Mia Update!!

As you know Mia made it out of ICU and what a different world that is. Mia's mom was hoping she might be lucky enough to go home for Thanksgiving, even if just for a few hours but Mia's transplant cardiologist said today "probably not." Mia's heart rate has been higher than usual and her breathing has been faster and more erratic. They don't know for sure why her vitals are a little off from before but are thinking it will just take some adjusting and tweaking of certain things. Her cardiologist mentioned that maybe her body being off the milirinone is just trying to adjust and her immune suppresant drug level is now really low, previously had been very high so hopefully that will balance out soon too. The doctors have said there will probably be many things (i.e. meds and stuff) changed and adjusted as she grows and they learn how she responds to them. We are thankful for how far she has come and the progress she has made thus far as it truly is remarkable and we pray everything will level out and be just right very soon so she may be home with her family! I had the honor of holding her today and "babysitting" her while her mom, Mimi was able to go view and hold her native heart! Amazing huh! Holding her was heavenly even though I don't think she enjoyed me quite as much as she enjoys her momma holding her! :) I still thought it was wonderful as I had not held her since before she was intubated! All in all Mia is doing pretty well which is nothingless than we expected as we all know what a fighter she is! Not too much longer and she'll be fighting with her brother and sister at home! :)

Mia Moved!!!!

Yay, Mia made it out of ICU! Soon her time at the hospital will be a distant memory as she is reunited with her family at home! Mia has come along way from the time she was born and I know she has many happy moments and memories awaiting her!

Here is a picture of Mia and one of her favorite nurses!

Run-A-Thon Fundraiser

Thanks to Dane and Mike for their bike-a-thon efforts and to everyone who supported them to benefit Mia! Another thanks to all who bid on auction items! Everyone has been so amazing in their support and love of little Mia. We have another exciting fundraiser coming up next week. A sweet gal, Abbie has decided to do a run-a-thon and people can donate or make pledges based on how many miles she runs! For more information please click here! Thanks again to all the wonderful people out there!

Mia update: She is sadly still in the ICU. A few hours before she was supposed to move to the floor she spiked a fever so she had to stay. Her line is not working properly and they decided to put her back on the milrinone so she had to have an IV inserted in her scalp. Poor baby! Hopefully very soon these days will be behind her! Other than all that though she is doing great!

Auction Items

Don't forget about all the great auction items that people have donated or so creatively crafted! New items have been added over these last couple of days and the silent bidding ends Saturday night! Don't miss out...signed books, japanese art prints, quilts, baby afghans to name a few! click HERE to see all the items and bid!

Her Smile Gets Better and Better!!!

We all know how amazing Mia is and if you hadn't seen her before her transplant she is like a whole different baby! Everyday I am in awe at the progress she is making! She is smiling up a storm, has had all her lines removed so all that remains is her feeding tube! She has gotten to drink from a bottle twice and loved it and gets to wear clothes now, be held all the time and the list goes on!She hasn't been able to be completely weaned from the milrinone which means no moving to the floor today, but once she does she will literally be home in no time at all!
This little baby is gettting so big and has so much strength and fight her in! It will be wonderful to watch the amazing things she does in the coming years!

Check Out Miss Mia!

Is this not about the greatest picture ever! She looks fabulous! I hardly had any words as I could not believe how great she looks. Only a week and half after her heart transplant and she is doing amazing! She still hasn't made it out of ICU but has moved to the pediatric intensive care instead of the cardiac intensive care...baby steps. Hopefully they'll be out of ICU by the weekend and then the long awaited home! The medication level of her immune suppressant drug is very high (toxically high) for some reason, but she is working through it! Her mommy, Mimi said she is happy and awake most of the time and she really wants to eat! What a remarkable baby Mia is and what remarkable fans she has!

Thanks again to everyone for their continued support!

Good Luck to Dane and Mike on their bike-a-thon tomorrow!

It's not too late to pledge, just click here!

More Wonderful People=More Exciting Auctions

People have continually stepped in to Help Baby Mia and the following pictures are a few of the current auctions going on! Please click here to be directed to the blog where the auction is taking place! There are a ton of items, many of which would be great for Christmas presents and remember it all benefits Mia!

