Cali is doing wonderful! The last update I got from Josh said that she has been up and walking slowly and that she's eating solids. All of her vitals continue to be good and she is producing her own fluids, so the IV has been removed. The only thing she's still connected to is her oxygen, but she should go off that anytime. Our prayers and your prayers have truly been answered and we couldn't be more grateful. God is good. Miracles do happen!

The outpouring of love for Josh & Cali has been overwhelming! We've been made aware that a donation account has been set up on Josh & Cali's behalf to help pay for their medical expenses (estimated to be over $87,000!). It has been set up at Zion's Bank under "Josh Hinckley Donation." There is also a PayPal account available to send funds through as well. The PayPal account to send donations to is caliandjosh@gmail.com. A massive fundraiser yard sale is also currently being organized to happen in the upcoming weeks where you can donate items to be sold. I will update this blog with the details when they become available. Josh & Cali are not yet aware of any of this yet, but I know they will be beyond humbled and grateful when they find out. Thank you for the generosity and love you have shown. It has been incredible.

Windi, Josh and Amanda. 

These two ladies were a part of the emergency crew that responded on Sunday night. They are incredible and have continued to show their support to Josh and Cali. We can't thank the emergency crews, the air med staff, and all of the hospital staff enough for their talents, their kindness and their support through this experience. This world is filled with extraordinary people. Amidst tragedy, heroes truly are born.

Original post by Erin

Cali Update

My sister and I went to visit Cali this morning and she is doing great and looks so good! We only stayed for a few minutes, but of course Cali was more worried about us and everything going on in our lives than she was about herself. She asked Taylor how summer school was going and told her she felt bad Taylor had to drive clear up from Cedar City for this. Then she asked me if I was doing okay with the failed adoption we experienced last week and asked if our adoption profile was back online yet (it is by the way...see here). She is seriously such an example to me. Here she is in the middle of her greatest suffering ever and instead of looking inward and feeling sorry for herself, she's looking outward and making sure everyone around her is doing okay. What an example she is of love and perfect selflessness. She is beyond amazing.

Josh told us they helped Cali sit and stand up this morning. It was hard for her but she did awesome. Her vitals are really good and she should be moving out of the ICU very soon. She still can't remember anything that has happened in the last few days. She told me her last memory is from Saturday night when she was with our family by the lake near her home.

Cali's mom sent me a bunch of photos she's taken on her phone to post on here. I double checked with Cali while I was there to make sure it was okay for me to post them and she said it was fine, so here they are:

 

 

 

Original post by Erin

 

 

Prayers needed and answered

I have tried the past 3 days to write down what happened to Cali here on our blog and I just can't do it.  Either I get too emotional, or I just get the urge to touch Cali to make sure it's real that she's still with us.  Either way, I could never write as eloquently as Josh's sister, and she has kept the info up to date so I think for the whole story I will ask you to go here and read the details, and I will add the little antidotes that kept us laughing through the tears, and helped us realize it really is the little things that matter.  I will also share a few pics that will be repeats from Erin's blog, but I wanted to have them here as well.

Sunday afternoon; Air Med with Cali as the patient landing at the U of U.

First glance we got of Cali late Sunday night.  So many tubes and meds.  She was completely unaware we were there.  In fact, she still doesn't have any memories (as of Wednesday night) since Saturday evening at the lake by their home.

This is only 5 hours later on Monday morning.  We all had left and got a little sleep.  It was this morning that they had finally decided her problem had been a cardiac arrest caused by an amniotic fluid embolism.  This is also the morning we got the news that the baby would need to be sacrificed to save Cali's life.

 

And this is today!  Bad picture quality, but the therapists got her sitting up, standing up, shuffled over to a chair and then sat in the chair while the bed was remade.  Then they got her walking around the bed to get back in.  Quite a difference from death's door!

 

These are Cali's 3 heroes; Windi, Josh and Amanda.  These 2 ladies were incredible on Sunday night and have continued to show their support to Josh and Cali. 

We can't thank the emergency crews, the air med staff, and all of the hospital staff enough for their talent, their kindness and support we have felt and witnessed these past few days.

Now for a few of the little things that make the difference;

*  JO NOLAST - This is Cali's new nickname.  When a trauma patient comes in they are assigned a name and the blood bank reserves blood for them under that name.  Cali's name is Jo Nolast (we think the Jo comes from JOsh and the Nolast is from no last name).  But through this whole hospital stay, even on her arm tag, it says Jo Nolast.  It took us all about 12 hours to realize that this Nolast person was really Cali.  We just hope that Jo Nolast gets all the bills, too!

*  TOOTY FROOTYS - As it says in the other blog, Cali and Oakland were taking a nap together when the cardiac arrest occured.  It took Oak a few minutes to wake up but when she did she said, "Dad!  I need Tooty Frooty's!"  And if you know Oak, you know she can be pretty insistent.  Thank goodness, a kind neighbor gave her her cereal while she waited for Granny Goose to pick her up.

