It’s almost here!

Hello everyone! I would like to start by saying how honored our family is for this opportunity.  

Colby and I met through mutual friends in college 12 years ago and have been married for 6 of those. I work at St. Francis Medical Center as a nurse practitioner in the newborn nursery. Colby owns his own business as a licensed general contractor. We have 2 fur babies. Cash is our 12 year old man yellow lab and Salsa is our 3 year old wild child English Springer. We welcomed our first baby girl, Scottie Kate, in July of 2022. I don’t know who has more energy, Scottie or Salsa. Scottie is our sassy, silly, independent girl that stole our hearts from the moment she entered this world. We always knew we wanted one more kiddo so in the summer of 2024 we found out we were expecting baby girl number 2, Lillian Rae! In September, we were told that Lillie’s anatomy scan showed multiple abnormalities. We were sent to Baton Rouge the very next day to meet with Maternal Fetal Medicine. At that visit it was confirmed that our sweet Lillie girl has spina bifida. We were referred to The Fetal Center in Houston, Texas to see if we qualified for fetal surgery to repair Lillie’s myelomeningocele in utero. After 3 days of testing and surgical consults, it was determined that Lillie did not qualify for fetal surgery. The benefits of surgery did not out weigh the risks in Lillie’s specific situation. We were instructed to relocate to Houston at 32 weeks to be closely monitored by The Fetal Center until delivery at 37 weeks. Our C-section is scheduled for January 16th. Lillie will be taken to NICU after delivery and have surgery to repair her myelomeningocele shortly after birth. We don’t know what the future looks like for Lillie but we know that we will love her with all of our hearts and raise her to know that God has a special plan for her and her life and even though we may not understand, we have to have faith and give it all to Him. This journey has been a roller coaster of emotions and I know we are just getting started. We are so lucky to have such supportive families and friends holding our hands through it all. Since Lillie’s diagnosis we have received an overwhelming amount of love. It’s hard for me to describe in words how much each and every phone call, text message, card, or gift has meant to Colby and I. For Lillie to be chosen as this year’s beneficiary for Rides on the River is just another example of how blessed we are in life and we have God to thank for it all.