Olivia was born on July 22, 2003 @ just 22 weeks and 6 days gestation. This makes her the second youngest baby to survive at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. Olivia only weighed 1 lb. and 6.8 ozs. at birth and dropped to 1 lb. before she began to gain weight again. The doctors gave Olivia a 0% chance to survive due to her being so early. But through the Grace of God Olivia proved all of the Doctors and their statistics wrong. Olivia remained in the hospital for almost 4 months and was allowed to come home two weeks before her due date. Below are some pictures of Olivia so you can see what she looked like when she was born and what she looks like now.
3/6/08
Olivia is now 4 years old. She is so full of energy and always a happy little girl. She is doing pretty well with her health. For about 2 years now, we have been battling seizures with Olivia. We have tried numerous medicines, none of which seem to be working. On average, Olivia has 1 bad seizure a month. She is currently on 3 medicines, but they only seem to be working minimally. So, about 2 weeks ago a vagel nerve stimulator (VNS) was placed in Olivia's chest and neck. This is supposed to help her seizures by sending a continuous electrical current to her brain. So far, things are going pretty well. If she continues to do well with the VNS, the doctors will start to wean her medicines down. Please continue to pray for Olivia. The medicines really tire her out, and she can't function as well as her body will let her.
Olivia is doing pretty good with her walking. When she is seizure free, her walking is very balanced and she can go about 15- 20 feet before she gets wobbly and needs a break. At school, they don't use the walker anymore, they let her go by herself, which is a good sign of independence. She is talking more and more, and can carry on a pretty good conversation. She is now potty trained and working on eating table food. She will start kindergarten next fall, possibly at a new school. Please pray about the best school for Olivia.
