Happy Easter

Christ the Lord is risen! We thought today would be a great day to start our family blog…”One day at a time with the Highstreets!” As we start this journey the Lord has placed before us, we can’t help ourselves from thinking about the journey Christ took to the cross and stand in awe of what He did for us! By no means are we comparing our lives to Christ, but his was a journey that was not easy but he wanted to do the will of his Father. And this also has become our prayer, we don’t really understand it or want it to be the way that it is…but HE IS IN CONTROL and we will PRAISE him always! Our family has had its share of storms the past couple years, and there have been times when we say “SERIOUSLY GOD” is this what you have planned for us! But there have been a lot more times where we have laid it at the foot of the cross and said “God you are SERIOUSLY in control and we wouldn’t want it any other way”. Better to be in the storm with God than anywhere else without HIM.

Some of you may be reading this and wondering what is going on with them? Well here is a quick overview to get you caught up to speed. In August of 2007 our 6 month old daughter Elizabeth (aka Lizzy) was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. CF is an inherited genetic life shorting disease with no present day cure. Elizabeth follows a daily routine of meds and treatments, but is also a thriving, vibrant and very loveable two year old. She is a wonderful blessing to us as well as our other children, Grant a fun loving, creative 8 year old and Olivia our always smiling, enjoying life six year old daughter.

Once we felt like we were only in a light rain after Elizabeth’s diagnosis, our family did not feel complete and we decided to have another baby:) We were very much aware that our baby could be born with cystic fibrosis but also feeling at peace that God was in control and our love for this new baby would not change! At our 20 week ultra sound we found out we were having a GIRL and our doctor found that our baby had a condition called “Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia” (or CDH). This came as quit a blow to us, as we were prepared for the possibility of CF but not something completely different!

CDH is not related to CF or any genetic disorder. It is a birth defect that sometimes is related to a chromosome disorder but not always. God answered our prayers and the testing for any chromosome disorders and Cystic Fibrosis came back negative! PRAISE THE LORD! So what is CDH? The baby’s diaphragm did not grow together correctly leaving a hole on left side allowing room for parts of intestines and liver to move up into the lung cavity. This then puts pressure on the heart moving it to the middle and making less and less room for the lungs to develop properly. After many checkups and test, the doctors have called her CDH middle of the road and call her condition very serious. They have told us to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Just what you want to hear!

After much prayer we have decided to name her FAITH! We think her name says it all!

So what is the game plan?

We have decided to come to UCSF Hospital for care. They are one of the top hospitals to deal with CDH in the US. They will induce Tina on April 20th with a whole “Team” waiting in the wings to care for Faith. Not knowing how developed her lungs will be, they plan to intubate her right away. Once they feel they have her stable they will perform a surgery on her to correct the CDH. This usually happens sometime during the first week of life. Then they will work on developing the lungs. The doctors have told us best case, would mean one month in the hospital but could be up to three months. There is a wide range of other complications that may happen but we are still praying for the Lord to perform a miracle! We believe that this can happen and ask that you pray along with us!

Please pray, pray and pray some more! Pray for healing, for her lungs to be strong and developed, for the doctors to be on top of their game, and for us as a family as we journey down this road. We don’t understand why this has to happen; we do pray that if this is about being a witness to someone somewhere that the Holy Spirit will give us the right words to say.

So we are taking it “ONE DAY AT A TIME” and trying to live each day for HIM no matter what the storm may be. We plan to update the blog often, so check back with us when you can! We thank everyone for your many kind acts, thought and prayers! How wonderful to be part of the family of God! We couldn’t get through all this without you!

WE SERVE A RISEN SAVIOR AND WE WILL PRAISE HIM IN THIS STORM!