Ivey Elizabeth Sirmans

Ivey Elizabeth Sirmans was born Tuesday April, 25th at 5:26 a.m. She weighed 5 lbs 11 oz and is 17 inches long. She has beautiful long fingers and toes like Gwen, and her hair is dark like Matt's. She loves to be touched and is happiest when she is being held. Ivey is a strong little one who is breathing on her own. Her strength is a blessing as she will face some challenges in the future. The initial genetic testing showed Ivey has a partial deletion of chromosome 21. There are many tests pending, and as we find out more, we will let everyone know those results. She has a double cleft palate and a cleft lip which will require surgery at some point in the future. She is blind. She has had one hearing test which will be repeated due to the noisy NICU. The aortic valve in her heart has 2 leaflets instead of 3, but despite this, her heart is working wonderfully. Currently, she has a feeding tube in her nose, and she is learning how to nurse from a bottle. Once her feeding is successful, she will be able to come home from the hospital. Ivey is being cared for in the intermediate care nursery. The doctors, nurses and staff at Floyd Medical Center have been very caring and extremely supportive of Ivey and the Sirmans. Matt and Gwen are very appreciative of all of the efforts that they have made.

Gwen was discharged from the hospital on Friday, and Knox and Walker were glad to have mom and dad home. They spent the weekend visiting Ivey, and on Saturday night, Knox and Walker went to the Rodeo with their parents and had a great time.Gwen and Matt have expressed how much they appreciate all of the prayers and support that they have received from family and friends.

Please continue to keep them in your prayers and feel free to post a message on this Blog. Before posting your first message, you will need to create your own username and password by following the instructions.

We wanted a central means of communication for updates on Ivey now and as she continues to improve. Additionally, we felt that we could better organize food, carpools for the boys, etc. by having all of the information in one place.

We would like to provide hot meals as well as freezer ready casseroles as long as they need them. To make this as easy for Matt and Gwen as possible, please schedule your meal and drop off with Miranda Styles at mirandastyles@comcast.net. Because they will be busy with Ivey and the boys at home and at the hospital, please use the cooler on the front porch to deliver any meals.

We will continue to post information about Ivey and ways to help Gwen and Matt as things arise. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.