The ROOM project is a go!

We had a great meeting this morning with Doug Anderson at Presby Plano. We were able to tour the pediatric floor and take a closer look at all the amazing murals, colors, fabrics, etc. For anyone who is just now following our story I'd like to let you know a goal we hope to accomplish with the support of our family, friends, and anyone who would like to participate.

On March 24 I was 22 weeks 4 days pregnant. I went to my doctor for a routine visit only to discover I had grossly ruptured. A sonogram determined it was Christopher's sac that ruptured, Stevie Dee's sac was still okay. Dr. Herzog immediately sent me to labor and delivery down the hall from his office. I was terrified. I was so afraid I was going to lose my babies. For so long Steve and I tried to start a family and in a single moment I thought that dream was gone. We prayed for our children long before we ever knew we were pregant, and we did find out early November we were both over the moon, and when they later told us we were having two we were both ecstatic.

I was laying just about flat in a hospital bed from March 24th to May 11th. We had made it 7 weeks. This is something the dr's didn't expect. It was truly a miracle because most people who rupture deliver within 24-48 hrs I was told. I'm not a medical expert, but I'm telling you it was a miracle those babies stayed put for 7 weeks. We had daily visits from Dr. Herzog, and weekly visits from Dr. Albert who was our perinatologist. Each sonogram report was good. Each report showed a little fluid left around Christopher and that he was continuing to grow normally despite being in a small amount of fluid. What no one would have been able to tell us is that Christopher's lungs never developed. Almost a day after he was born he passed away in our arms.

Rewinding back to my time on bedrest I was able to be put on a stretcher while Steve rolled me around the Presby Plano campus. We took several strolls through the 4th floor pediatric section because you couldn't help but smile seeing all those intricate, detailed murals on the wall. I also noticed there were still lots of rooms left un-painted. Wouldn't that be the pits to be the kid that comes to the hospital and had to be a plain room because all the other cool rooms were taken?

After Christopher passed away we wanted to find a way for his memory to live on. We thought a room on the pediatric floor with a lakehouse / fishing theme would be perfect. This would be great for kids of all ages. The hospital can be an intimidating experience for children and their parents. Staying in an interesting room certainly helps. I'm an adult and I would have loved to have had a room like that during my 7 week stay in bed.

There is a need for these decorated painted rooms in the soon to be Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). We feel this will be a perfect spot for a lakehouse room. We need to raise $25K for the room to be completed. Our goal is for the room to be completed by Christopher and Stevie's birthday - May 11, 2009. There are so many other needs we hope to meet through the Christopher & Stevie Hickman Fund at Plano Presby. The first goal is completing a room.

If you have any questions please email me at ehickman@manueldesigns.com, and/or I can mail an information package including pictures.

Donations can be sent via CHECK, CASH, or CREDIT CARD to:
Make checks payable to:Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation; The Christopher & Stevie Hickman Fund

Mail to:
Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation
Attn: Doug Anderson
6200 W. Parker Road
Plano, TX 75093

You can also call Doug with credit card information at 972-981-8387

I know this was a super long blog today, but we're so excited to be moving forward on this project!

Much love,
Erin