Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Progress & Prayer Requests

Our sweet boy is quite a fighter! To look at him, you'd never know he was at death's door twice in the past two weeks. God remains faithful & with each day, we see more of our strong-willed boy's personality come out. :) He has come so far, but still has quite a distance to go.

Medically speaking, we still aren't quite sure what caused to get so sick & then to recover. Our own little enigma. In many ways, it feels like Isaac is picking up where he left off before getting sick two weeks ago. His heart continues to function well & his oxygen saturations have been in the ideal ranges. Our focus has returned to his respiratory & metabolic systems. We're still uncertain of how much Isaac's diaphragm eventration will affect his ability to breathe off the ventilator. The medical team is eager to get the ET tube out of Isaac, whether by extubation or a tracheostomy. He will either require surgery for his diaphragm or to place a trach. The issue of hyperinsulinism has been brought to the table again in trying to determine cause for the flux in glucose & lactate levels. (For the first time in many days, Isaac's lactate was in normal range on Monday! What a blessing to see that "1.7" on the blood gas report. Since then, his lactate has increased up to 4.2 yesterday & then back down to 3.4 This morning, the lactate was at 3.6, so he continues to keep us guessing. This may have resulted from efforts in adjusting vent levels or from starting to feed him breastmilk again through the ND tube.) The muscle biopsy performed several weeks ago revealed pockets of glucose being stored in the muscle tissue, which lends itself to a metabolic disorder - relating to how Isaac's body processes energy. He will have a round of octreotide scans done over the next few days to observe his pancreas & search for an insulin-sucreting mass.

So in short, Isaac is doing much better than a week ago, but still has a long road ahead. The areas of focus at this time are:
- his lactate levels: we need to determine the cause in their continued flux & stabilize the issue.
- his glucose levels: determine source for the hyperinsulinism & whether Isaac has a metabolic disorder. We need a successful round of octreotide scans for this.
- extubation: either successfully get Isaac off the vent & breathing on his own, or undergo a tracheostomy to aid in ventilation. Either way, the ET tube needs to be removed soon.

We're so grateful for all God has brought our boy through & for all He has in store for us in the days ahead. Though we don't know what each day will bring, we're deeply grateful for everyone we have with our sweet boy. Thank you all for your steadfast prayers. Let's keep bringing Isaac before the Lord & watch how He will answer!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for giving us specific prayer requests. He looks more beautiful in every picture. Each week at church, people ask me for an update on Isaac. So many people are bringing your little boy before the Lord in prayer. Looking forward to more answered prayer!!
Love, Becky Wyatt

Anonymous said...

With each new blog entry I read, I feel more and more the power of Christ over your precious little boy. The pictures continue to speak volumes, and a world prays and waits patiently alongside you guys. Such soldiers you are! By your very actions you truly continue to be a light for God's good news! We will continue to pray steadfastly for Issac, and the medical team that works so diligently over him. We are also praying for continued strength and comfort for you and Jordan, so that soon you will all be home together so we can love all over you in person!

Happy belated Easter Leino family!

Laurie, Larry, Jayme & Shannon Yaw

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Jordan!
We love you all so much, and we are so glad that Isaac is hanging in there. I love the latest picture you posted, Isaac definately gets cuter every time I see him. We will continue to pray for all three of you.
love,
your sis, Kim

Anonymous said...

Thank you for keeping us to date and giving us specifics to pray for. We love you guys and are keeping you all before the Throne of Grace.

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord! Little Isaac just continues to amaze me every day more and more. I know exactly what you are going through, I myself went through that. But let me tell you God has shown you guys that he is there and he will be there through it all. We had bible study last night and our pastor and all who were there, lifted little Isaac in prayer unto the Lord.

I look forward to hearing the news that you will soon be taking him home.

May the Lord continue strengthen and comfort you all. We will continue praying for you.

God Bless!
Dianett

Anonymous said...

As always thank you for the update and our family will continue to lift Isaac and his incredible parents up. If you can let us know what we can specifically pray for you and Jordan.

Anonymous said...

WOW! We are soo excited to see what each new day will bring. God is so faithful, this whole thing has for sure increased my faith, and realized how powerful the body of CHrist is when we come together.. We love you guys!! Shawn & Julie

Anonymous said...

Glory to God! We all stay in constant prayer for all of you every day. God is in control and my prayer is for his levels to remain stable as well as for his breathing.

Love you guys!

Pam & Ryan Durham

Anonymous said...

Glory to God! We all stay in constant prayer for all of you every day. God is in control and my prayer is for his levels to remain stable as well as for his breathing.

Love you guys!

Pam & Ryan Durham

Anonymous said...

We are in awe of how God is showing His power through the life of Isaac. We are blessed each time we read more of the blog. Your deep faith is a wonderful testimony. We continue to pray for each of you.

George & Jennifer Winstead

Anonymous said...

I can't believe Isaac is already 6 weeks old. Praise God that you are starting to see some improvement. My prayer now will be that the medical team would be able to find the source of the flux in your son's glucose and lactate levels and be able to stablize him; and that he would be able to be taken off the vent without the need for surgery. Still praying, Nikki

Gina Witcher / Runnermom4 said...

Heavenly Father, We thank you and praise you in ways we never have before because of Baby Isaac. We continue to pray for:

-his lactate levels. Please show the doctors what is causing the flux in levels & stabilize the issue.

- his glucose levels. Please help the doctors to determine the source for the hyperinsulinism & whether Isaac has a metabolic disorder. Give them a successful round of octreotide so this can happen.

- extubation. We pray for a successful extubation to get Isaac off the vent & breathing on his own. We pray that you would do another miracle and do what they were not able to do before. You know that his ET tube needs to be removed soon, so we ask that this could happen soon.

Thank you Jordan & Patience for letting us join you in praying for baby Isaac continually.

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord! I am so happy to hear the Issac had a normal lacate level! He is such a fighter, and quite determined to baffle the minds of his doctors.

Thank you for your continued updates. It's great to be able to read how Issac is doing and how I can pray specific for him.

Love in Christ,
Taneha

P.S. - Happy Birthday Jordan!

Sarah said...

God is answering prayer, and Isaac is truly a miracle, each and every day. You're all in my prayers and thoughts each day that passes. You and Jordan are doing a great job and showing the strength that God has given you. Praise Him! Happy birthday to Jordan. We'll be keeping little Isaac in prayer tomorrow as he goes in for surgery. Love, Sarah