Update 2016-04-26
The adventures of being a Mom … Let’s Go Shopping!!
Rhett photos at One Month.
Rhett on His Tummy at One Month
Rhett One Month Old stats.
Rhett slept from 9pm to 4am on his Mom’s Birthday!
Update 2016-04-19
So much has happened in the past year. Ashlyn and Josh have a new little fella in the family!! Rhett Levi Murphy was born on March 22, 2016. He joins his big sister Rhory and his older brother Sawyer (who is in Heaven for an eternity with the Lord Jesus). Here are a few of our favorite pictures of Rhett … and of course Rhory.
Snuggle Time with Daddy
Update 2015-12-31
Here are some of my favorite pictures of Rhory, Ashlyn and Josh over the last year.
Rhory Selecting Her Pumpkin
Apple Festival – Fall 2015
The Pumpkin Rhory Selected
Rhory, Ashlyn and Josh with Sawyer as Reminder in the Background Sunflower
Rhory – Our Princess at Her One Year Birthday Party
Update 2015-05-29
Ashlyn, Josh and Rhory (now nearly nine months old) visit with Nana and Papa for a steak dinner … such a pleasant visit!!
Nana with sweet little Rhory. Two really beautiful ladies!!
Papa and Rhory – can you tell Papa is HAPPY!!
Ashlyn’s Facebook post — Rhory signs “MORE” in this brief video. Click on her picture to watch.
Update 2015-03-29
Ashlyn, Josh and Rhory (now nearly seven months old) visit with Nana and Papa for dinner!!
Charlotte really enjoying Rhory! What a sweetie!!
Upper Left: Honk, Honk!
Update 2015-03-05
Rhory at the Doctor – 6 mos
Ashlyn’s Facebook Post: “What a trooper at the doctor today! She got her finger pricked and didn’t even cry and was so proud of her sparkly bandaid (not shown in picture). She is 12 pounds 15 ounces and 24-3/4 inches long – our petite girl! How sweet is that smile?!”
She just melts my heart!! Thank you Lord for little Rhory!!!
Update 2015-01-18
Allways smiling!!
What a ham …. she is always smiling!! Such a happy little girl … and so easy to love.
Update 2015-01-02
Rhory and her Great Granddad!! Papa Jim
From Ashlyn’s Facebook Post – “someone is excited about our first family vacation”
Update 2014-12-25
MERRY CHRISTMAS – Ashlyn, Josh, Rhory and Sawyer’s Bear – 2014 Christmas
“I SLEPT UNTIL 9 AND SANTA CAME TO SEE ME!”
Update 2014-12-13
Update 2014-11-02
Rhory’s baby dedication at her church … Grace New Hope … a proud Mom and Dad!
Nana, Ashlyn and Rhory before the service … beautiful ladies!!
Josh, Ashlyn and Rhory
Proud Parents!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
Update 2014-10-31
Rhory’s first Halloween. Grandmother Mamy (Amy) made Rhory’s cute little cat outfit … fits her and her Mom Ashlyn perfectly.
Rhory singing cat songs.
Precious Little Kitty …
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Update 2014-10-11
Amy & Keven Davenport are proud grandparents!
Proud Grandparents!
Little Rhory is growing and starting to reveal her personality. Here are some of the latest pictures.
Ashlyn, Josh and Rhory take an outing.
What is she dreaming about??
Singing, cramping, yawning, oops – did you hear that?
A little flower in the garden …
No sleep for me!! I’m ready to rock and roll!!
Ashlyn’s Post – “teeny tiny bulldog fan of course! teaching her right from the start – I think I even heard her say “Go Dawgs!””
Update 2014-09-30
Today we were privileged to visit with Ashlyn and Rhory. Both are doing great and little Rhory, of course, is just precious! Charlotte held her for almost an hour and she never even whimpered. Here are some pictures taken during our visit.
Are we happy or what??
Rhory with Sawyer’s Teddy Bear
The kitty cats love little Rhory and want to be around her all of the time.