Swiss Chocolate

Custom Designed Shoes
Knit hat and booties

Children's Books

These are just a few of the items....they are tons more so check out this blog and let the fun begin!

Thanks so much!

Giveaways and Fundraisers

win this fabulous wallet!!! just click here to leave a comment and be entered in this giveaway!

Nursing cover and delicious treats! Click here to be taken to the giveaway hostess' blog for more info.

Dark Wood, Zebra Jasper and Coral Necklace http://www.jenwebleydesigns.blogspot.com/

Click on picture or link for more info!

Giveaway will end at midnight, PST on December 22nd.

Holiday Banners and little girl tutu's. Click below for more info

50% of every cd or songbook purchased donated to Mia. Click below for more info

http://www.saralynbaril.com/

Premade 12x12 double sided scrapbook pages

Little Update

Mia didn't make it out of ICU today. :( She is still on milrinone, which "is a vaso dilator and helps profuse her arms and legs. When they started the weaning process her hands and feet were cold. They increased her dose, and they are going to try and ween more gradually." Her mom said she is still doing great though and is amazed at how normal her heart looks on the echo. Her other medications are tapering down but until she is able to be off the milirinone she will have to remain in the ICU. Let's pray her body will tolerate and work properly off the mili...so she can be moved to the floor. The closer she is to being on the floor also brings her one step closer to being at home!

Great Strides

Mimi finally got to hold Mia today! Along with that happy news...as long as things continue to go well Mia will be moved out of ICU tomorrow and onto the floor! That is a great accomplishment in itself. Mia's nurses on the floor have more patients to take care of which means Mimi will most likely not be leaving Mia's side so she can help care for her. Please keep her other two children in your prayers though as this means she will probably not be going home to visit until Mia goes with her! That will be a wonderful day but is probably still a few weeks out! We all know little Mia is a fighter and she proves this day after day! She has been and is an inspiration to so many. What a wonderful life she has ahead of her!

Reminder.....

Just wanted to remind everyone it's the last day to bid on the custom painted canvas! Just click here for more information and you can click on her links to see some of the previous canvas' she has created! This is a wonderful opportunity to get something unique for yourself and help out Sweet Baby Mia as well!

How can you resist helping this sweet little face!!!

http://bibsandcribs.blogspot.com/2008/11/help-baby-mia.html

Breathing on her own

Well Mia was finally extubated this afternoon after at least a month of continually having a tube down her throat or nose! She is breathing on her own and loving it I'm sure. Previously, it was always sad to see that Mia was crying but not be able to hear her. I haven't heard her yet, but her mommy says it is the sweetest, tiniest little sound! Her mom and dad haven't been able to hold her yet but hopefully that will change tomorrow! Mia is obviously still on a lot of medication. Apparently at one point the nurses were telling Mimi (Mia's mommy) how they call her a rockstar. Mimi thought it was because she was so well loved or strong, but then realized it was because of all the drugs she can tolerate! Everyday she is healing a little more though and before long these last 4 months will be a fading memory as she settles into a routine at home with her loving family! Here is a picture of two of the heroic men that helped Mia get to where she is today. These are the two surgeons that performed Mia's heart transplant! What amazing doctors they must be with such incredible knowledge! We will forever be grateful to them and all the other doctors and nurses like them that save people's lives and give them another chance at life!

One last thing...the bracelet/flower hair clip giveaway ended yesterday and I just wanted to Congratulate the winner, Chris! I hope your granddaughter enjoys the bracelet and clip!
Thank you to everyone who entered and for everyone's continued support! Everyone's thoughts, comments and prayers have been life changing to The McDonald Family as well as to everyone else involved!

New Info...

