ANSWERS

"I've got my hands on a miracle, and there's no way that you take it away."
- Foo Fighters

Amanda is settling down a bit and her health is fortunately very good right now. I suppose I should take a moment and divert attention from her to finalize the chapter to Will's health.

We finally have answers. We have known for a while, but wanted the chance to update our family first as he tested positive for a genetic condition that many other family members will test positive for as well. The condition is called Factor V Leiden. My first impression was, "huh?" Never heard of it, and yet, it's the most common genetic blood condition among Caucasians. It's a blood clotting disorder. The proteins in his blood do not function properly and are about 10 times more likely to clot than the normal population. It's a dominant Gene. Scott tested positive for it, Amanda tested positive for it, one of Scott's parents has it........you get the idea. It also explains why Amanda's port gets clotted so frequently and can be tricky to access.

Will inherited the mutated gene and developed a blood clot in his portal vein near his liver. Apparently fetus' are very high risk to clot with this condition. Tossing a mom with hyperemesis into the mix did not help. I always felt that my poor health contributed to his. It will never be proven, but I will always believe that. The clot cut off necessary circulation for him to grow properly and caused the umbilical cord to be abnormally long. This in turn strained his heart and caused it to enlarge. The enlarged heart strained his organs which decreased his amniotic fluid. The combination of the two are what nearly took his life. At some point the circulation improved.

Overall, the lack of blood supply and strain on his body caused his pancreas and liver to not have adequate reserves to function on their own when he was born. They are now working properly, his heart is healthy, and the clot is nearly gone. He's developing just like he should, just at a smaller size. We are so relieved to have answers and to have him alive. Factor V Leiden can be a very manageable health condition once you know you have it. The prognosis is very good.

There you have it. He is a miracle. I will forever believe that the prayers of many are what spared his life. He is meant to be a part of our family. I've started to realize lately that God hasn't taken many of our families challenges away despite a lot of asking. Instead, he's given us a great gift to help take our mind off hardships. When Will's health was poor every night I would pray to God and say, "Thy will be done." Hence his name. Our prayers were answered and God's Will is here!!!