We were just about to leave and Ashlyn put on Rhory’s headband for a visit to the grocery store! So cute!!
A proud Daddy with his precious treasure!!
Update 2014-09-16
I could not resist posting these two pictures of little Rhory … Sawyer’s little sister. She is adorable and we will be putty in her hands as she grows. What a blessing from the Father to Ashlyn and Josh!
Update 2014-09-09
Got this sweet picture of little Rhory today from Ashlyn. We will see her in person tomorrow!
Update 2014-09-04 – Rhory Camille Murphy made her debut today and she is beautiful!
Rhory Camille Murphy!! – our Great Granddaughter born today to our Granddaughter Ashlyn Camille (Davenport) Murphy and her husband Joshua Murphy … Little sister to Sawyer … God is Faithful!! Praise The Lord!!!!!
Ashlyn, Josh and Rhory
Rhory Camille Murphy September 4, 2014 7 pounds, 7 ounces 20 1/4 inches long
Rhory looks like she wants to shake hands with Ashlyn!
Rhory doing two of the things that babies do best!!
Precious!!
*****************************************************************************************
Follow Ashlyn’s Blog at this link: The Murphy Family
********************************************************************************************
2014-04-01 – Boots or Bows?! & An Extra Surprise!
An Update on Baby # 2
I have been eagerly waiting to post this blog! Josh and I found out last Thursday whether baby #2 was a boy or a girl, and it was the hardest thing to keep a secret! … click the above picture or link to read Ashlyn’ update.
****************************************************************************************
2014-01-23 – An Exciting Announcement from Ashlyn
I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. (1 Samuel 1:27 NIV)
I haven’t posted yet in 2014 yet because I wanted this to be my first post of the new year!
Josh and I are overwhelmed with excitement but also nervousness after finding out we are expecting our second child. We have prayed for several months that God would again bless our family, with a perfectly healthy baby, and He has answered our prayers. We are praying week by week for our precious baby and that this baby develops perfectly. … click to continue reading —>
*****************************************************************************************
Update 2014-06-03 – Ashlyn recently released several pictures that she shared on the Murphy Family Blog site. I am sharing them here in honor of the one year anniversary of Sawyer’s passing on 2013-05-26. Sawyer was such a Warrior! He fought hard to overcome his heart difficulties. He is completely perfect and in the presence of Jesus for an eternity! Thank you for Sawyer, Lord Jesus! He taught us all so much in such a short period of time.
2013-12-16 – Please participate in Ashlyn’s effort to have people perform Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACK), as a goodwill gesture and in remembrance of our precious little warrior, Sawyer Joshua Murphy (05/09/2013 – 05/27/2013). If you would like more information on how you can be involved, click this link.
*****************************************************************************************
To read Ashlyn’s post summarizing Sawyer’s Story and the latest on the Murphy Family, click this link.
*****************************************************************************************
2013-05-28 @ 9:42 – I realize that many of you are obtaining information about The Murphy Family and Baby Murphy Updates by first accessing my WordPress website. I invite you to directly “like” these pages along with the 2,500 others who have already done so to see the future updates from Ashlyn regarding their family and precious little Sawyer as this page will soon be retired as I return to writing my blog. Thanks to all of you who prayed, called, texted, emailed and posted encouragement to our family and especially to Ashlyn, Josh and Sawyer. Below is the latest post from Ashlyn regarding the arrangements for Sawyer.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
4-8 PM
Wages & Sons Funeral Home
1031 Lawrenceville Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30045Chapel Service
Thursday, May 30, 2013
2 PM
Wages & Sons Funeral Home
1031 Lawrenceville Highway Lawrenceville, GA30045There will be a private graveside service for our families.A lot of people have asked about meals for Josh and I. Right now we are asking that we have privacy and we will be leaving town after the services for a few days. If you would like to bring us a meal when we return, someone will be setting that up and you can sign up then.Josh and I are so thankful for all of your love, support, donations, and prayers. Sawyer touched our hearts and we will love him forever. He showed us how to be stronger than the battles life gives us, and a love like no other. He touched more lives in the 18 days he was here with us than most people do in their lifetime. I pray that God shows us the reason for all of this, but for now we trust in Him that Sawyer’s life has been used and will continue to be used for God’s glory. We are extremely heart broken by this whole experience but are resting in the fact that Sawyer is healthy and happy and playing a round of golf with Jesus. We will miss him terribly, but grateful that we can spend eternity with him and our Heavenly Father after our earthly time is over.
