Hannah has REALLY grown up in the past year!  She is an absolutely amazing little girl.  She is quite strong-willed!  We’ve gotten in trouble in preschool a few times, because she is so independent and she wants to do her own thing.  So we’ve been really working on following directions!  She has improved leaps and bounds, and hardly ever has any behavioral issues anymore (at least in preschool).  We’re still working on following directions at home. 

Her problem solving skills are simply amazing.  She has such focus, such determination, even with the smallest of things.  Her latest challenge has been to figure out how buttons work.  She will sit on the floor for an hour buttoning and unbuttoning her shirt.  She is infatuated with the moon.  Every night, I’ll take her outside and we try to find the moon and the stars.  The first star we see, we break out and sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  Such priceless moments shared with daddy!

Her last checkup in February was the best yet!  Her shortening fraction has increased to 41%!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!  Her cardiologist wants to go ahead and begin weaning her from her meds again.  This time, it will be over the course of 6 months.  Last time we tried to wean her meds it didn’t work out so well — we ended back up in PICU getting back on Amiodarone.  We’re praying that the more gradual weaning process will be more successful.  Of course, it doesn’t matter if it works or not, we know that God has a plan and a purpose for her life that we WILL see come to pass.  We’re a month into the weaning process.  She’ll wear a holter monitor sometime in May to make sure she’s not having any arrhythmia breakthroughs.  All her enzyme levels and bloodwork have continued to be great.  There are a couple of enzyme levels that are slightly elevated, but nothing serious enough to alter her medication or treatment.  Thank you Jesus!

Another amazing thing about Hannah’s story… When Hannah presented with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, we were told that the only two things it could be were a virus that attacked her heart or a genetic anomaly.  Nobody ever thought it could be caused by an arrhythmia.  Since Hannah’s diagnosis with the arrhythmia, her cardiologist has caught 3 MORE CASES of Dilated Cardiomyopathy caused by an arrhythmia!  So instead of spending months in PICU potentially waiting for a heart transplant, these babies were able to be immediately put on the same Amiodarone/Propranolol medication, and they all went home within a week!  God is using Hannah to save the lives of others.  We are seeing Hannah’s miracle multiply before our very eyes!

God continues to amaze us as we believe for her TOTAL HEALING!  Please pray over the next few months that the weaning process will continue to be successful, and that the arrhythmia will be GONE FOR GOOD!!!

Posted: March 26th, 2010 under Latest Updates.
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A lot has happened since I last posted.  I apologize for not keeping up with Hannah’s website as often as I should.

Sadly, Hannah’s baby brother or sister will have to wait until 2010.  At eight weeks, Lori and I found out that we had miscarried.  We’re not sure why this happened, but we are 100% sure that God is faithful.  Whatever the reason, we know that He has a plan and a purpose, and He will use this situation for His glory.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NAS)

Hannah continues to grow and is looking more and more like a “big girl.”  Everyone who comes in contact with her can’t get over her politeness.  She just loves everyone so much.  She has the biggest heart of any two year old I’ve ever met.  She is doing great on her two medicines, and we don’t go back to the cardiologist for another two months.

I just finished watching the “Mending Hearts” special on WAFB, and even though we are used to seeing all these kids and know what it’s like to have a child with a heart condition, it still brought tears to my eyes.  I cannot fathom how blessed we are.  Out of all the kids in the special, I am pretty sure that Hannah is one of the only (if not THE only) child who has not undergone heart surgery.  We serve such an incredible, faithful God.  He has blessed us with the best pediatric cardiologist team ever.  This special does such a great job of informing people what it’s like to have a child with heart issues and the incredible things that medical technology can do for them.  If you missed it tonight, I strongly urge you to watch one of the many replays listed here (http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=9867789).  Many thanks to the Jindals, WAFB, Pediatric Cardiology Associates, and all the underwriters who made this story possible.

Thank you all again for all your continued prayers for Hannah.  It’s amazing to think back, look upon our journey, and see how God has been there every step of the way, putting the right people in the right places at the right times.  He deserves all praise!  We are more than confident that Hannah will one day no longer have to take medication for her heart, that she will be completely and totally healed.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

Lastly, please pray for these precious twins, Kate and Cohen Witmer.  I went to high school with their mother, Lindsay.  Shortly after birth, Kate was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and has extensive brain damage.  On top of that, both Kate AND Cohen ended up contracting RSV.  Cohen is doing better, but Kate really needs our prayers.  Lindsay and Eric need a miracle for their little girl just like we did with Hannah.  She is about to begin some experimental Hyperbolic treatments which their insurance will not cover, and Lindsay and Eric are concerned that due to the extended stays in the hospital their health insurance for Kate will soon run out.  We know better than most that God can do wonders — we need to wrap this family up in prayers!  We are expecting God to do amazing things to heal this precious girl and to give her an unbelievable testimony as she grows up and becomes an incredible woman of God!  They have a CaringBridge site set up for her at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katecohenwitmer.  Let’s stand with this precious family and expect God to completely heal Kate and Cohen!

