Proud Parents

Dan and Deborah Shafer are the proud parents of baby Drew.

An Unexpected Delivery

Drew was born 7 weeks early, at 3 lbs. 4 oz. Doctor Davenport delivered him by C-section at 12:47 a.m. on January 11th.

Mommy Deborah had him so early because of a condition known as HELLP syndrome. This problem affects less than ten percent of all pregnant women. HELLP is a severe form of eclampsia, or pregnancy induced hypertension. The symptoms are severe upper gastric pain and vomiting, headache, high blood pressure, low platelet level, and elevated production of liver enzymes. If HELLP syndrome is not caught early enough, the result can be seizures, which threaten the lives of mommy and baby
Due to the grace and provision of God, our doctors were able to discover this condition in Deborah and treat it. The only treatment for HELLP syndrome is to deliver the baby. After that, recovery is slow but usually steady. Deborah's key problems after having Drew were the high blood pressure, low platelets, and elevated liver enzymes. The doctors put her on blood pressure medication, but the platelets and the liver had to be left to improve on their own.

After nearly a week in the hospital, Deborah was discharged on Monday, January 16th. Her liver and platelets are approaching normal levels, and her blood pressure is fine with the medication. She is also healing from the C-Section well, and is on pain medication as the incision gets pretty sore sometimes.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for Deb's health.