2013-05-27 @ 11:12pm – For those of you who have been following the story of Sawyer, Ashlyn and Josh … here is Ashlyn’s post about his passing tonight …
2013-05-26 @ 9:45pm – This has been another roller-coaster day for The Murphy Family. Earlier today doctors performed another procedure on Sawyer and he seemed to be getting better. But later in the day he took another turn for the worse. Here are Ashlyn’s two posts from today. May God continue to grant His Love and Peace to these blessed servants.
They are still concerned about the infection, but we are still praying that it clears up with the antibiotics soon! They are also concerned because he is getting full support from the ECMO machine and a lot of medications. Please pray that the next few days he is able to be on lower support (doing more on his own) and that his need for medications will decrease.
Josh and I are trying to stay as positive as possible. Each day is a blessing. They took him off of the paralytic drug but he is still on high doses of morphine and versed so he doesn’t feel any pain at all. They wanted him to start “waking up” to see if that helps with his blood pressure. So, while we were back there today and talking to him he opened his eyes! It was a little scary because I was afraid he was feeling pain but the nurse assured me that the was a good sign since they had taken him off the paralytic but that he wouldn’t feel anything because of his sedation medicine.
Please pray that his bleeding is under control later today. They are working to get everything back to where it was after surgery.
Please pray he continues to make steps forward, baby or big steps. We are thankful for every day we have with him and all the steps he takes forward.
Our God is greater than this mountain we are facing. He is holding Sawyer in His hands and will help him get better and get over these bumps in the road!
*Ashlyn
2013-05-25 @ 7:36pm – Earlier today Ashlyn posted the following on Facebook:
Please continue to pray for Sawyer, Ashlyn and Josh. This infection is another hurdle for little Sawyer. Sawyer is one of the Lord’s little WARRIORS! He is not only fighting for his life, he is fighting on the Lord’s side. Though our little Warrior may be weak on his own, Sawyer has the strength of Almighty God on His side. Fight on little WARRIOR!!!
2013-05-24 @ 8:08pm – Here’s the latest update from Ashlyn about Sawyer’s procedure today.
Procedure went well and they are still monitoring him closely. I had her (the CICU nurse) tell me about the medications he is on – 12 total, my word! They cleaned out his chest and removed some blood clots but there were some complications with his blood pressure afterwards which is pretty typical. Everything is looking good now though. There will be no more changes made tonight or for the next few days so we are in a holding pattern of “wait and see”. Please pray that he continues to stay stable and his heart function continues improving!
Keep fighting Sawyer, we love you!
*Ashlyn
2013-05-24 @ 13:19pm – update from Ashlyn
Sawyer is doing okay today. We are counting every hour as a blessing. His blood pressure has been dropping a little bit and they think it is caused by the fact that the patch over his chest is a little more full than it was yesterday. With that being said, they will be going back in to his chest to “explore” and clean it out to see if that helps with the pressure issue. All of his other numbers are still looking good, so we are praying that once the clean everything out his pressures will return to where they were yesterday.
Please pray that this procedure goes as smoothly as possible and for great results! They will be doing this at some point today but it will be slightly short notice because the OR is busy and they are having to fit him in to the schedule. It is not something he has to go to the OR for, they bring the OR to him.
Thank you all for continuing to pray for our sweet baby! He is still being such a fighter and we know he is going to make it through this!
*Ashlyn
2013-05-23 @ 13:30pm
Dear Family, Friends and Followers:
… An update from Ashlyn with details about Sawyer’s surgery and condition early this morning. Sawyer is a very sick little boy … please continue to keep Sawyer and the family in your prayers.
