainy in the city

We awoke in the morning in what looked and felt to be Seattle with a lot of low lying clouds and a rain. We arrived at UCSF and our first appointment was with a wonderful ultrasound tech. Gillian waved for the camera. She must take after her mother. As the exam continued we were able to see wonderful pictures of what God is knitting together. I was somewhat nervous about seeing the lesion on her back. Above all, I was hoping that God had done a huge miracle and had healed this precious little girl. Then I remembered that one who created Gillian made her without imperfections. It is the world who tells us that she is imperfect. I choose to believe that the world is wrong. I chose to trust the perfect creation of the Lord. I put my trust in him and praise him that he would entrust us with this child.

After the ultrasound tech was done, a radiologist paid us a visit and continued the exam.

The radiologist was very nice and we talked at length about what she was seeing. In the end, she discovered that we have a very minor case of placenta previa. She also burned us a CD copy of the dicom images (medical images from the ultrasound). Long story short, that condition generally excludes people from the MOMS study. We left the ultrasound visit somewhat down but still feeling and believing that God is in control.

We then met with four doctors (plus a visiting doc from the UK) to discuss the risks and possible benefits from the prenatal surgery. We also met Stephanie a UCSF social worker who was absolutely wonderful. We all talked at length about the program and the initial opinion of Dr. Ball was that the doing the prenatal surgery in our case would be too risky. This is an answer to prayer. I had been praying that the Doctors would see what they needed to see. God delivers again.

The team at UCSF has been wonderful. We continued to discuss Gillian's prognosis and talked about moving forward with the post-natal surgery at UCSF once Gillian is born. I will admit that I am feeling both let down and relieved. We want the best care for Gillian and Christy -- and that is what we are continuing to receive.

Right now we are at our second exam of the day. We are having a fetal echo. I just heard Gilli's heart. The echo study was "unremarkable" -- meaning things are looking good.

We have had a bout an hour and a half break since the last appointment and we have made the rounds on the UCSF campus. We hit the bookstore. We hit the Rec Hall. We hit the Starbucks. Our last appointment of the day was with Dr. Gupta. Dr. Gupta is a neurosurgeon who does both pre-natal and post-natal surgeries on spina bifida kids. What a kind and gracious man he was.

All in all, this was a very good experience for us We had the opportunity to meet most of the team who will, in all likelyhood, be caring for Gillian.

It is now Wednesday AM and Christy is having the fetal MRI. I am taking this opportunity to finish this update and email it out to our family and friends. We will send another update out later this week with links to the images we were able to obtain from the various studies as well as specific prayer requests.

We are so blessed to have so many of you praying for this little child. I don't know what God has planned for her but I am dreaming big.

Todd

Good News about Baby O

2005-02-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

This will be the last Baby O update because we are very pleased to
announce:

Our precious little girl will be named Gillian Christine Osterberg.
We've setup a blog (a web log -- Todd explained this to Christy as a
kind of website...) to which we will be posting updates as her story
unfolds. We will also continue the email updates as well.. The
address for the blog is http://gillianosterberg.blogspot.com

More good news...

We got the results of the amnio today and there are no indications that
would exclude us from the MOMS study and possible prenatal surgery at
UCSF. The amnio showed Gillian is definitely a girl, she has normal
chromosomes, and she has spina bifida with some spinal nerve exposure.

On to our next challenge...

We have been in contact with UCSF and two day set of tests are
scheduled for February 15th and 16th. If we do have surgery, it will
be on the 17th (which is next Thursday - yikes!). T minus 10 and
counting... I am starting to get a bit nervous and anxious. I am
falling out of the comfort and rest that I have been enjoying for the
past two weeks. The realization of just how challenging this is going
to be has hit me like a brick.

Christy and I have been talking about the logistics and the 'what ifs'
if we are in the prenatal surgery group. It is looking like we might
not live in Fairfield after all. The UCSF people would be much more
comfortable if Christy stayed in SF rather than Fairfield. So, we have
a somewhat new plan: Jordan and I will live in Roseville, and Christy
will live in SF. The impact of this decision is that Jordan will
hopefully have a more "normal" routine, but we will need TWO caregivers
(one in Roseville and one in SF) to pull this off.

As we are praying and searching for people who can help, we've put a
calendar together that is available at
<>. The calendar only shows
info for coverage for Jordan here in Roseville. We need to find people
to help with Jordan on Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

That about sums it up. More to follow..

Todd, Christy, Jordan and Gillian.

Our Email from UCSF

2005-02-07T16:59:00.000-08:00

Here is our itinerary from UCSF so that we can all be praying for very
specific things:

Christine and Todd Osterberg,

Tuesday, January 15

8:15 arrive for 8:30 ultrasound,400 Parnassus @ plaza level (directly
across the street from the hospital) There is a white Hippocrates
statue by a set of outdoor cement stairs. Take those stairs down directly to
ultrasound.

1:00 ECHO, 3rd floor hospital, room M-343

Consults:
Stephanie Berman LCSW, 15 floor
Robert Ball, MD Perinatologist
Roberta Keller, MD Neonatologist-15th floor
Diana Farmer, MD Pediatric and Fetal Surgeon
Hanmin Lee, MD Pediatric and Fetal Surgeon
Stephanie Berman Social Worker- 15th floor
Mark Rosen, MD Anesthesiologist
Cindy Lazzareti, RN Director Spina Bifida Clinic
Dr. Nalin Gupta, MD Pediatric Neurosurgeon- ACC 8th floor

Wednesday, January 16

8:15 arrive for 11:30 MRI the China Basin location. China Basin at 185
Berry Street. Do not eat or drink anything 4 hrs prior to the MRI. The MRI
will take approx. 2 hours. Take a taxi from the motel to China Basin.
There is a free UCSF shuttle that you will bring you back to the hospital.