Just wanted to update everyone on Mia and a couple of fundraiser/giveaways! Mia is continuing to heal nicely! She remains on pain meds but got her 2nd chest tube removed yesterday! Only 1 more chest tube left. Her heart rate and oxygen saturation numbers continue to do well and it looks like they may extubate her tomorrow, which means Mom and Dad can hold her again! Mia is making great strides and I know in time she will be like any other little girl! Mia continues to capture the hearts of all her fans and it seems she gains new fans daily! I know I say this a lot but thanks again to everyone that donates and supports her, as well as her family!

I received an email that said Mia had made the front page of the newspaper. A group of BYU students have organized a bike-a-thon where money is raised for each mile that is biked! To read more about it click on this link:

http://newnewsnet.byu.edu/pdf/du20081113.pdf

They have also set up a facebook group which is open for anyone to join. For more info on that group click on the group of bikers picture on the left of the blog or click here

and THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who have stepped in to help this sweet baby girl!

Also, today is the last day to be entered in the flower hair clip/bracelet giveaway! All you need to do is click on the word above or the related picture on the left side of the blog. (If the pictures don't appear for some reason, just refresh the page, sometimes blogger is weird!)

One last thing...the quilt giveaway is closed but Congratulations to Erin, the winner of the beautiful quilt!

Mia Update!

Well I just returned from the hospital and that is one stinkin' cute baby! It is truly amazing to see the difference in her in only 1 day. Her coloring is better and besides being annoyed at the feeding tube being inserted she really seemed quite comfy and like she really felt better! Her face is a little swollen but she is making great strides! As I mentioned, she now has a feeding tube again and she got one of her chest tubes removed! Just a few more tubes and lines to go!

Mia even opened her eyes for a little awhile tonight! We all know she is a fighter and I truly believe that everyday she will get better and stronger! Way to go little mees!

Thank you all for your support and kindness over these last 4 months. We REALLY appreciate all the donations that have been received and are continuing to be received, as the financial burden a family encounters with a surgery like this continues on for years to come. We hope you feel blessed from the charity you've demonstrated and we hope you'll continue to spread the word about Mia and organ donation! Thanks so much!

Update on Lil' Miss Mia

I've thought for months about what I would say when I got to post about her getting a new heart! So far I don't think any of my posts have been what I pictured them being but I'm just so grateful this day came. I think all of the emotions and lack of sleep have kept my brain a little foggy but nonetheless I'm so happy these following posts will be about her recovery! I'm sure everyone has been anxiously awaiting on update on Mia and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! Mia is doing great! Her heart rate is good, her oxygen saturation is wonderful, she's got good color and I don't think the doctors, surgeons etc could have asked for a better donor heart! So far everything looks good and these next few days will be telling! Unfortunately Mimi is not feeling well. I'm sure it's a combo of all the emotions, lack of sleep fom the time she got the call etc. Please continue to pray for their family as they still have a long journey of healing ahead of them! I have to say how amazing our medical science is these days. What a wonderful thing these talented doctors can do. And what a wonderful gift this donor family gave Mia! Mia's mom and dad said the doctors seemed giddy after the surgery and how they were so happy with the condition of the heart and that there no complications! I can't help but cry when I think of all Mia and her family have endured and how these next moments will be kind of difficult but hopefully also rewarding as they finally get to watch their baby start to live a pretty normal life!
King 5 news did a little update on Mia last night and I'm working on getting a link for those of you who weren't able to see it! I have to say thanks again for everyone's support and for a loving Heavenly Father that hears and answers prayers. It has truly made a difference in the life of The McDonald Family.

Posts from Mia's parents

Spaghetti
Mimi said that the tubes all over Mia look like spaghetti and they do. There are a lot of them, but I think our tolerance to the shock of that part has increased. We are just happy to see her doing well. It will be a bit of a roller coaster for the first year, but they say the first week is critical. At this point we are looking forward to a roller coaster of improvements. At least now each step back will be a few steps ahead of any previous setbacks. We are so elated that she can now actually improve! We just learned that the donor heart blood type is B, and Mia's we know is A. This won't pose a problem with a baby, and they confirmed that Mia hasn't built up any antibodies against A type blood pre-op.So she looks good. All the docs and nurses are really kind and excited for us, which makes it nice. We can now see the end of this leg of the journey.
Posted by John Boy at 1:12 PM

a GREAT Heart
Dr. Cohen said that Mia's hear is great. Not ok, and not good, but she got a great heart. The doctors have all said that it looks like a good stong heart. They had a relatively easy time prepping her as well because there was such little scar tissue from the hypbrid procedure that had been done. We are waiting in her room for her now. She should be another 20 minutes or so. They are sewing up her chest cavity, which isn't typical. Normally the chest is actually left open due to swelling. The space where they took out Mia's over sized heart has lots of extra room since her heart now is substantially smaller. We are so relieved and so excited!

