Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Next Steps...

The sun is shining amidst a Carolina Blue sky here in Chapel Hill. Isaac & I have enjoyed a wonderful morning, listening to worship albums by Lincoln Brewster & Hillsong United. Bringing a bit of C3 to our room here at the PICU. :) The days are slow & steady as Isaac makes progress towards recovery. At times, I find myself impatient, wanting to hold him now & bring him home. But it is in those times of waiting & bringing my tears before the Lord that He provides just the strength needed to make it through. Its a day by day process. Psalm 16.8-10 reminded me of His promises this morning: "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad & my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the grave." The Lord continues to remain faithful & true to His Word. Jordan continues to provide strength & peace for our family when fatigue & emotions wear me down. He has been amazing through this whole journey & I praise the Lord every day for blessing me with such a remarkable man for my husband & loving father to Isaac.

Here's where we are in Isaac's recovery::
At this point, they've been able to pull him off of the blood pressure medication as he's holding steady on his own. He is no longer third spacing his fluids & has been able to get rid of a good deal of fluid. He still needs to dry out a bit more so that his lungs aren't wet for extubation. They're in the process of weaning him from the ventilator, slowly decreasing the rate at which air is being pushed into the lungs to teach his diaphragm to pull it in on its own.

How to pray::
The most crucial areas at this point concern his diaphragm & ability to get off the ventilator. He's been intubated since birth, so his lungs have not yet needed to do the work fully on their own. As mentioned before, he has an eventration (doming) of his diaphragm, making it difficult for him to pull down full on his own to bring in deep breaths. The severity of this condition is still undetermined & will remain so while on the ventilator. The last echo done on his diaphragm did not show as severe an eventration as we thought, however this is inconclusive as air was still being pushed into the lungs by the ventilator. Some good news though - when they took him off the vent system briefly, he responded by moving his diaphragm a bit on his own.

So please continue to pray for healing of this eventration & strength for Isaac as he learns to breathe on his own. This is a major hurdle towards being able to bring him home. The goal at this point is to extubate within the next 48-72 hrs is everything remains steady. Once extubated, we'll be able to fully assess his diaphragms condition. Also, pray his blood pressure remains steady without assistance from the Dopamine. These are the major hurdles at this point. Thank you for your prayers!

12 comments:

Crystal S said...

Patience, I am glad that you are out there to touch people with your words. You are a great person and I am glad that I know you. The time will come when you will be able to take him home. We can't wait to see him. He seems so handsome!

Anonymous said...

And everyday anew we see
His Grace, his hope, his love, these three,
In me, in him, in her in you
And one by one, day’s darks; subdued.

--Your brother in Christ

Anonymous said...

Our precious "Little Wild Woman" - Please know my thoughts, prayers and tears are all for you, Jordan and that beautiful, beautiful baby boy!! Your immense faith and trust are truly inspirational - and I am sooo proud of you and the unbelieveable strength you display. I can't wait to hold Isaac!! Much love to you all.

Anonymous said...

We are still praying for baby Isaac everyday! We will pray that he will gain the strength to breathe on his own so you will be able to bring him home soon!

Bryant & Hilary

Anonymous said...

Hello,
You don't know me. I'm a friend of your Father's. You and your family have been such a source of inspiration and love for me and my family. I think about Isaac throughout every day, believing that he has a warm loving light around him that is protecting his beautiful body. I know you have so many people that are your support but without even knowing me you and your family have become my heroes. If you ever need anything...I mean anything I will always be here.
Love always
Danielle Brophy

Anonymous said...

Patience and Jordan, I hope God blesses your hearts daily as I know that people are praying for you and your little family ACROSS THE COUNTRY and perhaps further...people who don't know you at all are praying for your sweet little baby. The grapevine of prayer warriors is at work and God is holding you in His hands. We love you!

Anonymous said...

Its been so exciting to see the progress of your little man, and see how quickly people from all over can rally together in prayer for him and your family. I have never met you, but check on you guys often and, with my church, am so excited to see such amazing reports! My little man is 10 months old so your page has always spoken to me, I cant wait to see what else God has in store for you!
Brittany ( Jackies friend)

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know that your family continues to be in our prayers. We are all blessed and so encouraged by God's work in your little one's life so far. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness!

Flynn Family Happenings said...

Patience -

you and your family are in our prayers. my bible study is praying for you!!! :)

continue to inspire. God bless.

Carrie Pankake Flynn

Anonymous said...

Patience, we can't begin to imagine what you and your family are going through. But your continued faith is a reminder of how amazing God is. We (family, friends & strangers alike)are there w/ you in thoughts, prayers & tears (from around the country). We will pray that Isaac is triumphant in his ability to breath on his own as he approaches this new hurdle w/ God's hand on him.
God Bless,
Steven & Kristina

Anonymous said...

how exciting to know you are moving one more step closer to bringing home your little miracle. we are praying for you guys daily for continued strength for Isaac as he begins to breathe on his own. how amazing God is as he works not only in your little one, but in your marriage. you will look back so much stronger. only with Him can you find the strength you need to make it through each day as i am sure you are lacking sleep but not faith!!! the Lord is definitely there with the three of you as He has proved over and over. continue to keep us updated and send more pictures. he is such a beautiful baby boy!

Anonymous said...

Patience, you are beginning to sound like a nurse yourself!! You have such a good understanding of all that is going on, and are so able to direct our prayers on Isaac's behalf. Thank you for sharing so often with the rest of us. I pray that for you the writing is therapeutic as well, and a good record for your little family of God's faithfulness and presence thus far in Isaac's life. We love you all, and continue to pray for complete recovery each step of the way! Blessings from Nancy for all the Singletons