*  HOW YOU DOIN'? - If you have seen the TV show Friends, you know Joey.  I didn't know until last night at the hospital that Joey is Josh and Cali's bishop!!

I know there are other things I wanted to put in this blog, but I'm exhausted.  This is a quick run through and I will add more another time.

Thank you all for your prayers!  Miracles happen!

 

Original post by Natalie

 

Answered Prayers

The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity…if we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not." ~ J. Hudson Taylor

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day for Josh and Cali. To help Josh out, he's dubbed me the official updater, so I'll do my best to summarize because I know many people are anxious to hear the latest. Hopefully I've remembered all of the facts straight.

Like was mentioned yesterday, the doctor's determined Cali suffered cardiac arrest due to an amniotic fluid embolism. It is extremely rare for this to happen in pregnant women, but once it happens and you survive (survival is rare), it's almost certain to happen again within the same pregnancy. They determined there would be no way for Cali to safely finish her pregnancy. The baby up to that point hadn't been affected at all by what happened to Cali and still had a very strong heart beat and was doing great--however, he was not at a developmental stage to be viable and would surely be lost upon delivery.

Cali was thankfully allowed to wake up before the surgery so she could be a part of the decision regarding her baby. There was some initial concern Cali may have suffered some brain or neurological damage but all of those concerns faded when Cali woke up. She was fully aware of what was going on and could move all of her limbs just fine but was unable to speak because of the breathing tube in her throat. Fortunately Cali grew up learning sign language (she has an aunt who is hearing impaired) so she was able to communicate perfectly through sign. Cali's mom and Josh tried to explain to Cali what needed to happen in order to save her life but Cali didn't want to believe it and kept shaking her head in resistance. Then the doctors came in and Cali basically said to them "give it to me straight" and they indeed confirmed that terminating her pregnancy was the only way to spare her life. Cali was completely devastated, as you can imagine, but because there was no other way, she reluctantly gave her permission for the surgery to be performed.

The surgery went as expected and all of Cali's vitals were good as she came out of surgery. Unfortunately things suddenly turned for the worst as she was turned onto her side after surgery. When they turned her, she started hemorrhaging uncontrollably from her uterus and her heart rate skyrocketed through the roof. The doctor's knew they needed to act fast and rushed her back into surgery to try to stop the bleeding. Cali had already lost a person and a half worth of blood through all of this and this new turn of events did not look good. Our family was on pins and needles as we waited in the waiting room and pleaded with Heavenly Father to spare her life. About two hours later, the doctor's emerged from the operating room to tell us that Cali was stable but that they ended up having to remove Cali's uterus in order to stop the bleeding. It seemed to be causing all of the problems. Once they removed the uterus, they were able to get the bleeding under control and gave her clotting factors to help the bleeding stop.

As of this morning, they've been able to remove the breathing tube and Cali is stable for the time being. She was able to call Oakland on the phone and talk to her for a little bit. Josh says she smiles every once in a while but doesn't remember anything short term. Her long term memory is still there and the doctor's think her short term memory should come back as the meds start to wear off. I'm sure this is only the beginning of a very long recovery road for Cali--physically and emotionally--and we're not entirely out of the clear yet, but God has truly answered the bulk of our prayers thus far and we feel so blessed to still have her with us.

We want to thank each and every one of you for your continued faith and prayers throughout this experience. Our family has felt them, Cali has felt them, and we know they've played a huge part in helping the doctor's know what to do to save Cali's life. The doctor's said what happened to Cali is so rare there are only four known cases like it before, so they haven't had much to go off of but they have truly been miracle workers.

We are all aching over the loss of her precious baby but are rejoicing that Cali's life has been spared. We ask for your continued faith and prayers as Cali begins her recovery. I'm sure it will be a long and painful process for her especially as she learns to cope with the loss of another child. My heart just aches for her. But if anyone is capable of enduring it, Cali is. She's proven that in the past.

As Cali quoted on her blog a few weeks ago: “… dark times and trials are important. Trials show us the beauty of God’s comfort. It’s through the comfort we receive from God during our difficult times that we learn how to comfort others. Sometimes the process of growing closer to our Heavenly Father comes along the path of heartache and pain.” I know Cali knows that is true. She is an amazing woman and mother and I feel so incredibly blessed to know her.

Original post by Erin

Prayers needed

Saturday evening we spent a relaxing evening with my side of the family at a small lake near my brother Josh & his wife Cali's house. We sat on a hill and ate dinner together while we watched family members take turns riding a paddle boat around the beautiful lake. Cali seemed perfectly fine and told us all things with her pregnancy were going well and that she was feeling good.

