pwacm

Happy 1st birthday Faith Marie!!

She had an oxygen level of 97% through the night! 
Still congested but lungs are sounding much clearer, it’s like it went back to her nose again lol but I think a few more days and we will be almost back to normal 😁

Faiths oxygen was an avg of 95% last night. She had it up to 98% which is great. Still congested this morning. She was fussy and gassy yesterday. Still has a lot of junk in her nose and throat but hopefully it’ll get better today 🙏 she’s been cranky with her bottle but I think she had sinus pressure and maybe a headache yesterday too. So hoping for a better day today. We are restarting therapy this week with strict rules of if anyone is in contact with someone who is sick to just reschedule. But we’ve got to get her back on track again.

Look who is 10 months old today.... Princess Faith Marie!!

Faith Marie can not go trick or treating, but that didn’t stop her Mom & a far away friend from buying her some outfits!!

Yesterday was Faith Marie’s 8th month birthday. She is 13# & 24 1/2” long. She loves most baby foods, loves to “talk”, & knows who is talking to her. She has been learning so much stuff this past month. Her appt in Pitts went well, so well in fact, the Drs said that Faith would live past her 1st birthday.  With all the prayers this little girl has in our area, state, and country, God hears them, and He has healed most of the problems she was born with! Thank you Jesus!!
 

I was playing with Faith while her mommy did an errand. We were playing with a wiener dog, they go “bark bark”, because that’s what real wiener dogs sound like. The dog would bark, then kiss her cheek, this is the reaction I got, 😂 😍

Had Faith entered in the Most Beautiful Baby in Elk Co at the fair last week. Brandi & I took Faith to her first Fair, plus you had to be there when they announced the winners. The pic with the wings is the one that was on her can you put money in it to cast your vote. ❤️

Sending prayers for baby Faith that it closed and she doesn't need surgery. 🙏 😇 

Yes she has, isn’t it wonderful!! She is starting to eat baby food now, she loves applesauce!! The rice flakes helped put weight on her also.
Brandi said every time a hole closed in her heart, she would go through a growth spurt. The last time it happened was when she grew 2” in 1 month, but they didn’t know the hole closed!!
Faith Marie has one more hole, it usually requires surgery to close it. She is hungry a lot, wants held more, sleepy, etc. These are all the same things she did a couple months back when she had that big growth spurt. We are all praying that the last hole closed up!! We won’t know till the end of this month. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

Faith is 11 1/2 # as of last Saturday night. I got a phone call an hour ago asking if I could watch her till 4. 😍 ❤️
Here are a few pics I just took.

Faith was 6 mos on July 15th, that’s a 9-18% survival rate for trisomy 18 babies. Faith will defy the odds and keep proving that there is power in prayer!

You’re welcome!
 We were told today that Faith Marie is 10 1/2# & 24” long!  She grew 2” since last month!!  

