email update

Our Dearest Friends,

It is with very sad hearts with which we are informing you of the prognosis we received today.

We came back from the perinatologist and the diagnosis was shocking. The doctor performed the ultrasound and he told us that there are definite, rare abnormalities in the baby. He explained that the baby had not formed the entire back of the skull and has a severely malformed face. This is the reason for the large mass behind the baby's head...there is no bone of the skull, so the mass is actually part of the baby's brain outside in the amniotic fluid. In addition, the baby's heart is partially inside the chest and partially outside of the chest. He told us that this is extremely rare that both the head and the heart had these kinds of abnormalities. Also, he stated that there is no chance for the baby to live outside of utero and the baby will not survive birth.

This now leaves us with the sad decision of what to do next. We have two options: wait to full term to deliver or decide to induce and deliver earlier.

Because of all of this, we have decided that will be postponing our vision trip to Indonesia. We believe that because of the situation it wouldn't be very wise to travel overseas as the baby could pass away anytime in utero.

We are hurting and don't understand why this has happened to us, but are comforted to know that the Lord is with us. He was definitely present as some wonderful family and friends gathered around us yesterday during and after the news and cried and prayed with us.

We have already grown to love and bond with our baby and the all the anticipation and hopes of having and raising our first child have been crushed. Nevertheless, we are really clinging on to the hope that God hasn't forsaken us and loves us and the baby more than we could even know. He is the one who is embracing us at this time.

We decided early on in our pregnancy not to find out the gender of the baby. Yesterday, though, we asked the doctor and found out that the baby is a girl. That was perfect news because we really didn't have a name for a boy and that's what we thought we might be having. So, her name is Malaya Charis. Malaya is Tagalog for "free"/"freedom" and Charis is Greek for "grace"... Free Grace. And we believe that she is beautiful and very special despite what our earthly eyes may show us.

We are so thankful to all of you who have been praying for us and encouraging us by your emails, texts, and phone messages. Some of you don't even know us, but have received this email from a friend and you have shown so much care through your prayers...we are grateful. We may not be answering all your emails and phone calls because we are grieving and don't always feel like talking about it. Please know, however, that your support and love are a source of strength and encouragement to us and we are very thankful for you taking the time to let us know how much you care. This is and will be a very difficult, trying time and we know that in this process of grief we will be experiencing a wide array of emotions. We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers and support.

As things progress, we will keep you updated. We're not sure about the next time we will send out a mass email. We will be updating our blog that we recently started, so you can check that periodically.
http://kingandfaye.blogspot.com/

You are very special to us. Thank you all.

Wrapped up in His arms,
King, Faye, and Malaya Charis Sacramento