Events of March, April 2009

Here is our little William David Stearmer. Born March 27, 2009 at 9:32 AM. 7 pounds, 0 ounces. We took him home from Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City on Easter Sunday, 2 weeks ago. The day after this picture was taken, he ripped out the feeding tube that you see. I called the doctor and told him that he actually had not been using it for the last 2 days, so unless I heard otherwise, there was no way I was going to replace it. He laughingly said that was fine. He is a typical newborn in every way and is doing absolutely fabulous. It's hard to believe he had open heart sugery just 3 weeks prior to this photo. He is wonderful, and we are so lucky to have him. I am so proud of the progress he has made in his short life.

We are not sure who he looks the most like. We see Mounteer and Stearmer traits.

Taking Easter pictures at the Vernal Temple. Rebecca loves to get her picture taken!

Ryan is harder to deal with when taking pictures. I think I only have about 3 pictures in his whole life where he is actually looking and smiling at the camera! But, they sure look adorable in their Easter clothes!

Our three children -- that feels so crazy to say that!

What a sweet boy!

Leaving the PICU and going into a regular recovery room at PCMC. This was our favorite nurse, Mary. We loved everyone that helped with Will's care, but Mary was the best. She actually was with us for 5 days, longer than the rest. Her expertise and bedside care, both to the baby, and to us, was amazing. I will never forget her caring, and sweet way. And, she could make us laugh when we were ready to cry. I will always appreciate that.

Going home!!! Our last day in the hospital! Easter Sunday was not the traditional one for us this year. But, what a way to celebrate. The Easter Bunny (the incredible staff at the hospital) delivered Will a wonderful Easter basket, and while driving the 3 hours home to Vernal, we could reflect upon the gift of life we were given through our Savior, Jesus Christ. We came home to balloons and a welcome home sign on our garage, as well as a wonderful ham dinner, all made by Jon's parents, Rob and Veronica. An Easter Sunday that will always remain in our hearts.

The day before Easter, the hospital staff put on a major Easter egg hunt for all the kids in the hospital. Rebecca and Ryan got to participate and had a blast! That's a lot of eggs!

Mom, Dad, and Barbara wish us good wishes while saying good-bye and sending us home to Vernal. They were so wonderful to us during our month long ordeal. I will always be grateful for their patience, love, and kindness.

Will was anxious to finally get home and sleep!

Rebecca turns 6 years old! During my bedrest, and very soon before our month long departure for Salt Lake, we celebrated Rebecca's birthday. She had a very fancy tea party birthday party last year, so we kept this one kind of low-key. She still had a great time, though. She was so funny about her cake. She told me EXACTLY what she wanted -- a cherry cake mix with pink and chocolate frosting. She wanted the top to be a princess decoration. So, this is what my Mom and I came up with. She loved it! (March 12, 2009)

Mom, Dad, Rob, and Veronica were all there to help our family celebrate Rebecca's birthday.

What Rebecca requested for her birthday throughout the year was a fishing pole. She has wanted one for about 2 years, as she watches (and sometimes goes) with Jon and her Grandpa. She really had no idea what this big, long, wrapped present was.

But, when she opened it, she was absolutely stunned and excited. She even got her own pink Barbie tackle box to go with it. She is going to be the fanciest girl on the lake!

Practicing her cast with her dad in the yard.

It has been a whirwind 2 months, full of anxiety, fear, faith, and fun. While this was very difficult to go through, we wouldn't go back and change anything if we could. We feel so thankful for the growth we have been able to do through all of this. It has brought our family closer together, our marriage closer together, as well as our relationship with God. Trials are difficult, but it is amazing the amount of strength He gives us as we go through them. We just have to ask and be willing to receive it. We are doing great, and we are all happy and healthy. And we are so grateful to be home.

More Updates -- Day 8,9, and 10

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days --it's been really busy and crazy trying to balance going to the hospital to be with Will, as well as trying to keep our kids on a schedule of eating and sleeping. It's been really crazy. I think my emotions from all this are finally catching up with me. But, I hope you enjoy these pictures and updates!

Our newest family picture! This was taken on Saturday.


Sunday we took Rebecca with us to the hospital with us for a few hours. She did really great in the waiting room, chatting away with the nurse about princesses. The male nurse told her he didn't like Jasmine because she was so superficial. They had quite a discussion about it! Rebecca and Ryan have quite a reputation around the PICU. Everyone wants to meet them, as the nurses keep talking about how funny these two are!

Since Monday, this is how little Will has looked. Several lines have been removed. He still has pacer wires connected, just in case his heart needs it. He will probably have that until he's released. In this picture, he still has his breathing tube in, but it was actually removed yesterday. He's finally looking a little more normal here!

This was taken today, April 7th. As of yesterday, Will has been taken off most of the medication and his now just on Lortab. He has been really alert and aware the last few days. This is Will making soft cooing sounds to me. His voice is still quite raspy, as he is trying to get it back. What a sweet guy. The oxygen wires were changed today and just gives him a little extra oxygen every now and then. The lines that go into his heart SHOULD be removed tomorrow morning. They have been telling us for 2 days that the wires would be removed so we could finally hold him. The hold up has been the doctors, who have been held up in surgery. Once the wires are removed, they will watch him in case of bleeding, and then let us hold him. We think they may move him to a regular recovery room tomorrow or the next day. It should not be long after that until he gets to go home.