“rock bottom
The past 24 hours have probably been the most trying times of our whole entire lives. I realize that after the third surgery update yesterday I haven’t updated the blog with any details, but we have been faced with more challenges than we could have ever imagined. Yesterday morning we arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM to take our family back to see Sawyer before shift change and then got ready to head back to the CICU to hold our sweet baby. Around 9:30 we were able to head back and see him and also hold him. We also walked him down to the OR and leaving him there was one of the most difficult things I had to do yesterday. I posted regular updates about the surgery and you can read those in the previous posts. This post is going to basically pick up where I left off. What happened last night is anything but great so please be prepared when getting ready to read the details of our experience.
We got the call around 6 PM that surgery was coming to a close and Dr. Alsoufi would be out to speak with us in a few minutes. If you remember they told us from start to finish the surgery would last 4-5 hours, including anesthesia. We took Sawyer down to the OR at 12 PM, so the surgery was actually 6 hours total. Dr. Alsoufi came and met with Josh and I in a seperate room from our families to let us know how surgery went. He said that once he opened him up to perform surgery he realized just how sick Sawyer really was. His lungs are a lot worse than he had thought, and his pulmonary arteries were also much larger than anyone had expected. He told us that Sawyer was really struggling. The heart operation went great and the echocardiogram showed that his function was really good as well, but they just could not get him to stabilize. In fact, the surgery was actually over at 3 PM and it took them 3 hours to get him stable enough to feel comfortable moving him back to the CICU for recovery. With open heart surgeries on babies they sometimes have to leave the chest open because of swelling. They cover it with a patch and will go in and close it a few days later once the swelling has gone down. Everytime Dr. Alsoufi had tried to close his chest his numbers would drop so he had to leave the chest open and covered with a patch. By the time Dr. Alsoufi was talking with us Sawyer had been stable for about 45 minutes and he was comfortable with them transporting him back to the CICU. This is where things took a turn for the worse.
After talking to the doctor, we decided that we should probably go eat because we wouldn’t be able to see Sawyer for another hour and a half. There is a restaurant near the hospital, literally like 4-5 minutes, that we decided we would go to eat and then we would head back ASAP. I was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Sawyer was struggling, but I wasn’t going to be able to see him any time soon and there was nothing that I could do so we made the decision that we really needed some fresh air and some dinner. As we pulled in to the parking lot of the restaurant my phone started ringing. It was the nurse that works with Dr. Alsoufi calling to say that Sawyer wasn’t doing well and we needed to head back ASAP. The surgeon was in the CICU having to open his chest back up to perform more surgery. We called our families (who were already inside the restaurant) and told them to leave now and head back. I don’t think Josh has ever driven so fast in his whole entire life, the whole time we were both crying out to God to please save our baby and guide the surgeons to make the right decisions that would help save his life. We really didn’t know what was going on and wouldn’t until we could get back and meet with Tracy, the nurse who had called us to come back. I literally thought we were going to lose him.
As soon as we got back we ran to the CICU and found Tracy. She took us to a small conference room and sat us both down to tell us what had happened. As soon as they got back to the CICU his numbers started going crazy. His blood pressure was all over the place and his heart rate was in the 200’s (WAY too high). When he left surgery he was on a lot of medication to keep things regulated, so they gave more medicine and when that wasn’t working they knew they had to do something. About that time he went in the cardiac arrest and his heart stopped beating so they had to do compressions. After about four minutes his pressure went back up, but Dr. Alsoufi made the decision that in order to save his life he would need to be put on the ECMO machine. The ECMO machine is a heart and lung bypass that takes all of the blood out of the body, oxygenates it, and then puts it back. It allows the heart to rest and recover without making the other organs of the body, such as the brain and kidneys, suffer from the heart not working properly. His right ventricle is VERY thick. The heart is a muscle so since it has been having to work SO hard in and out of the womb it became thick. His heart was also very tired from the combination of working before surgery and also the significant surgery he just went through. ECMO allows his heart to rest and recover and in about 2-3 days they will start the process of weaning him off. This is VERY serious and right now is the only thing keeping Sawyer alive. We are thankful that the nurses and doctors knew the right things to do and the right time to intervene, a blessing that we can only thank God for right now. Josh and I have hit rock bottom. I NEVER imagined that this is how things would turn out and I am falling apart. Sawyer is such a fighter and I know he will make it through this, I know he will. The waiting and making sure everything goes as well as they would like in order to transition him off the machine is the hardest part. We have been able to see him and that wasn’t easy. He is connected to so many wires and tube and it is just so different from how he looked before surgery.
