Baby Boy Larson

An email from Bryan

Hello Family and Friends,

Hope each of you is well. We've spoken with many of you in the past week but wanted to send this email to bring you up-to-date on the most recent developments in our lives.

Eraina and I are expecting our second child on July 8, 2009 - a baby brother for Lucy. This past Wednesday, Eraina had a check-up where the doctor discovered that the baby is measuring about a week behind schedule. This apparently is not a big deal by itself, but the femur bones (from the hips to knees) are measuring about four weeks behind. Again, this is not necessarily a big deal since neither Eraina or I play in the NBA, but it was enough that Eraina's doctor recommended that we see a high-risk specialist for a closer examination.

A sonogram later that day confirmed the lag in the bone growth and also identified a possible heart defect. As a result of this, Eraina was admitted to Baylor Hospital on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, a pediatric cardiologist saw Eraina and confirmed that this baby's heart is not normal. The official diagnosis is Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). It is 100% fatal without either (a) a heart transplant, or (b) a series of three open-heart surgeries. Both the transplant and surgery are risky.

On top of this significant heart issue, the doctors suspect there may be other abnormalities. The current plan is to perform an amniocentesis next week (maybe June 8th). Eraina will remain in the hospital until we receive the results from this test, maybe longer.

As we understand the doctors, if the testing discloses any other significant abnormality, the heart will not be treated and comfort care will be provided. If the testing shows no other abnormalities, we would wait until the child is born to conduct a more thorough head-to-toe evaluation and determine a game plan.

This is obviously not what we had hoped, planned or prayed for. However, we are absolutely confident that God is in control. We have felt very loved and at peace this past week. We have wonderful doctors and are so glad to be at Baylor, and are even more glad and thankful to have sweet friends praying.

We know that God can do anything and we trust Him with this situation. If the medical reality remains the same, we are praying for wisdom for us and the doctors as decisions are made in the next few weeks. We are also praying that Eraina will not go into labor before the amnio test results are back.

Most of all, we are thankful for salvation through Jesus Christ and the hope of heaven. This world is not our home, but while we're here we are so thankful that we get to share the joys and trials of life with such a wonderful circle of family and friends. We are joyful. We'll keep y'all updated periodically as we learn more. We are thankful for each of you.

Bryan, Eraina and Lucy
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

PS - Attached is a recent pic of Lucy. I couldn't resist sending one. She brightens each day and is a joy to be around.