Minor Setback

Today was a tough day for Jayden (and Mommy!) in the NICU. Jamie, Aunt Betsy and I arrived late in the morning to visit him. As soon as I saw my favorite nurse's face, I knew something wasn't right. Sure enough, she told me that Jayden had had an "episode." His oxygen saturation was down and his heartbeat was very rapid. She was on her way to talk to the doctor.

As she walked away to get the doctor, I washed my hands, stuck them in his incubator, and put my index finger in his little hand. He wrapped his tiny fingers around my large one and held on in quite a tight grip for such a little one. He continued to hold on and look up at me until the nurse reappeared and needed to get into the incubator again. I had to step away.

The doctor came over and checked on Jadyen --- took his heartbeat manually and listened to his lungs. Then he told me that he was ordering a chest X-Ray and a blood test to check his white blood cell count. By this time I was in tears, so I decided I wanted to leave and not watch all the tests being done on his little body. I asked the nurse to call me on my cell phone when they were all done.

We left for about half an hour, then returned to the hospital after the nurse called. By that time there were four nurses working over him. I'm not sure what all of their roles were, but two of them were hooking him up to tubes to help him breathe easier. He's still on room air, but the tubes make it easier for his lungs and allow him to get the oxygen saturation he needs.

In addition, the lung X-rays showed shadows and the doctor feared an infection was setting in. He told me he was issuing antibiotics for Jayden. He also said that Jayden is anemic and they needed to give him a blood transfusion. So, I had to sign a consent form so they could get that done. After all that, we left again and let the nurses and doctor continue to work.

We ate lunch and then Jamie and I took my aunt to the airport. On the way back, we dropped by the hospital once again. This time I went up by myself and the nurse greeted me with a smile. She said, "He's doing better!" He was receiving the blood transfusion, and she told me that he was getting back to his fiesty self again. In fact, he had pulled out the tubing giving him the blood transfusion!! That's the Jayden we know!!! Although it wasn't good that he pulled it out, it showed the fight that we have seen so often in him and the fiestiness that everyone has admired.

The hardest thing about facing all of this today was that Gerson wasn't beside me. We've been so blessed with good news up to this point, it was hard to receive bad news so quickly after Gerson left. On the other hand, Gerson did call from Bolivia and he arrived safely, although his luggage didn't arrive with him! (Welcome to the life of a missionary! hahahaha!)

The other exciting news from Gerson is that the soccer team won the championship game today!!! The game is the reason Gerson wanted to be in Bolivia by today even though is defense isn't until the 8th of December. We are rejoicing that that the boys won. They will move up to the next league and they will move up as the champions! We are praising the Lord for the growth we've seen in these boys --- both spiritually and academically.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us. It's been a long road, and we're not at the end of it yet. I don't know where we'd be without the prayers of so many people. We love and appreciate each of you.

Daddy and Son Bonding

We've had a great Thanksgiving. My sister is here visiting and my Aunt Betsy took us out to eat for lunch. Then we headed to the hospital to visit Jayden. Daddy held him for LONG time today since he is leaving for Bolivia tomorrow.

He kissed our son, prayed for him, and loved on him. We talked about how much Jayden will grow in the next two weeks while Gerson is gone. Both Jayden and I are going to miss him. I plan to spend my days at the hospital during those two weeks. If anyone wants to come visit, I'd love having visitors during the next two weeks. I'm afraid it's going to be awfully quiet around here with Gerson gone and my Aunt Betsy leaving on Sunday. So, I'll be all alone. Drop in if you're in the neighborhood!
We received fabulous news from the doctor today. Jayden is growing each day ---- and up until today he's just been being fed by IV. (As you can see, he's still small enough to fit in the crook of Gerson's arm.) Today they started Jayden on my milk and he tolerated it so well they upped his "dosage." He's getting 4 ml (not quite a tablespoon) every 3 hours. In addition, although he is still in the incubator most of the time (except when we're holding him), he is one step closer to regulating his own body temperature. Before today, the incubator was regulated to adjust the temperature inside to his body temperature. If his temperature dropped, the incubator would heat up to help his body temperature rise. However, now the incubator, although still warm inside, maintains a steady temperature so that Jayden has to maintain his body temperature on his own. This is great news!! As the nurse said, it's preparing him for a "big boy bed" -- a crib. We were excited by all of the good news and thanking the Lord for continuing to answer prayer. 

Please pray for Gerson tomorrow (Friday) as he travels to Bolivia. In the next few days he will be studying hard to prepare for his final defense. His defense date is December 8th. Pray for me as I'm very emotional now and I've already cried a lot at the thought of his leaving. However, we both know he needs to go and finish his studies. We keep reminding ourselves of how faithful God has been and trust He will continue to uphold us in the days to come. We also realize that the last time we were separated was a LOT longer than what we will face this time. However, we would appreciate your continued prayers. 

By the way, Gerson is taking our laptop with him so he can use it for his thesis presentation. Because of that, I may not have a way to put pictures up for the two weeks he's gone. However, I will still be able to write updates to keep you all posted on Jayden's progress and Gerson's trip. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

A few days ago when I was walking out of the NICU, I saw on one of the whiteboards where a nurse (who, by the way, is one of my favorites!) had written, "Every day is a day of thanksgiving!" AMEN.