Sawyer will still need lung intervention after they can get him off of ECMO. Right now we are taking this stage by stage and his heart is the MOST important thing. I know that he was just tired from the surgery and how hard his heart was working before so I am hoping that we will only have the minimal days of ECMO and he proves to be improving. Just to give you all an idea on how large his pulmonary arteries were – they should measure 5-6 mm, they could only reduce them to 9 mm so they are still large but the orginal size was 24 mm…. They were HUGE. With that being said, his lungs are severely affected. We stayed at the hospital last night and called to check on him pretty regular. All of the nurses and doctors have told us how impressed they are with how he is doing. We know God’s hand is in this and that he is taking care of our sweet Sawyer. They will continue to monitor him on ECMO until at least Saturday before they make any decisions. He needs time to rest and they don’t want to rush that, and neither do we…
We are so thankful for your prayers. I have read all of your comments and messages, I just can’t respond to them all individually. Our families have been a huge support and I honestly don’t know where we would be without them. Josh and I are clinging to God’s promises and crying out to him that he will protect Sawyer and help the surgeon and doctors continue to make the right decisions. Please continue to pray for Sawyer and I will update as I can. Majority of the updates will be on the facebook page – www.facebook.com/BabyMurphyUpdates.com
For more information on what ECMO is please visit this website: http://www.mch.com/page/EN/2052/Extra-Corporeal-Membrane-Oxygenation/What-is-ECMO?.aspx
He will continue to have two nurses, one to monitor his numbers and one to monitor the ECMO machine.
Ashlyn
You can follow Ashlyn’s blog at this link:
http://themurphyfamilygrows.blogspot.com
2013-05-22@9:45pm – Update after Surgery …
This has been a long, long day for Sawyer, Ashlyn and Josh. Sawyer underwent his first surgery to repair his heart defects today and is currently in critical condition in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Egleston Children’s hospital.
Ashlyn asks that everyone please continue to keep them in your prayers. Here’s a copy of Ashlyn’s Facebook post at about 1 hour ago.
“Please continue to prayer for Sawyer. Pray for him to continue to be the fighter we know he is. Pray for God to take care of our baby. Please pray as hard as you can that Sawyer is going to make it through this. They have had to put him on ECMO – the heart and lung bypass machine. This means they are pumping and oxygenating blood for him to allow his heart and lungs to recover from this very lengthy/complicated surgery. He was unable to stay stable after surgery and it was a lot of stress on him. Please, please pray for our sweet baby and ask everyone you know to say a prayer for our baby and the surgeons.”
Sawyer is a very sick little boy at this point.
_______________________________________________________
2013-05-22@2:43pm Sawyer is in open heart surgery at Egleston Children’s Hospital. Above are some pictures taken today of the family before the surgery started.
2013-05-22 @ 12:11pm – Here’s a brief video of Sawyer just before his first surgery at Egleston today. Sawyer – The Heart Warrior just before his first surgery for TOF/APVS at Egleston with his Mommie
2013-05-20 @ 8:57pm – Ashlyn provides an update on the plan for Sawyer’s surgery at her blog site.
“I just updated the blog. These last few days have been really stressful and we just want answers. I know everyone wants to know when surgery is, but we just don’t know at this point. Hopefully by the end of the week. I promise we will update as soon as we know, but asking us everyday just adds to the frustration of us not knowing and not having many answers. More details in the blog – The Murphy Family.”
