As many of you may already know, I got married January 21, 2017 to Ileana Patricia Almengor. Patty and I met at church and dated for almost two years before getting married. We share many common interests like hiking, climbing, helping the people of Guatemala, and our love for the Lord. Patty is a attorney and is serving her country through her profession. She is a wonderful woman and I am blessed to have her as my wife, and to be her husband. She has made a house a home and I love our family and life together.
We have more big news!!! Tuesday October 10, 2017 our baby girl Emma Isabella Israel Almengor was welcomed into this world. Here in Guatemala they use both the last name of the father and mother. She is perfectly healthy, beautiful baby. We are very excited to have our baby girl, she is so sweet and a tremendous blessing for our whole family.
We have had a few challenges and trials during the pregnancy. At 26 weeks, Patty began to have a lot of unexplained pain. At first, her doctors thought it was normal intestine and colon pain due to the baby growing and putting pressure on her organs. I was 10 hours away drilling the Dolores Petén well. When I spoke to Patty that Friday night, I could hear fear and concern in her voice. I immediately left to come home Saturday morning. At 3 AM Sunday, we were in the emergency room. There was much uncertainty and confusion among the doctors. One said irritated colon, and another said appendicitis. The second of which was very, very serious at 6 months pregnant. The doctors gave us a few options. 1. Wait in observation for a few hours and continue to analyze the situation, or 2. Go immediately into exploratory surgery and inspect her appendix. Here is where it got scary! Both scenarios had tremendous risk to Emma. If we waited and Patty’s appendix burst, the doctors would immediately have to remove Emma from Patty’s womb and she would have to spend the rest of her development in incubation in the hospital. If we opted for the exploratory surgery, Patty would have to go under anesthesia and this was a tremendous risk for Emma. If Patty started having contractions, a common occurrence for pregnant women under anesthesia, they would have to deliver Emma. All the while, she did not have a definite diagnosis of appendicitis. We really did not know what to do so we consulted our Obstetrician. She said have the surgery. So, my beautiful wife and unborn baby were rushed immediately into surgery. Needless to say, we were all on pins and needles waiting to hear from the doctors. Praise the Lord everything turned out fine, and Patty indeed had a very inflamed appendix and was hours away from a full-blown appendicitis. Praise God we listened to the voice of the Lord, got Patty and Emma to the hospital quickly, and were able to take care of the situation with no harm to Patty or our baby girl.
Due to the appendicitis the birth had to be a C-section. The birth went very smooth, and the doctors all did their jobs with precision and professionalism. I was in the delivery room and took video and pictures of the whole process. I also cut the umbilical cord. Emma Isabella weighed six pounds, six ounces and is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. She is a sweet, beautiful, and docile baby. Her doctor said “Emma even cries with style”.