However, yesterday things turned for the worse. After church Cali and their daughter Oakland decided to take a nap upstairs on their master bed. While they slept, Josh made himself a pizza and took it down to the basement to eat while he watched TV. About 45 minutes later, he got a phone call from Cali, who was just upstairs, telling him in a breathless voice to come help her. When he got upstairs, he found her gasping for air and going in and out of consciousness. He immediately called 911 and followed their instructions to revive her until the paramedics arrived to take over. They worked on her for several minutes inside the house and then worked on her for several minutes outside the house until the life flight helicopter landed and was able to transport her to the University Hospital.

For those that aren't aware, Cali is pregnant with their third child. Baby Mac, their first child, was stillborn full-term. Oakland, their second child was born healthy, however after giving birth Cali developed a blood clot in her leg from her ankle up to her hip and has struggled with blot clots since then. I believe she has what's called Factor V. Doctors have been monitoring this pregnancy very carefully and she's been on an anticoagulant to prevent the blood clots from forming again--however, the doctors think a blood clot may be the cause of what happened, but they are still in the process of determining the cause of all of this. When I left the hospital last night, Cali was hooked up to all sorts of life support machines and had started bleeding uncontrollably and the doctor's told us if they were unable to get the bleeding under control, they would have to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her. The baby is not viable at this point, which means she would lose the baby if that were to happen. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it would be for Cali to wake up from all of this and realize her baby is gone...especially after everything she's already been through with the loss of Baby Mac.

We just ask for your prayers on her behalf and on her baby's behalf. Cali is the most incredible woman and mother. She and Josh were the biggest support to us last week through our difficult time because they could relate more than anyone to the loss we were feeling. She and Josh have been through far more than their fair share of trials. Josh needs her. Little Oakland needs her. We need her. Please, please keep her in your prayers.


UPDATE: As of just a short time ago, the doctor's determined the cause of this was due to amniotic fluid traveling up into Cali's heart, which caused her to go into cardiac arrest. It may have also caused some type of neurological damage but they are doing some tests to determine the extent of it. They were able to stop the bleeding and her blood is clotting normally again. Sadly, they will need to take the baby in order to spare Cali's life and will be performing that surgery shortly. Our hearts are just breaking. We are praying and pleading for her recovery.

Original post by Erin

124 days down....156 to go...

Tomorrow I will be officially 18 weeks pregnant and 2 weeks blood free! I started my blood thinner this past week and so far things are going really well… besides the fact that I’m a complete nut case and check the baby’s heart beat at least 4 times a day (and I will not disclose how many times I normally do). :) Sorry I waited so long to update- I have turned in to a pessimist so kept thinking the “no blood” was “the calm before the storm”. No honestly, I’ve had some great support from Josh who has tried to keep me busy and have just been trying to relax and not stress myself out. Josh and I decided that I needed to cut back on my full time job so I resigned as the call center manager and am going to only be working 2 days a week once I can get someone trained for my position.

 

I have my 18 week appointment on Friday that I’m hoping to learn more about the pool of blood they found in the last ultra sound and will actually also meet with my maternal fetal medicine doctor to ensure things in that realm are going well. We found out 3 weeks ago the gender of our baby, but since I was only 15 weeks I’ll wait until Friday to ensure nothing grew or fell off… any guesses? :)

I keep wondering/wanting to know when I’ll understand what I need to learn from these trials right this second. I have learned that most women have scary moments, trouble, or anxiety during pregnancy. Not a lot just go 100% smooth. I’m also still very grateful that I can have kids but am more grateful to those in my life that are unable to, but still seem to be my biggest support- sometimes without knowing it. But besides those, here is a list of things that have changed my family and I during all of this.

1.    Oakland will be a Doctor as she knows more about giving/comforting during a shot than any nurse I've met and checks her sibling’s heartbeat more than I do!

2.   Family means more than the world to me. I found myself willing to give up my health, strength, comfort, anything to protect this little one.

3.   I need to focus more on my family that I have here. I terrified Oakland, and she aged 20 years just to help me, comfort me, and make sure I was happy daily.

4.    I have some exceptional friends and family members.

5.    And “… dark times and trials are important. Trials show us the beauty of God’s comfort. It’s through the comfort we receive from God during our difficult times that we learn how to comfort others. Sometimes the process of growing closer to our Heavenly Father comes along the path of heartache and pain.”

                        And last... I have the most extraordinary little family and wouldn't change a single one of them.

 

Original post by Me

Update? After two years it may be called something else?

Well it has been almost 2 whole years that I have posted anything! Why? Because life is crazy, I have a two year old, work full time and honestly almost always just sit here and cry when I start to blog. I don't really know why? It reminds me a lot of Mac is the only conclusion I can think of. I am blogging today because... I need to. I haven't written in a journal and this is the easiest way for me to document all that is going on. And this week a lot is going on.