12:00 Meet with Fetal Treatment Center Nurses to discuss possible
randomization, U-112

Who am I Lord

2005-01-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last night was somewhat challenging for us. No bad news, just some of friction from trying to plan for the next few months. I think that most of it was caused because Christy and I were very tired and just plain worn out.

A wise man challenged me to read the Bible every day for 60 days and keep a journal of my readings. He called it Breakfast with Jesus. For just under one year now, I have not missed one day. One thing that has been very tough for me was to look back at the days since we learned we were going to have a new baby. There are so many prayers about Christy's health and the new baby's health that it was very, very hard to understand what has happened. It has taken several days to come to grips with the fact that our baby is perfect in God's eyes and in his plans. Bottom line, that is what matters. That doesn't mean I still don't struggle with many "what-if's" and "why's" -- believe me I do.

Today we should receive more details about the MOMS study and with any luck, by Friday we might have the results of the Amnio.

Again, your prayers are coveted in this challenging time.

Todd

Out of the mouths of babes

2005-01-30T20:31:00.000-08:00

We have been trying to explain to Jordan why mommy and daddy have been talking with so many people and what may happen in the next few weeks. He know that the baby is sick and that the doctors need to fix her. We have explained to him that the baby has a hole in her spine that needs to be fixed. So, like any smart child he suggested we tape her up. If only it was so simple.

Jordan started and continues to pray for his sister at meals and at our nightly prayers. His sister is going to have a great brother.

Saturday's Phone Call

2005-01-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

We had a great talk with the director of the MOMS program. We talked about the details of the program including the risks and possible benefits. I don't know what God has planned for our baby -- we don't know if we will get into the study or not, and if we do we don't know if we will have the surgery. All things considered, we are doing our best to let go and let God work. We will be sending our medical records to the MOMS folks for review and then hopefully we will get a follow-up appointment at UCSF in the next two weeks.

Keep your prayers coming! They are working as we daily feel blessed and relieved that God is in control.

More to follow.

T

Looking back on the last few days

2005-01-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

I think that the toughtest thing God is trying to teach me in this situation is that I need to learn to let other love me.

We have received a TREMENDOUS outpouring of love from so many people. I really don't know how many people are praying for our family but we covet each and every prayer. I wanted to share a few things that have happened to us this week. I had a good friend call me and he didn't know what to say other that "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. What can I do to help?" So, what is the proper response to this question? Well, in this case, my friend is not a Christian so I told him flat out, "Become a Christian." BAM! Well see where this goes..

I hesitate to list all of the people who have called or email us to offer help, prayers and support -- I don't want to forget anyone because you are all so very special members of our extended family.

Just a few more thoughts for now. We have a con call with Dr. Catherine Shaer today at 2 pm. We are going to talk about the MOMS program, Gillian's prognosis, and I would guess many other things. I will send out an update email after the conversation.

More to follow...

Todd

Remember our Jordan Updates? Here we go again...

2005-01-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Friends and Family-

Three and a half years ago you stood by us and helped us through a very tough time in our life. With God's help and yours as well, we are all doing well.

So what are the odds that we would have another big challenge with our second baby? Forget the odds because we have problems.

Yesterday we had an ultrasound that showed our new baby has spina bifida. We have the most severe form that is called Meningomyelocele (pronounced muh-NING-go-my-uh-low-seal) but we have it in the best possible location -- very low on the spine. So where do we go from here?

We are being considered by UCSF for inclusion in a study called MOMS (Management of Meningomyelocele Study) that may involve having prenatal surgery to improve the outcome for our baby. We won't know if we will be accepted into the study until we have the results of the amnio back. We must also pass an evaluation to see if we meet the other criteria for participation.

We haven't picked a name yet -- we were waiting to learn if we were having a boy or a girl. We think we are having a girl.

Folks, I am ready for another set of miracles. I will admit this has not been an easy day, but in my heart I know that God has a plan for this child and I should praise him that he would entrust us to be part of his plan.

We would covet your prayers for these specific things:

1. That God would cause a miracle to occur and that our baby would be healthy.
2. That we have strength to make it through this very tough time
3. That we would be able to continue being good parents to Jordan

Please feel free to forward this email.

Thanks,

Todd, Christy, Jordan, and Baby-O.

Gillian Updates

Two kids slows us down...

An Update....

The News

More UCSF Pics

More UCSF Pics

More UCSF Pics

More UCSF Pics

UCSF Pictures

We Survived the Wiggles

Sittin' with Dad

Gillie & Faith

Miss Gillie

June Update

Gillian Update

Silly Gillie

Gillie with her friend Faith

2 great iPhotos

2 great iPhotos

More Pictures for our Readers

Gillian Picture Refresh

Gillian gets a cast

We ain't no daily publication

Friday Edition

Thursday News

More pictures and info from UCSF

Older Update that didn't get posted

Ok, we're not really homeless

Monday is a good day

Sunday Edition

Quick Update

MG - no really..

MG Day

Gillian Update

Past another hurdle

Nothing is a coincidence

Update from UCSF Visit

Good News about Baby O

Our Email from UCSF

Who am I Lord

Out of the mouths of babes

Saturday's Phone Call

Looking back on the last few days

Remember our Jordan Updates? Here we go again...