Greg

Posted: February 26th, 2009 under Latest Updates.
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It’s been almost 2 years to the day that Hannah was flown to Ochsner in New Orleans with a severe case of Dilated Cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure.  It’s been 6 months since our last emergency trip to the PICU.  She had a cardiologist appointment this past Tuesday, and when we showed up, we were informed that he didn’t even need to see her for another 3 months — her appointment must have been a mistake.

God really convicted me tonight.  We’ve been so caught up in our routines, going about our busy lives that we don’t stop to remember that month at Ochsner and the journey that ensued.

There was so much uncertainty about her condition.  When we first arrived at Ochsner, we were told that “she needed a new heart” — after all, that’s why we were sent there.

It wasn’t until March 2006 that Hannah’s heart began to show irregular rhythms.  It wasn’t until April 2006, our third PICU visit to Our Lady of the Lake PICU, that the doctors realized what was going on, that this arrhythmia had caused everything.  And to think that while we were at Ochsner we were praying that it was viral, not knowing that the majority of the time viral DCM is diagnosed, it results in transplantation.

So as I sat on the bathroom floor tonight and bathed my now 2 1/2 year old miracle, the memories all came flooding back.  I will never forget the Christmas lunch we had in the cafeteria, or scouring New Orleans for a restaurant open on Christmas night.  Now, as she is learning her manners, saying the alphabet, counting to 15, reciting the planets, and reading the library of books that she has memorized, I am reminded that in a hospital somewhere, a young couple is hovering over their first child in PICU, unsure about what is happening and scared out of their minds.  I am also reminded of God’s faithfulness, compassion, and love — and His gentle whisper, “Do you trust Me?”

This Christmas, let’s give thanks for what we have.  Let’s be reminded of all the things we take for granted — the little things that the majority of the world’s population can only dream of.  Let’s pray for the families who will be eating Christmas dinner in a hospital cafeteria.  We are simply blessed beyond measure, and there’s not one family who wouldn’t give it all away in order to save their little girl.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Hannah.  We love you all, and wish you the merriest of Christmases!

AND…

Stay tuned for more information about Hannah’s baby brother or baby sister, due to arrive in August 2009!  YAY!

Posted: December 18th, 2008 under Latest Updates.
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First, we have to apologize for not updating Hannah’s site for so long. It’s amazing how life just comes at you from every direction sometimes. As you’ve probably noticed, Hannah has a new website! I’ve been working on it for quite some time, and it’s still not finished. All the prior guestbook entries still need to be migrated over, as well as some pictures. I will try to get those (and new pictures) uploaded to the site soon.

Hannah has had a very eventful summer. Her doctors decided to wean her from all medication in the middle of May to see if she had outgrown her arrhythmia. You never know until you try, right? A few weeks after she was completely weaned, she started having trouble. She woke up one day and walked from room to room, lying down wherever she went. That was definitely not normal, so we brought her to the doctor for an EKG. Her heart rate was 258…not good. We were told to go straight to PICU where they would get it under control. We knew this was a very real possibility, so we were prepared and knew what signs to look for.

As soon as we walked into the PICU, Hannah was given an IV, and the doctors began trying to convert her rhythm back to normal. After unsuccessful attempts with a bag of ice on the face and adenosine, she was given amiodarone through the IV which finally brought it under control that first night. We stayed one more night so they could monitor her, and we were sent home. So we’re back on oral amiodarone and propranolol for the foreseeable future.

A few weeks later we had a checkup with her cardiologist. An ECHO showed that this episode did not negatively impact her ventricular function — she bounced right back and is still doing great! Praise God!!! We are so blessed to have such an incredible team of doctors and nurses that care for her. I cannot begin to describe how awesome these people are. They still cannot believe this is the same heart that looked so bad a year and a half ago.

Episodes like this always help us refocus our attention on God and His plan for us. Through it all, we know that He is in control. Statistically speaking, 30-35% of pediatric patients outgrow AET and need no maintenance medication. Hannah has not outgrown it yet, but we know that in God’s perfect timing she will be completely off medication. We will not stop praying or believing that God will completely restore her. Until that glorious day comes, we will praise God for bringing us so far and for entrusting us with this precious angel.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for Hannah. We know that we’re not out of the woods yet, but the light sure does get brighter and brighter every day.

