JUNE AND JULY UPDATES...

Hello Our Dear Friends,

I know it’s been awhile since we updated everyone. We’ve been quite busy, and I often don’t have time to sit quietly, think and type. So here’s June and July’s update on Isaiah and his schedule for August.

Isaiah has been doing really well. He is now 12 lbs. 12 oz. and is 25.5 inches long. He is very interactive, smiling all the time, and there is rarely a moment he is quiet---he likes to talk A LOT!!!! If he cannot see someone, he makes sure he is noisy enough for someone to come talk to him.

On June 1st, we were down at CHOP to see Isaiah’s neurologist, Dr. Szperka. She was thrilled with the progress Isaiah has been making. He is meeting all his milestones, and she signed off of his case. We were so excited to cross one more doctor off of our list. Unfortunately, we hit a small road block later on in June. Isaiah went for his 4 month check-up with Dr. Ahuja, and he found that Isaiah’s soft spots (fontanels) were full, not flat, and the back one is still open. The front soft spot can be open until age 2, but the back one is to be closed around 4-6 months. We had blood work done that came back normal, no thyroid issues that could be affecting the closing of the soft spots. However, we need to head back to the neurologist for closer monitoring of the fluid on the brain. Please continue to pray that the extra fluid Isaiah has does not increase and put pressure on his brain. I’ll let you know when we have a date to head back to neurology.

On June 25th, we saw Dr. Chang, the ortho/plastics doctor. He is happy with Isaiah’s left hand progress. We initially were going to have Dr. Chang operate on his hand to straighten it, but if he did that, Isaiah would lose function and mobility in his wrist. Right now, Isaiah uses the wrist like an elbow, because he can’t bend his elbow more than 30 degrees. He will still have surgery to make a thumb on his right hand when he is a year old.

In July, Isaiah started with physical therapy on a weekly basis. This was added to the occupational therapy that he has already been doing. This makes for busy days. His strength and purposeful movements have been improving. He is even getting his left (bad) hand to his mouth with the help of his right (good) hand.

On August 28th, Isaiah will have surgery down at CHOP to correct his urological issues. Dr. Zderick will be his surgeon. We have to go down on the 14th for all his pre-op blood-work and meet with anesthesia. I know they want his surgery to be done as an out-patient, but we would like Isaiah to stay overnight. In the past, when Isaiah had to be put under, or had any sedation, he would later drop his heart rate and oxygenation saturation. Usually this happened hours after a procedure. I just don’t want the doctors to discharge him too early and then we have a problem later on. Chris and I will hopefully be staying down at the Ronald McDonald House and Josiah will be with the Bergeys from our church.

We had a great opportunity to share our story/testimony with the students at my old high school, Upper Bucks Christian School. Many of the students there had been praying for Isaiah and for us. What a privilege it was for us to stand before them with a present day miracle that they had had a part in. It was a blessing to show them that God still performs miracles today, and Isaiah is it.

We have a few prayer requests that we would really appreciate your faithful prayers for:

1. Isaiah’s surgery on August 28th. Pray for safety as we travel back and forth to Philly, for Isaiah to make it through without any complications, for wisdom for the doctors, and for Josiah since he’s away from us again.

2. For me—I am still struggling with some issues. I don’t want to go into great detail, but I have good days and bad days. I want to have complete faith in God, but often I don’t.

3. We have several unspokens. Pray that God provides our needs as He sees fit, and that we will be satisfied with His decision.

4. That Chris’s job remains solid and safe. They have down-sized twice this year already.

5. For my cousin, Joshua Solt. He was in a critical accident approximately 2 weeks ago. He was driving a motorcycle with his girlfriend when an unlicensed 17-year-old boy pulled out in front of them. You can read his updates at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshuasolt. He is currently at a rehab center in Bethlehem. He has a trach to help him breathe, and he is awake and alert. Pray for his family as well, and for his girlfriend, Vicky, that she makes a complete recovery.

Thank you again for all your words of encouragement and for checking in on us periodically. We cannot thank you enough.