2013-05-19 @ 7:53pm – This is a great picture of Sawyer posted by Ashlyn today. I love Sawyer’s smile. The time and day for his surgery is still not firm, but is still expected to be within the next couple of days.
2013-05-15 @ 9:15pm – Ashlyn has received word about Sawyer’s first surgery scheduled for next Monday or Tuesday …. Here’s her blog from earlier today …
finally… A PLAN!
After thinking we would get some answers Monday, I am very happy to say that we finally have some answers today! Let me start with where we left off yesterday.
We attended rounds yesterday and were told that they would make a decision about the plan of action in regards to surgery and that we would know something by today at the latest. I wasn’t holding my breath though because they have said that before (Monday) and we didn’t get any information. Last night we headed home to our house for the first time in 7 days to sleep in our own bed and because we want to save money to afford the hotel for the days he has surgery and is in the CICU for recovery. Although I hated leaving my baby earlier than usual, I was happy to put my feet on my own floor, love on my animals, and take a shower in my own shower. It was pretty hard knowing we aren’t bringing my baby home, but I think I did pretty well. My parents made us dinner and have been taking care of our dog, Dixie. Dixie was SO excited to see us! We “slept” in this morning and made a plan to be down after rounds so we could get an update.
When I walked in our nurse said that he had a great night and that rounds went well. The plan is surgery Monday or Tuesday! They have a very full schedule this week, so they are trying to get him in as soon as they have an opening. I am so relieved. I don’t want my baby to have surgery, but he needs it and this is the best option so I am so relieved that they have finally realized this! We have only been trying to tell them this since we got here. After surgery he will still have significant breathing issues because of how the pressure has affected his bronchi and lungs. This will be something that we work on and see how things are after surgery. He also is on a feeding tube right now and it is my hope they will try to wean him off, but his heart issue combined with the breathing issue may make that a long process. Either way he will be getting his feeds so that is okay with me! We will continue to stay at home for the next few nights until Sunday night when we will stay in a hotel so we can be close by for the surgery and recovery. We have no idea how long he will be in the CICU for recovery, but we plan to stay in a hotel as long as he is working on getting better after surgery. I want to be really close by so that if anything happens, and it could, we can be here in the blink of an eye. It scares me to be so far away at home if something might happen.
Thank you for all your prayers, support and donations. They mean a lot and have really helped to alleviate the stress of the financial bills, hotel expenses, and also gas. Some of you have asked me for the link for donations. Our dear friend, Kelly Ford, has set up the link on her blog: growingfordfamily.blogspot.com. The link is on the top right of her blog under “Baby Murphy Fund”. I am so thankful for her doing this for us and any amount has really helped us throughout this incredibly stressful time. These donations go through paypal and Sawyer is considered a non-profit so there are no fees associated with the donations and it all goes straight to Josh and I!
Please continue to pray for the next few days as we wait for this surgery. I think that right now I am okay with everything but as the days go by I am sure I will get more and more worried and stressed. I don’t want my baby boy to have open heart surgery, but I know he is a fighter and the surgeon is WONDERFUL! God has his arms wrapped around Sawyer and I know he will protect my baby and also Josh and I. Next week will probably be very rough. Once I know the specific day and time I will let you all know so you can pray with us at that time. Please also pray for Josh as he has to go back to work tomorrow and Friday to save up time to take off for the surgery 😦 I will be coming to the hospital to spend time with Sawyer.
Today has been a good day and he has been opening his eyes a lot more! His condition makes him retain fluid and his eyes are puffy so it is difficult for him to open his eyes. He tries really hard! Thank you again for all the thoughts, prayers, and donations. Words can’t describe how thankful we are for all of you.
Love,
Ashlyn
Posted by Ashlyn Murphy at 3:04 PM on 2013-05-15
2013-05-14 @ 9:05am – Latest post on The Murphy Family
a better day… After last night I prayed that God would open my eyes to the little blessings He is giving us through this struggle. I prayed that He would help me be thankful and rely more on His strength when I am weak. God knows the plan He has for Sawyer, Josh and I and I am working so hard to trust that plan and know that it will be the best. … read more.