To help the kids have some fun, Jon took them to an Easter egg hunt at the church yesterday. I did not go as I'm still having a hard time talking about all this without crying. My emotions are so close to the surface the last couple of days -- it's still difficult to talk about to people who want to know the whole story. But, the kids had a great time, and I was so thankful to Jon for taking them!

Day 8 for Will

I need to first start off by thanking all those who have posted such sweet comments, both here on the blog, as well as email and facebook. You will never know how your words uplift and strengthen us. We are so thankful for your love and friendships. Thank you for all the prayers, as well!

Nothing new to report yesterday. He still looks good and is healing really well. We are expecting to be able to hold him today!! That is such good news to be able to look forward to. They think they will take out the two lines (IV's) that are in his heart, and take the ventilator off, which means we will hopefully be able to hold him. I'm counting on that to help us get through today! I will report more as things change today or tomorrow, as well as post some more pictures. We love you all!

William -- One Week Old

I forgot this picture was on our camera. This is a close-up of what he looked like after the original surgery on Tuesday. Pretty scary. My nieces Amanda and Rachel came by the next evening, and they were so shocked at his appearance. I could tell it freaked them out a bit. I can understand why.

Yesterday, Friday, the doctors called us in very early in the morning to let us know they wanted to close William's body up. They had a big jacket-like covering over the wound. Over the previous few days, they had to pump his little body full of fluids to keep his heart-rate up. He was so big and puffy, it looked like a different child. Then, during the previous day, they had to completely drain him of those fluids in order to sew his chest back up. By then, he was back to his normal size and weight at birth. We walked in yesterday morning and barely recognized our little boy. He was our little newborn again. We were so glad. This is right before he was put back under in order to sew the wound back together. I love his little legs he kept sticking up!



After the closure. He was still heavily sedated here, so wasn't moving or opening his eyes much at this point. He came through it wonderfully, though. They are hoping to get his ventilator off today. He had a feeding tube put in yesterday and was actually given some of mom's milk a little at a time. The next biggest hurdle is the swallowing so he can drink from a bottle. The doctors may have hit a nerve during heart surgery, so will be giving him some swallowing tests in the next day or two to determine if he can swallow food. Once those tests are passed, he can get out of the PICU and into regular recovery. We still have a long road of ahead of us, but are still hopeful to be home by Easter.

Last night was hard for me. Even though Will is making great progress, I think I am finally letting my stress show. It has been incredible how much the Spirit has lifted me up during this process. I have been given so much extra strength, it is incredible to me. But, I do have my down times. Jon and I decided to go out on a date to get out a little and away from the situation. We saw "Knowing", which was a great, on-the-edge-of-your-seat movie, but also quite depressing at the end. Not the best choice for us at the time, as we have had to face the possibility of a death in our little family. All we wanted to do was to rush home and hold our kids. We could do that with 2 of them, but not with Will, who is all the way at the hospital. I have felt kind of cheated, in a way, that I haven't been able to be a mom to my new child. I understand that it's all part of our challenge, but my arms ache to hold him. It was a tough night, but I feel much better today after a good night's sleep and knowing we will go and see him in an hour. The Lord is with us, and I have felt that every step of the way. More updates later!

Miracle Baby William

William David Stearmer is born on March 27, 2009 at 9:34 AM. 7 lbs. 19 inches. Getting measured and weighed.

My labor started while watching "Twilight" the night before. My mom drove me to the hospital at midnight, and they admitted me right in. We called and woke up Jon, who was in Vernal. He drove the 3 hours and arrived at 4:30 AM. My labor and dialation sped up and slowed down all morning. Finally, they told me to push, which I did only for 2 minutes, and William finally made his arrival!

A long night for Jon, but well worth the wait!

Rebecca and Ryan arrived at the hospital around 11 with my parents. They were very excited to meet their newest brother!

My parents meet their 17th grandchild! Will looked so healthy the first day -- it's hard to believe that there was anything wrong!

Will's first bath

Jon's dad, Rob, was just coming back from Seattle on a business conference and stopped in to meet his 9th Grandchild.

At Primary Children's Hospital the day after Will was taken by ambulance. This is actually day 3 of his little life. Rebecca has been so sweet. Each time she sees him, she sings to him.

What a beautiful baby he is.

Kissing Will good-bye after a visit with him in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)

We thought this was hard to see, but quickly realized this was nothing compared to what was coming. This picture was taken about 5 minutes before he was wheeled off to have his open-heart surgery, which would take about 6 hours to do. The doctors tell us this is the only surgery he should have to have, and will go on to live a happy and normal life.

What a sweet little baby foot!

We look pretty tired. Just before surgery.

After surgery. There are 16 different wires going into him. Jon's mom, Veronica, hesitantly touches his foot. It looks pretty scary, and it is, but we know he has been surrounded by angels the minute he was born. This is day 5 of little Will's life.

It is now day 7. Will had to be re-opened 2 days ago to let his little heart have room to swell up as it healed. Today, when we went in to be with him, the doctors were telling us that his whole body was still pretty swollen from all the liquids they were having to pump into him. The goal was to get him to urinate more often so that he would lose more of the fluids that were making his body swollen. Later during the day today, he was doing just that -- urinating more frequently and his body was returning to normal. YEAH!!! That means that his chest will be sewn back up in the morning and we are hoping his progress continues so that he will hopefully be removed from the PICU and into a regular recovery room by Tuesday. Lots of prayers are being offered! Another good thing was when we walked into the room this morning, as soon as he heard me speak, his eyes flew open. He was so responsive to our voices today. That was a little miracle to lift our spirits today. The Lord is watching out for us, and that gives us strength to keep going.