Jacksons pictures

Welcome Jackson!

Jackson Thomas Hardy arrived safely today at 7:54 AM. His mother did a great job during the labor and I (Hardy) even watched the actual birth without passing out. After a short visit with his parents (20 seconds) he was passed through to the NICU. They spent two hours getting him ready to be transferred to Primary Children’s. Before he left he was able to come and spend some time with his Parents and Grandparents. The Life Flight team was fantastic and even let Aimee hold the little guy for a few minutes before he left. I walked Jackson over to Primary Children’s where they got him stabilized and started to take a look at that little heart of his. The Cardiologist team will meet tomorrow to schedule their course of action. Aimee and I are overwhelmed by everyone’s expression of love and support. We particularly want to thank our wonderful Dr. Erin Clark for her loving attention. We consider ourselves very lucky to have her care for us and she made us feel so comfortable. We ask for your continued prayers for the surgery that will happen in the coming days.

Pictures coming soon.

The Big Day

Well, today is the big day. I can’t believe it’s already here. For the most part we are pretty calm, but I know I’m going to be doing a lot of pacing and toe tapping between now and this evening when we go to the hospital.

It’s all a bit scary, but for the most part I think we are ready to meet this little guy and begin to face the challenges ahead rather than worry and anticipate. In some ways my biggest fear right now is that when we call tonight they will tell us they don’t have a bed for us and we will have to continue to stress for a little longer. I know everything is going to turn out just the way it is supposed to though. Of that I have no doubt. Since everything that is about to come is out of my hands, I'm putting my trust in a greater power.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We are so thankful to all those who are praying for Jack and who fasted with us yesterday. I know that it is those prayers that are keeping us so calm and sane.

The next time we post it will hopefully be to announce Jack’s safe arrival.

Still on Track

We had our last dr appt yesterday afternoon and things are still looking good for our August 4 inducement. Erin (Dr. Clark) said I'm dialated to a 1+ and that my cervix is "very favorable." After squishing my stomach around a bit, she estimated that he's now a little under 7 lbs.

As we'll be getting started late Monday evening, she thinks it's possible we could have an early morning baby. Hopefully it won't be too early, but we've got our moms on high alert in case we need them to hurry to the hospital at a ridiculous hour. My mom is assigned to stay with me and Hardy's mom is going with him when he goes with Jackson over to the PICU, so them being there is important for everyones mental wellbeing. (Mom - this does not mean you have to camp out all night at the hospital. I'm sure you'll get there in plenty of time. [She actually beat my little sister to the hosiptal when she went into labor with her last baby]).

Mentally and emotionally, we are still doing quite well. Becoming a first-time parent is life altering in and of itself, but adding on a few extra challenges makes it that much overwhelming. On the rare occasions when I let myself think about what the future might hold, I have to remind myself what our friends Rob and Angel said about caring for their sweet son Charlie Cooper who has and continues to face a lot of challenges. They simply said, "It becomes your new normal." Their positive outlook and strength has definitely inspired us as we face this challenge of our own. How thankful we are for good family and friends.

A Fast for Jack

Dear Family and Friends,

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jack Hardy, with his mother scheduled to be induced on August 4. Because his birth will be quickly followed by open-heart surgery, please join us in a special fast for Jack, Marc, and Aimee on Sunday, August 3. His parents need the Spirit with them as they welcome their precious son into a world filled with uncertainty. Jack needs the strength to recover quickly from surgery and to be able to thrive in difficult circumstances. The doctors need to be guided to provide him the best possible care. Please pray for them all, because we know you love them as much as we do.

Love,

Heather (Aimee's sister)

FYI

This site may be a little static and boring for the next two weeks, but just so you know, once Jack is here this will be the place for news and updates on his condition.

Right now the biggest update is that my stomach is extremely itchy and hard today which usually indicates a good growth spurt. I am still carrying him high, but he doesn't seem to kick my ribs quite as hard due to the cramped quarters. I also seem to have a lot more energy the last few days. I've heard that happens right before a baby comes, but Dr. Clark is out of town so Jack has been instructed that he is not allowed to come for at least a week until she gets back.

We've set a date

I got a call today from Dr. Clark and she has scheduled us to come in to be induced on the evening of August 4th, which hopefully means Jack will be here the morning of the 5th.

July 14, 2008

Jack is growing right on track and looks healthy other than his heart. He is now 5 lbs. 13 oz. This is a shot of his cute little face.

A blog for Jack

Up to this point I have been using my personal blog to keep people posted on what’s going on in our lives and how little Jack is doing, but as this little guys arrival date gets closer, I’ve decided it’s time for him to have his own page. That way, those of you who are interested and want to keep up on his progress can see what’s going on with him without having to hear all the other details, and family and friends can still hear about things not related to Jack’s health on my site. I may even be able to talk Hardy into posting once in a while since this will be Jack’s blog. I promise to use lots of pictures and update often, especially while we are in the hospital. Every day with Jack will be a miracle and I plan to document it well.

Thanks for sharing Jack’s Journey with us. We know that we have a long road ahead, but we have hope and faith that all these things will be for our good.

June 10, 2008

It's kind of hard to see, but the top image is his hand and the bottom image is his foot.

May 15, 2008

April 23, 2008

Because he was being difficult at our 20 week appointment, they tried again at our 24 week visit to get a picture of his heart. Baby Jack continued to be in just the wrong position for a good photo, but they saw enough to be concerned and immediatly referred us to the University Hospital where they could get a better image.

At University Hospital they confirmed that he had a serious heart defect and they performed an amniocentisis to determine if the heart problem was a result of a larger chromosome issue. The results the following week ruled out the major chromosome concerns.

The following week we met with a pediatric cardiologist at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City where they diagnosed our baby with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a rare congential heart defect affecting the left ventrical and aorta.