Since out beautiful granddaughter Delilah-Mae is 2 months old today, I thought today would be a great day to update the blog and share her story. Delilah is the daughter of our son Malachi and his wife Jinny. When we were told that they were expecting our first grandchild we were all SO excited! Being a grandparent is a whole new journey but definitely a journey I was looking forward to! In July we learned that they were expecting a girl and the entire family was thrilled!
During a routine ultrasound, Jinny's doctor first noticed that it appeared one kidney did not look like it was developing correctly. This resulted in a referral to have an additional more in-depth ultrasound at the Maternal Fetal Center in Grand Junction. Fast forward through a lot of follow up scans and appointments - it was discovered that Delilah only had one functioning kidney as well as a heart defect. While the news was definitely not expected, it was a lot to take in, Jinny and Malachi embraced it well. Due to her challenges it was determined that Delilah needed to be born at Denver Children's Hospital so that they could provide the needed care immediately. On October 24, 2022 Delilah-Mae arrived and blessed our world!
Within a week of birth it was determined that Delilah-Mae had tetralogy fallout with pulmonary atresia as a result of 22q deletion or DiGeorge Syndrome. Both her kidney issue and heart issue are common with DiGeorge. Without going into all the medical terminology what this means is that Delilah will undergo surgery on her heart when she is about 5 or 6 months old, she will only have one functioning kidney for life, and she may encounter other developmental and learning delays along the way. This will be a learning curve and an incredible journey for our entire family.
Having been around special needs children for all of our marriage, having a niece with special needs, as well as having our Tyler in our life and now being a Special Education Teacher - it is SO apparent that God has paved the way for such a time as this! Before Delilah was even a speck of our imagination - God was molding, preparing, and teaching us so that we could be the family she would need and for that I am so incredibly thankful!
Delilah is currently still at Denver Children's Hospital - tentatively surgery is scheduled for March or April but obviously things change. There is a chance she will come home before surgery but again - it is an ever changing pendulum and so we never know. What we DO know is that God has a plan and a purpose for her life, that she is fearfully and wonderfully made, and as her Gigi and Papa Joel and I are ready to walk the journey with her and her parents as God allows!