her new heart is in and beating!

She is still not out of surgery but her new little heart has been in for awhile now and is beating! More updates to follow!

Pics of Mia Pre-OP

Well not too much news too update you with yet. Just that we are all so grateful and happy (as I know all of you are too). Mia was wheeled into surgery at about 6:15 and it is estimated it will take 5 or more hours! Here are some pictures I took late last night, or I guess it was actually early this morning! She had a little bit of spitting up last night but other than that she was quite cozy and content! Mimi got to hold for hours before she was taken in for her surgery! We can't believe this day has finally arrived! It's amazing when you've prayed for something for so long and then those prayers are answered! Momma Mimi kissing her sweet Mia
Mia chillin' in her bed till surgery time!

Mia's Big Day Has Finally Arrived!!

Well it's true. Mia is getting a heart! She is being prepped and will go in for surgery at about 6am! We don't know much yet just that it is finally happening! Everyone's prayers have been answered. I think we are all in shock still and Mia still needs many more prayers as she goes into surgery and recovers from this major procedure! We'll try and keep everyone updated as we receive new information! Thank you for all of your prayers and please remember the donor family who has so graciously given Mia this gift!

Mia is 4 months today!!!!

Mia's mom wrote something so touching that I'm just going to paste exactly what she said: It's true. She is four months old today. Fun or no fun, the expression "time flies" does not apply here. I feel like Mia was born years ago. Last night I was thinking about how different my life was four months ago. When we were in the hospital waiting for Mia to enter this world, we had no idea how things would play out. I knew it was going to be a rough road, but all of my fears were about post transplant. Can she go to school? Can she play sports? Can she have babies of her own? All of these questions have been put on the back burner. I really was not anticipating the torture of watching her day after day working so hard...clinging to life...waiting for that second chance. Lately I have been soothing her (she does not appreciate the breathing tube) by holding my hand on her chest. It's incredible to feel her heart. Her heart seems so close to the skin, you can actually feel the muscle vibrating. Every time I feel her heart I am reassured by how much it is working. Her heart is working so hard... working every second of every day to keep her here. There are times I wish I could flash back to four months ago, and enjoy the peace. How different my life was, easier...but not better. Mia and her fight have brought me to a place in my life, that now that I know what I know, I can never go back to the person I was before. Life as I knew it is gone, and will stay gone. The heartache is real, the hope is real- both levels of which I have never known until Mia.Sometimes I feel like life needs to stand still, that everyone needs to stop what they're doing and realize the magnitude of what is happening to her. Why is everyone still enjoying life? Don't they know? Mia is stuck right where she is, unknowing of how wonderful life can be. Since her birth so much has happened outside of the hospital. Athletes have won metals at the Olympics. There is a now a new president of the united states. Historical events continue to occur, life continues for everyone...while one tiny baby has no choice but to wait.This girl could not possibly be more of an inspiration to all around her. She has proven that miracles do occur. We love this little girl- and look forward to the day when she be able to come home with her family. I know all of your prayers are keeping her strong. Please continue to pray for her. You made it FOUR months Mia! We Love you so much!

The Goodness of Others

I am truly awed (as are The McDonald's) by the kindness, generosity and overall goodness in people. All the financial and emotional support that has been given to them has been enormous. It has reaffirmed my faith in the goodness of people (especially some that are complete strangers). It is amazing what can happen when people come together.

