Special Fast

I received this email from a friend in Mimi's ward and thought I would share it with anyone that may be interested......

Dear Friends,
Friends of the John and Mimi McDonald Family are going to be fasting for their family on Tuesday, Sept 30th and we would like to invite you to join with us in that fast, if you would like to.

The fast is specifically that Baby Mia's situation will improve soon - (and even more specifically that she'll be able to receive her new heart soon), and also that Mimi (and the whole family) will continue to be strengthened and uplifted.


Thanks for everyone's continued support in helping the McDonald Family!

Patiently Waiting

Mia is still waiting for her new heart but seems to be doing pretty well in the meantime. She is gaining weight (she's up to about 8 1/2 lbs now) which is a bonus as that means the doctors are able to keep her body successfully functioning while enduring heart failure and being bigger may open up the door to more heart possibilities. Please pray her body will continue to remain stable and that a donor possibility will present itself very soon!

Thanks to everyone involved in the bake sale. So much work was put into it and it was definitely a success! There were so many creative and delicious looking goods that were donated and so many willing buyers and others who donated money without receiving a treat just to help out! Just a few pictures. It was hard to get all the tables in one shot as there was so much stuff!

I'm grateful and I know the McDonald's are as well that the YMCA allowed the sale to be held there and for everyone that supported it!

Bake Sale to raise money for Mia

*We are having a week long bake sale at the Puyallup South Hill Mel Korum YMCA (302 43rd Avenue SE Puyallup, WA (253) 841-9622).
*The sale begins Monday, Sept 15th through Saturday, Sept 20th between the hours of 10-1 and 4-7. We will have delicious baked goods and the proceeds will be donated to 2 month old Mia McDonald who is currently awaiting a heart transplant. Please come visit and help with this great cause!
cookies, popcorn balls, cupcakes, bannana bread, pies, rice krispy treats, candy etc

Update

Mia had a tough day yesterday. Her central line (which administers her all her meds) seemed to not be working quite like it should so she went into surgery to have a new one put in. They decided to put one directly into her heart through her superior vena cava. That was a lil' upsetting as they hoped to preserve her heart as best they could for the transplant. They also put a temporary line through her groin while they were installing the permenant line in her heart so now she has two good functioning lines. At one point when they thought her central line wasn't working they shaved the top and sides of her head to try and get an IV through her head. That attempt failed and they ended up getting one in her arm but as you can imagine her mommy is not so thrilled about the head shaving. That was the straw on the camel's back. Mia and Mimi are so strong and such fighters but this ordeal is wearing down even the best of them. Mimi and I went to the temple and I hope Mimi was able to feel some comfort and peace and gain some more strength back. They are both amazing and share such a special bond. We pray that Mia's wait for her heart will be over shortly and she will be growing and laughing and playing at home very soon!
Mia before her new haircut!

Hangin' In There

Lil' Mia is doing her best to hold steady. Not too much has changed. She has been put on nitrogen and they are slowly weaning her morphine drip. She still has some discomfort so she receives ativan to help with that. This little baby is still so small and fragile and is trying so hard to be patient until her new heart arrives!Mommy and Mia

Look at all our visitors

I thought it would be interesting to show everyone the wide scope of our visitors. The black dots indicate an area where people have viewed this blog. As you can see most of our visits are in the United States but we have had some from England and Australia! It's great to see how people all over the world are reading about Baby Mia and hopefully that will increase as our site continues to be shared by others. Thanks again to all that have donated. Even $1 can make a difference. Here is an update written by her mommy and a recent picture of Mia with her stylin' cowboy belt from her Papa:
"My little darlin is holding strong. She has had a rough couple days. Her finger tips are purple, she is breathing really fast, and she is really uncomfortable. She is still tolerating her feeds which is more than the doctors expect from her. For some reason she spikes a fever every day. Her heart rate is continually in the 200's- mostly when she is really mad. She is still on C-Pap, but is tolerating it less so they leave her off. Her kidney function or BUN level was at 53- which if you are like me and don't know much about BUNS- it is really high for an infant. She should be in the single digits. They have her on a continual morphine drip to help with her discomfort. Some times this is not enough and she still has to have bolus doses to help her sleep. Her liver is also very large due to all of the heart medications. She is currently on four heart medications along with a bunch of other meds that help maintain her little body.

In summary- we're not doing so hot. I keep having dreams that she receives her new heart. Some days I feel like I am being tortured (watching her go through all of this), but most days I am just grateful to be here and to be her mom."

Please keep lil' Mia and Mimi in your prayers. I know it's hard for Mimi to be away from the rest of her family, but even from far away she is a wondeful mommy to her other children. We are prayerful that Mia will receive her new heart soon and she can start the road to a healthy recovery and a new chance at life!