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Update 10/1
10:40pm *IMPORTANT*
Right now the doctors are in the middle of a *difficult* process of
stitching Timothy shut. They gradually taped him up through the
day and evening and then started trying to wire the sternum together - but problems. Blood
pressure drop. At this point they are going slow - putting in one
wire and then stopping and waiting until he bounces back. They
haven't yet pulled the sides together. It's a very
delicate situation right now. This is not an ordinary closing, they
say.
IF YOU ARE AWAKE now, please pray that the Lord would allow
Timothy's body to accept the closing. And pray that the doctors
have wisdom in making tough minute-by-minute decisions. We know it's
not, but we feel like it's the end of the 4th quarter and we
really need a touchdown to come from behind. We'll have an update
here as soon as possible.
Update 10/1 11:40 pm. Attempt failed. Doctors had him closed for 15
minutes but he was not doing well and they had to open him back
up. Doctor says this is very unusual and he's not sure what to
do. More details tomorrow...
Update 10/2 7:15 am. More details from last night (in doctor's
words). This was their "big try" to get him
closed. Kelli: I'm beginning to wonder if it'll ever happen.
Doctor: "Me too." He's "farther out" than
others. The main concern is infection (it's been too long since
time of operation). During the time they had him closed Timothy's
pulse was down and he had poor circulation. They were using
maximum support to assist him, just to do anything to keep the chest
closed. It just wasn't possible.
This morning: Timothy had a pretty
stable night after the procedure, all things considered. He looks
much better than last night. He is not taped at all now - they're
leaving him alone after not doing well, but soon they'll start taping
again. About 3 or 4 he started waking up from the sedation he had
been given.
Timothy is 1 month old
today.
Update 10/2
10:45 pm. Today was back to a more stable routine.
Because of the number of attempts and failures, the doctors want to try
it even slower this time. So they will gradually (starting from
zero again) tape him a little bit tighter every so often (this afternoon
they said tightening every 4 hours but it's been 9 and not yet).
THEN when they get him taped all the way, they'll make sure it's good
and tight, and let it sit for a while. (Kelli and I both feel that
several times now the doctors have surprised us in saying they're going
slow but then trying to close so quickly; so we're praying now that this
approach sticks).
Dr. Harrison is the ped. intensivist in
charge of Timothy for the next two weeks. We sense that maybe the
lack of continuity between supervising doctors may have had an adverse
effect and we're happy to have this (good!) one around for 2
weeks. You can pray for him. And for our nurse tonight,
Adrienne (we call her the "Susie Cook nurse" because of the
resemblance). Other regular and wonderful nurses are Sonja,
Janelle and Marilyn. These are key people.
One thing we've been thinking about is
the way in which the prayers of many are used by God to accomplish his
will (as opposed to the prayers of one or a few). I'd like to do a
little study on this but with limited time I thought I'd try first to
see if any of you knew of a relevant quote or article or chapter in a
book you could refer us to.
One thing we continue to be amazed by
is the abundance of love and prayers by so many - some we know well and
some we don't know at all. We say thank you and ask that the Lord
would richly bless you now and in your time of trial.
Update 10/3
10:30 pm. Mostly stable today. Timothy has an unusually
great amount of fluid in his chest and so they inserted a second chest
tube for drainage and are giving him more diuretics. They haven't
taped him anymore. He has developed a tolerance for the pain
medicine which means they've had to raise it quite a bit when doing a
procedure like inserting a chest tube.
Two blessings for today: We found out
that nurse Marilyn baked Timothy a "birthday cake" last night
and all the staff came in and sang to him and he got a frog (toy) as a
present. No word if he liked the cake :-). And our 30-day
hospital parking pass expired today and Kelli "happened" to
see Marla, the social worker, and the subject came up and she told us
how to get one ($60) for free. Sounds small but nonetheless
encouraging, especially as we think of beginning our second month
here. We thank God for these blessings.
Pray today: 1) Fluids would drain; 2)
Taping chest gradually tighter would be possible; 3) No infection; 4)
Renewed strength for family. Thank you.
Update 10/4
11:00 pm. No change. I think the doctors are recovering
from the last attempt (Mon). A doctor told Kelli today that they
didn't know why they couldn't close the chest and they've tried
everything they can think of. One thing they may try is to do a
fancy and invasive procedure to see inside the vessels and veins and
heart in order to tell if there is some kind of anatomical problem they
don't know about. That would be next week.
A number of you were so gracious when
we mentioned our need of a car earlier. Given the LA traffic
situation, maybe we should have asked for a helicopter :-).
Lord willing, we move into an apartment
in Santa Clarita on Tuesday.
Verse (read slowly):
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).
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