2013-05-11 @ 10:08pm – Happy Mother’s Day to Ashlyn … her evening post on Facebook follows …
Enjoyed some Sawyer time today! All the nurses think he is the cutest 🙂 His feeds have been increased to 6cc’s an hour and will go up 3cc’s every 8 hours until he reaches his goal of 20cc’s an hour. There was a little mishap with his feeding tube so they had to take it out and put a new one in. He did not like that! The nurse gave him some medicine and that helped him calm down and he has been sleeping ever since. He was really opening his eyes this morning and looking around at his daddy and I while we were talking to him 🙂 They have decided not to change his ventilator settings anymore because his X-ray showed one lung was over inflated and one was under inflated. They will re-evaluate after his next x-ray. We are eating dinner now and then going back to spend a few more hours before the night is over.
2013-05-11 @ 2:48pm – Ashlyn’s Facebook post from earlier this morning …
Morning! Just wanted to give everyone a little update on what has been and will be going on with baby Sawyer. (I still catch myself typing baby Murphy sometimes, but then I remember his name isn’t a secret anymore!)
As all of you know he was born with a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve Syndrome. The absent pulmonary valve caused his pulmonary arteries to swell in utero which constricted the growth and development of his lungs and airways. He was able to breath on his own when he was born but it made him very tired, which is why they intubated him. He is on a ventilator now and they were adjusting the settings down all day yesterday so he was breathing more and more on his own. You will have to give me a few days to catch up on how to explain everything in “normal” terms, I am still working to understand it all myself!
Because his pulmonary arteries are enlarged it is pressing on his lungs and airways. He loves to lay on his tummy because it takes the pressure off and he is able to breath a little bit easier. When he was at Gwinnett he was on several different medications, but since moving to Egleston they have taken that number down to just two medications! Normally Tetralogy of Fallot babies will have what the call “tet spells” where their saturation level decreases and they start turning blue but he has not had any of these yet! It usually occurs when the babies get too upset, so they have been working to keep him comfortable.
As we were leaving last night they were going to insert a feeding tube and start his feedings off slow – just 1cc an hour! I called this morning to check on him and everything went great and he is tolerating it very well. They also did another x-ray to make sure the tube was placed right and check on his lungs. The left lung is the most affected and the nurse said there hasn’t been any changes since the first evaluation at Egleston. We really won’t know any more details about surgery until Monday because that is when the surgeons will be meeting to discuss options on how to proceed. They may do a full-repair all at one time, or there is a chance they could just move the pulmonary arteries to relieve pressure off of his lungs and then do the full-repair on the heart after they see how the first surgery goes and he is able to grow to be a little bit bigger. Right now everything is stable and we are going to enjoy spending time with our sweet baby this weekend.
Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support. I am amazed by the lives Sawyer has already touched in his few short days of life so far. He is the strongest person I know and I surely wish I could trade places, but for now I pray that God wraps His hands around my baby boy (which I know He already has done and will continue to do). We are so blessed by Sawyer and cannot wait to see what God has in store for all of us as a family!
2013-05-10 @ 8:56am – Ashlyn’s Facebook post about Sawyer …
Sawyer Joshua Murphy – 2013-05-10
At Egleston Children’s Hospital
“thank you all for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. it really means more than you will ever know. please pray I get a restful nights sleep and continue to heal. it’s been very emotional and I just want to be with my baby. being in one hospital while he is in another is quite possibly the most difficult thing I have ever done. on a happy note- here is a picture of him in his bed at Egleston pretty sure Sawyer is the cutest baby ever, at least that’s what me and his daddy think”
2013-05-09 @ 8:03pm – We saw Ashlyn this afternoon around 4:00pm at the hospital. She was doing well as the medicine had her a little on the sleepy and happy side. A couple of hours before we were there, Sawyer had been transferred to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta. Here’s Ashlyn’s most recent post on Facebook along with my comment as I shared it with those who follow my blog.