Here is the article that was about Faith and the Daisy Award winner Nikole Kessler. This was when Faith Marie was 3 months old. Yes, I’m late with it.
**********************************************************************
We are truly privileged to congratulate our most recent DAISY Foundation winner: Nikole Kessler, RN, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at PH DuBois. Nikole helped to care for infant Faith Marie Spicher, who was born with Trisomy 18. Many babies born with this chromosomal condition do not live beyond their first few days or weeks of life. Faith, however, grew strong enough in the NICU that she was able to be discharged and go home with her parents. This week, Faith turned 3 months old. We are honored to share the beautiful words of Faith’s mother, Brandi, who describes the experience and how Nikole went above and beyond in caring for Faith during her time in the NICU: 
“Faith Marie Spicher was born on Jan. 15, 2019. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, incompatible with life. We knew that Faith would be cared for at the NICU after she was born due to her diagnosis. What we didn’t know was how much she would be loved and cared for by the staff.
Faith was placed on a ventilator by Jan. 17, 2019, due to episodes of apnea, and had more wires, tubes and monitors than could be imagined. It was hard to deal with; it was difficult to see our baby going through so much. But what wasn’t difficult to see was the compassion and love she received from the nurses and also the huge impact that this small life had on them as well as us. We will never forget the NICU nurses and all the memories we had with them. They will always be a part of our family and we are forever grateful for them. 
Nikole Kessler cared for Faith through the best times and hardest times. She laughed with us, celebrated with us and even cried with us. She was able to look past all the wires and tubes and only saw Faith. You could see a connection growing between the two. She not only took care of Faith as a nurse, she cared for Faith as if she were her own. She wasn’t afraid of Faith’s condition, as a matter of fact she took it on as a challenge; Faith would beat the odds and be her “feisty spice.” She made sure that Faith received the best care and all the snuggles she could give. 
Nikole walked with us hand in hand through Faith’s entire journey in the NICU. On Jan. 19, 2019, Deryk and I had to make a heartbreaking decision to discontinue the ventilator. We couldn’t have our baby live on a vent for the rest of her days. Nikole stayed with us, even off duty, through that difficult time. She took a turn holding her and cried right with us as we thought Faith’s time here on Earth was over. Nikole even handmade a wooden plaque for this day, “Too Beautiful for Earth, Faith.” As the minutes turned to hours and Faith amazed us all with desire to live, breathing on her own, Nikole shared in our tears as they turned from heartache to tears of joy and hope. 
The following day, Nikole checked on Faith as soon as she came into the NICU to make sure she made it through the night. She kept us updated through her entire shift and shared in our joy and relief as she continued to report that Faith’s vitals were stable and she was not having any episodes of apnea. 
Nikole made sure we didn’t miss any special moments. She carried the camera in her pocket and was quick to capture every significant second – the first time we fed our baby through her og tube, her first outfit, first bath. She filled two photo books and ran the printer out of paper just so we had every memory of the beginning and, what we thought, would be the end of Faith’s life. 
Nikole continued to be there for Faith even on her days off of work. She made the trip into the hospital and spent hours with Faith just to hold her.
Finally, the day came when Deryk and I were able to take Faith home and Nikole was there to do her discharge. There wasn’t a dry eye in the NICU, especially Nikole’s. She even escorted Faith out of the hospital just so she could soak up every last moment with her. 
To this day, Nikole continues to be a part of Faith’s life, keeping up with her and all of her firsts and celebrating with us every time Faith defies the odds. Nikole is more than the NICU nurse that cared for our baby, she is part of our family and we know Nikole will forever be a part of her life as long as Faith is with us on this earth.”
Please join us in thanking Nikole. We are so proud of her heartfelt dedication to caring for our littlest patients! Follow the link to read the very touching words Brandi wrote about the other members of Faith’s NICU nursing team as she said she wanted to recognize each person that was there fighting for Faith, caring for her and, most of all, loving her! http://bit.ly/Baby-Faiths-Story
 

I think it was in the mid 70’s because my sister in law worked there then. 
The DuBois Area Historical Society has City Directories that go back to the early 20th century.

Many prayers. 

Many prayers. 

I wouldn't worry about some. Keep them coming. 

Why are you taking my picture grandma?
 

Faith Marie’s 1st Easter!!

Today Faith Marie is 3 months old. She is 8# & wearing 0-3 mo clothing.

Throwback Thursday: 1912 Alley Popper Railroad Trestle Collapse in Woodward Twp.
Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2019 by Gant Team in Features, Local News, Top Stories (Provided photo)
The Altoona and Philipsburg Branch of the Pittsburgh and Susquehanna Railroad came into service in 1894, as a local business enterprise, to haul coal and passengers throughout the Moshannon Valley.
The line ran from Philipsburg to Osceola Mills and Houtzdale and then on to Ramey.  The line ended in Fernwood in Gulich Township.
From its beginning, the Alley Popper Railroad competed locally with the large and powerful Pennsylvania Railroad.
In the village communities of West Moshannon and Kendrick in Woodward Township, the Alley Popper’s engineers designed and had built a 2,130 feet wooden trestle in order to skirt over top of the existing Pennsylvania Railroad line.
The trestle kept the rail line relatively level and made it possible to avoid a right-of-way conflict with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
But how long could such a wooden structure continue to withstand the many tons of train engines and full coal cars that traveled on it day after day and year after year?
On Nov. 22, 1912, the trestle collapsed.  Its support beams went down in an orderly fashion, “like dominos,” as was written in reports of the time.  The true miracle was that the train engine and cars stayed put on the rails without tipping over.
The photos show just that.  One wonders how, considering the limited heavy equipment of the day, the train was removed and the trestle rebuilt.
(Provided photo)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gantdaily.com/2019/03/14/throwback-thursday-1912-alley-popper-railroad-trestle-collapse-in-woodward-twp/

I loved going to Pappy's as a kid & pitchers of birch beer! & The funny mirrors & the balloon guy with Pappy feet that wobbled & the styrofoam Pappy hats🥰🥰🥰I miss the good old days

Hooligans opened right around the time I was 21 so that would have been 1985 or so. I remember going to Pappy's when I was in high school but I can't tell you exactly when it closed. It was where PNC is although I don't think PNC is the original structure.

Yes I remember my parents taking my sister and I to Pappys. Any idea what year they closed?  Was it where the PNC bank is now?  I don't remember exactly.