I am pregnant! 15 weeks and 1 day to be exact. With Oakland and this pregnancy it always started out with fear. I get anxious, I'm nervous, and my portable heart beat monitor is my best friend. I know it's not likely that something similar to my experience with Mac will happen but I still have so many feelings that re-surface or magnify when I'm pregnant.

With this pregnancy, I've had to add on the concern of getting a blood clot. Josh and I had to plan this pregnancy because that meant going off of my current blood thinner, coumadin. I've been taking a shot known as Lovenox since September in preparation to have a baby and in January, found out I was pregnant! My OB dr. is quite the amazing guy (to say the least). He got me in early, scheduled me to meet with a fetal maternal medicine doctor and they got me prepared on a perfect does of Lovenox to prevent clots but also to not cause damage to the baby.

Taking the shots twice daily has been hard for me. I'm terrified of needles, the thought of inflicting pain twice a day is just not something I love. I sometimes feel like it's taking over my life too, I am bound to taking this or something will go wrong. However, I have learned a lot from my OB and fetal medicine Dr. about why I clot, more tests they have run and I get lucky to have a few more ultra sounds to ensure everything is still cooking right so it's had it's benefits... in a weird way. :)

I've been terribly sick this pregnancy. Had two liquid IV's to hydrate me again, been on Zofran for the past 2 months and relied a lot on my two year old. Sad, but she's actually quite the helper and super understanding. Since my first appointment until now I have lost a total of 4 pounds, but the baby is growing good, so that's not an issue (and better than the weight I gained with Mac :) )

On Monday morning I woke up with some slight bleeding (sorry this may be rated PG-13). It was only in the morning so I thought I would monitor it to see if it continued througout the day and it didn't. I was able to find the babies heart beat so I assumed it was just one of those off times. Tuesday morning at 2:00 a.m. I woke up with a lot of blood and immediately called the Dr on call to see what I should do (go off lovenox- would that even help?!) He told me to call first thing in the morning and set up an ultrasound.

That morning felt like a million years. All Josh and I could do was look up details on miscarriage and what to expect. Oakland woke up about 3 and climbed in to bed with us and could not understand why we were awake (and offered us some comic relief with her early morning grouchy comments). She kept asking what was wrong, why I was crying, and why the lights were on cause it was making her not sleep. We finally turned the lights off and when we thought she was asleep Josh told me that he would take her downstairs to watch Mickey Mouse if something happened, and she replied, "Dad I don't want to watch Mickey Mouse, I'm so tired, I just want to sleep". :) We all did, but I couldn't. So I laid there until 9:00 when the Dr. office opened.

We went in to meet with the Dr. (still was bleeding) and was actually scheduled to meet with another Dr. in the office because my regular Dr. was booked but he saw us and immediately told the nurse he would take us from here on out. We did an ultra sound and everything looked ok, baby's heart beat was strong, there wasn't any blood pooling... so he guessed it was just regular pregnancy bleeding but since I was on Lovenox it may seem stronger and last longer but to watch it and if it didn't slow down to come in on Thursday.

It didn't slow down... Wednesday I felt like it was the second day of my period. It was new fresh blood and lots of it. I continued to find the baby's heart beat throughout the day and at 4:30 my Dr. called me from his cell phone.

We decided it was time for another ultrasound and he scheduled me an appointment for 8:30 in the morning. I continued to bleed and check the heartbeat the rest of the night and this morning we went in again.

We did an ultra sound and this time were able to locate a pool of blood in the Uterus, just next to the water sac but not with the baby. That is definitely where the bleeding is coming from but still no sign of why I'm bleeding. The Dr. can see it's not coming from the baby but from me. It's still a concern though if the bleeding spreads or worsens. It was decided to take me off lovenox until the bleeding stops, in hopes that my blood will clot just enough to stop the bleeding and heal whatever the cause of the bleeding is from and risk the chance of a clot. I can't go on bedrest because I chance clotting now that I'm off blood thinner, so I'm on limited activity. Nothing strenuous activity, no lifting, no bumpy rides, or sitting in one place for a long time and lots of small calm walks to keep my blood a movin.

It's a waiting game. Right now there is over a 40% chance I will have a miscarriage, I'm still bleeding, I'm trying to not dwell on the worst but have to prepare myself for it. I want to hope for the best but am terrified to get my hopes up. I've re-lived my experience with Mac at least 1 million times. I'm trying so hard to not let Oakland see my emotions because she's having a hard time understanding it all. She tells everyone that I was very scared and am kind of sad. She asks me all the time if I'm ok, if I'm happy, if I'm healthy... this morning she told me she wants to hold the baby really bad. Me too Oak, let's pray for that 60%...

Original post by Me