One of Ashlyn’s hopes was that she would be able to hold her baby before he was rushed off to Egleston Children’s Hospital. This a a sweet picture of Ashlyn, Josh and Sawyer. We are so blessed to have met this little fellow. So far all we have seen is two pictures of Sawyer, but they will forever be emblazoned on our hearts and minds.
Ashlyn’s caption on the picture read – this afternoon they transported Sawyer to Egleston. I had only been able to see him once since he was born and so they brought him by one last time so I could see him and I got a nice treat! I was able to hold my precious son before he has to leave! He is still being monitored by Egleston and we will know more about the plan of action tonight or tomorrow!
2013-05-09 @ 9:59am – After a long labor doctors decided to deliver our great grandson, Sawyer Joshua Murphy (previously known as Baby Murphy), at 12:09am today by Caesarean section. He weighed 8 pounds even and was 21 3/4 inches long. Ashlyn is recovering. The pre-birth diagnosis of Sawyer’s serious heart condition (Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve) has been confirmed. He will be transferred today from the NICU unit at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville to Egleston’s Children Hospital in Atlanta later today for further care and surgery. Here is Ashlyn’s post from this morning around 9:30am …
Please continue to pray for Sawyer, Ashlyn and Josh as their journey continues. We are trusting in God’s wisdom.
2013-05-07 @ 10:32am – Today is the day that Ashlyn enters the hospital for the delivery of Baby Murphy. Here’s a picture from a Facebook that Ashlyn posted last night. She and Josh worked on the baby blanket together. It will be very special to little Baby Murphy … of this, I am very sure!!!
2013-05-06 @ 10:50pm – Ashlyn has a new post today, her final one before Baby Murphy is born. Please read Ashlyn’s blog for more insight … and continue to remember Ashlyn, Josh and particularly Baby Murphy. Ashlyn’s latest blog – “this is it“
2013-05-05 @ 6:29pm – We have learned that Ashlyn will go into the hospital at 9:00pm on Tuesday night, May 7, to be induced for delivery of Baby Murphy. We expect Baby Murphy to be welcomed to the world some time Wednesday morning. Please continue to pray for Ashlyn, Baby Murphy and Josh as this important milestone approaches. More information as it is known … right here.
Baby Murphy … due to make his appearance on or before May 7, 2013!!!
Josh and Ashlyn Murphy
2013-04-27 Ashlyn’s latest blog – decisions, decisions – week 36! Ten days and counting until Baby Murphy arrives. Here’s Ashlyn’s latest blog. Look at the sweet new picture of Baby Murphy below!! More pictures at Ashlyn’s blog site. Please continue to remember them in your prayers. God is able!!
2013-04-26 Today was Ashlyn’s birthday. She reports that she had a good day on her Facebook page. All good news so far as she prepares for Baby Murphy’s arrival on May 7, 2013. Thank you for continuing to pray. Click on this link to go to Ashlyn’s blog.
2013-04-24 – May Charlotte and I ask you and your friends to remember our family in your prayers. Our granddaughter, Ashlyn Murphy, is 22 years old and she and her husband Josh are expecting their first child on or before May 7, 2013. Doctors have determined that “Baby Murphy” has significant heart defects that will require multiple surgeries. Ashlyn and Josh are devoted Christians and have a strong faith in the Lord. They teach children in Sunday School and lead others their age to a closer walk with the Lord through small group sessions. This is a tough situation for such a young couple to face. They are trusting Baby Murphy to the strong hand of God and are expecting a good outcome that will bring glory to God no matter the outcome. Please add The Murphy Family to your prayer list and read Ashlyn’s blog for more detailed information. I will continue to update this information over the next few weeks as Baby Murphy arrives.
Click this Link to go to The Murphy Family for the latest information on “Baby Murphy.”
Amazing pictures of Baby Murphy. God has created a beautiful little baby for a beautiful purpose. What a sweetie!
jimdavenport 