Speaking of bright… Hannah just amazes us every day with how much she knows. She communicates with us very well, and normally uses words fairly fluently to tell us what she wants (although she does get a little whiny at times). She knows her ABC’s and has been reciting them for months. Her newest thing is saying them backwards! If she’s looking at the letters, she can go all the way from Z to A with no problem, and even if she’s not looking she can go from Z to Q! She counts EVERYTHING, reciting numbers all the way up to 13 or 14 by now. The cutest thing in the world is hearing her say new words. We read to her all the time, so she has picked up quite a big vocabulary. My favorite is “ketchup” — she says “chep-up”!!! A few of her books she will actually sit down and read out loud. Of course, much of it is her native “gremlin” tongue, but she definitely says key words about what is going on in the page. She is just such a delightful child; every day with her is such a blessing.

Posted: August 2nd, 2008 under Latest Updates.
Comments: 3

Hannah continues to astound us all! She is almost 22 months old and is doing fabulous! First, the fun stuff. She is talking up a storm! It’s mostly “gremlin talk”, but she can say a ton of real words, and she knows key words and their context, like come, help, please, thank you, up, down, hi, bye, all gone, “ok”, and my favorite, “eee oooh” (I love you)! She has got to be the happiest child I’ve ever seen. We have reached the stage where we can reason with her quite effectively. Of course, like any other 21 month old, she does have the occasional fits, but they aren’t really that bad. She LOVES going outside and running around, and her favorite activity is “sing” (to swing). When we tell her it’s time to go inside, her only response is “sing”…”sing”…”sing”! She’s hilarious, a truly delightful little girl, full of joy and tons of energy.

We had a checkup with her cardiologist on April 5th. EKGs and ECHOs were all perfect. The ultrasound techs just can’t get over how normal her heart looks, that it looks perfect. And praise God, it is perfect! Her cardiologist began weaning her medications, cutting the Amiodarone dose in half. He put us on a schedule to have her weaned off the propranolol in 4 weeks. He wanted to do another holter monitor just to be sure, and the results were…perfect! Hallelujah!

Today was a milestone day — she is now completely weaned from propranolol! Praise God! She has been on this medication ever since we were discharged from Ochsner over a year ago. Now she is just taking the smaller dose of Amiodarone. She goes back to the cardiologist in two weeks for another checkup, and to decide how to proceed in weaning her from the Amiodarone.

Lori and I feel such a peace about this. We know that God is (and has always been) in control, and fully believe that He has completely healed her little heart. Last week, I heard a sermon about healing, and of course, all I could think about was Hannah. I began to pray for her, claiming victory by the blood of Jesus, and I felt this incredible peace… I felt God tell me, as clear as day, “I have already healed her!” Lori told me that about a month ago, she felt God say the same exact thing. So now instead of praying for her healing, we rejoice and thank God that He has already healed her.

Please continue to pray for Hannah, but also give thanks to God for the miraculous work that He has already done!

Posted: May 5th, 2008 under Latest Updates.
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Just checking in…Hannah is still doing fabulous! We can’t believe that she is already 19 months old. We haven’t seen her cardiologist since October and it’s been great to be away from doctor’s offices! Her 18 month check-up with her pediatrician went very well, and her weight is finally up to 20 pounds. Developmentally she is right on track, if not exceeding our expectations. In fact, one of the “skills” that her doctor asked about was if she could walk backwards. We couldn’t really remember seeing her do that, so we said we weren’t sure about that one. Wouldn’t you know, that night Hannah randomly decided to walk across the den backwards. It was as if she had heard us talking about it in the doctor’s office! Too funny. Her vocabulary is really expanding too- she says about 15 words including cold, duck, shoes, sea, key, up, three, and her first sentence, “Where is it?”  She identifies colors and shapes and has now moved on to letters and numbers. Watch out kindergarten! One of our favorite things that she does is the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider. She gets so proud of herself and claps at the end. Too cute! Our only problem area seems to be on Sundays going to the church nursery. Hannah is not a big fan of separation to say the least, but we’re working on it.

April will be here in another month and a half, and at that time her cardiologist will take her off both medications. We anxiously await this transition and believe that she will do FINE! Please pray with us that her heart will continue normal rhythm and will no longer be dependent on the medications. We truly believe that God has already healed her heart completely! As hard as it was going through the tough days, we are thankful that we now have an amazing testimony to share with the world and offer hope to the hurting. We know that God hears and answers prayer, and every one of Hannah’s doctors who saw her then and now, would agree. She is a miracle!

