Philadelphia... here we come.

Just a quick update for everyone:

   First of all, we want to thank everyone that has been supporting us, praying and fasting for us, and sending us love. We definitely have felt all of that power and really appreciate it! We will be leaving tomorrow (Sunday) for Philadelphia and we are extremely anxious to get out there and get things moving along. Although we have only known about our baby's condition and the potential of surgery for a total of almost 3 weeks, we feel like we have been waiting around forever to get the ball rolling on everything. This has been a great lesson in patience for the both of us. We still feel extremely confident that everything is going to go great, and this is still the right decision for our sweet baby. The thing that I have been struggling with the most is leaving my sweet Noah behind. Although I am confident that I will recovery quickly from the surgery, there is the potential that I will have to stay out there until I deliver, while my little family stays here. The thought of being away from Dante, and especially little Noah, whom I spend all day everyday with, is absolutely killing me. I go into his room every night and pick him and just cry. I am not worried about who is watching him and that we won't be taken care of, I am just going to miss him so incredibly much. He is not only my little pal all day, but he has been my little ray of sunshine throughout this whole experience. No matter what has just happened, or what new information we have just found out, he never ceases to make me smile and remember all of my blessings, and how grateful I am to be a mother, not only to him, but to our new baby boy as well. He will be staying with my sister-in-law and brother for the week that Dante and I are both gone, and then we have a little schedule set up for him to be taken care of during that day while Dante is at work (THANK YOU to all those watching him. He loves each of you and is extremely comfortable with you. I know that he will be in good hands while I am gone... which definitely takes a load of worry and stress off of my shoulders.).
     We will fly in to Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon and then come Monday morning we will have to be at the hospital at 7:30. We are expected to be there until about 4 or 5 that evening doing tests and meeting with the large team of doctors involved with the surgery. Needless to say, it is going to be an extremely long day for all of us. However, after Monday we should have a better idea of when surgery is going to be. As of right now I am not on the surgical board. Once I pass all of the evaluations on Monday, we are hoping we can then schedule a surgery date. Since Dante has to leave that Saturday to come back to work and to be with Noah, we are really praying that we can do the surgery before he leaves. My doctor has talked with the surgeons out there and they know how anxious and willing we are to have the surgery done. He also has told me that from what he has seen of the baby, and from all of my blood work, there shouldn't be any reason that I don't pass any of the evaluation of Monday. We are really praying that this is all true and there isn't going to be anything that pops up that might delay or deny us the chance of this amazing surgery. If all goes well we will meet with one of the head doctors on Tuesday and then go from there.
   As I mentioned before, we still feel very calm and comforted in our choice to do the surgery.We are asking that people pray and fast that the surgeons will be guided to make the surgery go as well as it can go, that I have a speedy recovery so that I can come home and finish the remainder of my pregnancy here with my family and friends, and that our sweet baby boy is able to stay inside of me as long as possible. They won't let me go over 36 weeks, but my doctor told me he doesn't really expect me to carry him past 32 weeks. I am 110% determined to make it to 36 weeks. July 12th marks 36 weeks for me, and I know through the faith of those praying for us, and by me being completely committed to bed rest until that point, that I can make it.
    There is still a lot of unknowns in all of this, but Dante and I know without a doubt that our little boy will be healthy, strong, and will be able to do anything in this life that he wants to do. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and please still be positive about the situation. We cannot wait to meet our little man. We already love him so much. I feel him moving around all of the time, and what a blessing of reassurance that is. We once again are so grateful for all of your support and love, and for everyone that has helped us so far. We still ask that you contact me if you have questions or concerns and don't speculate or assume anything based upon what you might have seen on the internet or with a different person. You won't be bothering us and I would love to fill you in on any other questions you have. I will update everyone after we passed the evaluation and have a surgery date. We love all of you, and we especially our loving Heavenly Father who has helped us each step of the way throughout this process.