Since the giveaways started, which was only a couple of days ago, about $2700 has been raised to help with Mia's care! I feel like I can't say it enough but THANKYOU to everyone. I know John and Mimi echo those same sentiments! From the bottom of all of our hearts thank you and keep up the good work!

The Sweetie That Inspires So Many

I have been overwhelmed (in a good way) with the emails and comments about people wanting to help this sweet little baby! Even people who have never even met her or her family! Mia is so little and fragile yet she has helped and inspired so many to do good and give selflessly! I know if she could realize the extent of what she has done and how many lives she has touched she would simply be amazed! Mia really would melt your heart if you could meet her and she continues to fight every minute of every day! Mia is reaching those little baby milestones that are priceless to a mother (i.e. her smiles). She has finally smiled at Mimi which I know makes all of this seem a little easier! Mia continues to hang tough and still has good days and bad days! She has such a sweet spirit and already in her little life she has done so much good!

Mimi, Myself and Mia want to send a BIG THANK YOU to everyone for their continued support!

More Giveaways!

Everyone is catching the giveaway buzz....including myself. I think sometimes it takes someone else having a good idea to get the ball rolling!

Some of you know I make flower hair clips for my daughters and friends (i.e. like the one's Mia wears) and bracelets and have decided to have a giveaway for these. This giveaway will be for one flower clip and one bracelet (shown in pics) all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post with your email address and donate at least $1 (obviously more if you are able)!

Next Thursday, Nov 13th I will enter everyone's name and draw a winner. I will contact you by email but if you don't feel comfortable leaving your email in the comment section please email me at nali_12@hotmail.com

Beaded heart and clear crystals with heart toggle clasp

(I will customize this for whatever size wrist you want)

Pink silk flower with pink rhinestone center placed on a ribbon lined alligator clip

Anyone that is interested please enter and continue to spread the word about Mia!

Everyone has been so touched by Mia's story and the next giveaway sponsor er is no different. This giveaway is being done from a nice gal, Nichole who does not even personally know John and Mimi. How kind is that! She makes holiday decorative banners and adorable tutu's that she will be selling and donating to Mia's fund. If you are interested please click here for more information

Every CD Purchased Benefits Mia

Another friend of John and Mimi's has stepped forward to help Mia. A music artist, Sara Baril contacted me and offered to donate 50% of every cd and songbook (which comes with a cd) she sells to Help Baby Mia. All of you can help by clicking on her link and buying a cd or songbook. The songbook has sheet music for all 12 songs from the album. Remember Christmas is coming up and what a perfect gift to give...a cd to someone you love and at the same time money to Mia's fund! Her music is beautiful and what a wonderful way to help sweet Mia! Please click on the picture of her album cover to be directed to her website to purchase a CD/songbook!

http://www.saralynbaril.com/

I want to thank everyone for all they are doing. There have been so many people that are wanting to help in anyway they can. I was talking with Mimi the other night and we are both amazed and touched at everyone's thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity! It is wonderful what can be accomplished when so many people come together! Miracles happen and will happen. We can't say it enough but thank you, thank you, thank you!

Quilt Giveaway to Help Baby Mia

A friend of Mia's parents has graciously made a quilt to help raise awareness and spread the word about baby Mia. Click on this link which will take you to her blog to read more:

Sweet Pics of The Baby That Never Gives Up

Mia continues to have good days and bad days and constantly amazes everyone with her strength and sweetness!

Here are some adorable pics of Mia and her family, as well as some sweet words from her mommy. Three weeks ago we had a family photo shoot. There is a foundation of photographers here in Seattle that come to the hospital and take pictures of the "sickies." Mia is the cutest sick baby- and we have some photo's to prove it. This experience has taught me so much about the good in others. Thank you Soulumination! As much as I don't want to do this anymore, I know I must. Mia is my little baby hero and will be a source of strength for me for the rest of my life. She is still here, and is being patient. I can wait for the day her heart comes, as long as she can wait too. For now, I will enjoy these pictures of her in my arms. Oh how I wish I could hug her... I wish I could hug all of the mommies again that had to leave here without their child.

Halloween Fun:

Little Ballerina Mia