Another one of the joys that we have experienced is working with the local Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation. Our annual fundraiser tennis tournament will be held April 3-6 at the Country Club of Louisiana. Money raised will be used to assist needy families of children with heart conditions with medical care. We truly believe in supporting this cause to give each child with a life-threatening heart condition the best chance at life. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.lpcf.com.We are currently accepting business sponsorships, silent auction items, and tournament registration forms.

As always, thanks for your prayers and for checking in on us!

Posted: February 11th, 2008 under Latest Updates.
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December 15th marked the one year anniversary that Hannah was diagnosed with her heart condition and entered the hospital. Her first Christmas in 2006 was spent in a hospital bed on a ventilator, and the possibility of a heart transplant loomed overhead. If only we could have peered into the future then and seen where she would be just one year later. What a joy it was to spend the holidays at home this year! A normal Christmas with a decorated tree, presents, family, and lots of food, but best of all was a happy little Hannah right in the middle of everything. That was definitely the best gift we received. It was impossible to ignore the thoughts of the many children spending the holidays in the hospital, and we will always remember them and their families in our prayers at Christmas time. The “miracle” of Christmas has a whole new meaning for us, for each year we will celebrate the birth of our Savior as well as the miracle of Hannah’s healing. We will never take the simple pleasures in life for granted. It is because of God’s grace and Jesus’s stripes that Hannah is where she is today. She has come so far in one year and we know she will continue to do so in 2008. In the new year we anticipate her coming off all medication in April and know that God will continue to have His hand on her during that transition. Thank you for continuing to check in on us and for remembering Hannah in your prayers. We are amazed by the multitudes that have been touched by her story and will continue to tell it to offer others hope. God DOES answer prayer and He DOES heal the sick. Hannah’s proof! Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

Lori & Greg

Posted: December 28th, 2007 under Latest Updates.
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Now you can see for yourself that God still performs miracles.  This continues to absolutely astound us!

http://prayforhannah.org/beforeafter/

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…”  James 5:15

Posted: December 6th, 2007 under Latest Updates.
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Last week Hannah had her appointment with her pediatrician. We were excited to find out that she now weighs 18 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces. That finally puts her on the chart for weight at the 5th percentile. So, she continues to be tiny! Her height is now 29″ which is in the 20-25th percentile. Her doctor was pleased, and we believe she is right where she needs to be. She eats a big lunch and supper every day, and also likes McDonald’s biscuits for breakfast. We are always trying to think of ways to add some calories because she is a picky eater and doesn’t like to try new things.

Today we had her check-up with her cardiologist. We were very anxious to go since it has been three whole months since her last visit. Hannah cried the majority of the time except during the end of the ultrasound. She does not like strangers of any sort, especially ones wearing scrubs! But they were able to do an EKG and take plenty of pictures in the ultrasound. Her doctor’s words were, ”She looks marvelous!” Greg and I came expecting this news, so we weren’t surprised at all! But it was very reassuring to hear that her heart is absolutely perfect and has been for several months now. So the plan is to increase one med a tad bit since she’s gained a little weight and keep the other med the same. We don’t go back for six months (April) and at that time he will consider dropping a med to get her on single therapy. He wants to see six solid months of perfect function before trying to decrease meds. The other good news is that we don’t have to do bloodwork until that next appointment. That is our least favorite thing to do! So Praise God for another fantastic report. We truly believe He has completely healed Hannah’s heart and that one day she will be free of medication.

This weekend we will be taking Hannah to the 1st annual LPCF family picnic. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet families with children that have heart conditions. We can’t wait to share the story of Hannah’s miracle to encourage others. We promise to post pictures!

Posted: October 25th, 2007 under Latest Updates.
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Check out the latest pictures of Hannah in the photos section. We finally got around to loading them onto the computer! Please keep us in your prayers during the next week. We have her check-up with her pediatrician this Thursday and will see her cardiologist next Thursday. We haven’t been to a doctor in 3 months, but we are believing that her heart is still doing fine. In fact, we are hoping we can get her off one of her meds.

This past Sunday, our pastor mentioned Hannah in church! He was speaking about how God still performs miracles today and briefly told Hannah’s story. It is awesome that God is still using her story, almost a year later, to touch so many lives. She IS a miracle and we will never, ever forget what God has done for us. Everyday with Hannah is a gift that we will never take for granted. We are blessed to have experienced God’s intervention so closely. Through Him, ALL things are possible!

Posted: October 17th, 2007 under Latest Updates.
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