Each day we have much for which to be thankful. Today is the day when we FOCUS on just how thankful we are.  

I certainly am VERY thankful this year for all God has done in my life and in the life of Gerson and Jayden. We are still in the midst of trials and many days are tiring  and emotionally draining for us. However, I am so happy to be alive, have my husband by my side (until tomorrow when he returns to Bolivia --- but he has a visa to come back in 2 weeks!), and have a baby who survived a difficult pregnancy and delivery! God is truly a God who is the Giver of LIFE and Doer of miracles. For that I am thankful.

How is Jayden doing?  Once again, we can only give thanks to the Doctor of all doctors. Jayden's testing on his digestive system once again surprised the doctors. Everything came out okay for now, although the doctors plan to continue to keep a close eye on him to see if anything develops further down the road. However, yesterday they were going to try to give him my milk again! Now we are praying that his digestive system kicks in and can digest my milk. 

I was so encouraged the other day when the nurse who cares for Jayden the most told me that she thinks it's quite possible Jayden will be able to go home for Christmas. In her words, "We just need to get his digestive system working!" He's already showed incredible growth with just the IV that has been giving him his nutrients. We can't imagine how he'll begin growing once he begins to digest my milk! He just continues to surprise us with his strength and will-power. We praise the Lord for His goodness.

I hope you, too, can find many things for which to be thankful! Have a great day of celebrating God's goodness in YOUR life! 

Prayer for Jayden

Dear Praying Friends,

Tomorrow morning Jayden has an upper GI procedure to check his digestive system. As I mentioned before, he had trouble digesting my milk. The doctors aren't sure whether there is something wrong with his digestive system or whether his system just needs to develop a little more. 

The doctor explained to us that if his test tomorrow shows something questionable, the surgeons will want to do a biopsy to see if he is missing some necessary nerves. We don't know what that all means at this point. Tomorrow we will talk to the doctor about the results and go from there.

Please continue to pray for Jayden. We are praying and hoping that his digestive system just needs to mature a little bit more. We are hoping he won't need to have the biopsy or surgery. 

On the other hand, Jayden has gained 6 ounces in the last week!! This is truly amazing considering the only "food" he is getting is through an IV. He continues to surprise everyone with his strength and alertness. The only thing he is having trouble with is his digestive system. Pray with us that God will touch his little body and give the doctors wisdom as they continue to treat him. 

Gerson and I need prayer as well as Gerson will be leaving soon for Bolivia and we still have questions about Jayden's health. God's grace is sufficient; we know that and have experienced that, but we are emotionally and physically weary. So, we would appreciate your continued prayers. We'll let you know more after we talk with the doctor tomorrow.

jayden's Progress

Hello, Friends.

It's been a quiet week, but at the same time a busy week. Aunt Hazel left on Saturday and Aunt Betsy arrived to stay with us and drive us around since I can't drive for several weeks due to my medication, and although Gerson is "legal" to drive with his international driver's license, he doesn't know all the rules of the road quite yet. So, it's been wonderful to have my aunts here to drive us around, fix us meals, and spend time with us. It's been especially fun for me to become reacquainted with them after living in Bolivia so long!!

We have made many trips back and forth from the hospital. Jayden continues to capture the hearts of all who see him. I thought I was biased because I am his mother, but every nurse who cares for him says the same thing ---- they have fallen in love with "the little guy." 

We have been able to hold him --- either swaddled up well to maintain his body temperature, or what is called "kangarooing" which is where we hold him skin to skin against our chest. He LOVES being held by Mommy and Daddy. In fact, when I held him today I told the nurse if he was a kitten he'd be purring! He even tried to "talk" to us today ---- of course, it was just adorable although it will be awhile before he says "Mama" or "Dada"!

We ask for you to continue to pray for Jayden. He is still undergoing testing on his digestive system. He had trouble digesting my milk and they aren't sure whether it is because his intestines are very immature or if it might be because of another problem. The doctors are thorough and want to make sure they don't miss anything, and we are thankful for that. However, we continue to pray that his system just needs to develop a bit more and that no procedures will be needed.

I continue to heal from the C-section but am feeling better every day. I am on blood pressure medicine and it has helped to lower my blood pressure significantly. I go to the doctor for a BP check tomorrow and I'm hoping he'll lower my dosage. 

Gerson is planning to return to Bolivia next weekend sometime. I am having a hard time "letting him go." The good news is he hopes to be back quickly. Pray for him as he prepares for his thesis defense. He's been studying and preparing! Pray for safety for him as he travels and that he will have some very special times with his family before he has to tell them goodbye. 

We appreciate all the prayers, cards, comments, phone calls, and visits. Thanks for all your love in these days. We feel the support of the Body of Christ like never before. We praise the Lord for all the answered prayers we've seen in these months. As we approach Thanksgiving, my list of blessings continues to increase as I think how good and faithful God is. We continue to trust our Jayden and his health and progress to Him. We are praying Jayden will be home by Christmas! What a beautiful Christmas gift that would be!