ONE STEP AT A TIME...

Isaiah is still in ICU, but every day is a little better. According to his surgeon, Isaiah is doing much better than he had anticipated in spite of all the damage, inflammation, leakage of toxins into his abdomen, and amount of dilated bowels which were on the verge of perforating (exploding open). He continues to have a lot of pain and we are still struggling to get it under control with the appropriate medications.

Today he is getting a PICC line placed, which is an IV that can be used long-term. His central IV line (TLC) will be taken out today, while all other lines have already been removed, which is encouraging. He continues to be on IV nutrition, and will be for awhile to allow for bowel rest and healing. It will be at least another week before they start tube feeds--they will be very conservative in reintroducing foods.

Yesterday, Isaiah sat up for 1.5 hrs at bedside playing with his toys and painting. He was so cute and it was nice to see him up and interacting with his 3 therapists. Hopefully, we will get him up to walk today, once the central line is out.

Thank you again for all the support you've given to us. We will be here for approximately another 3 weeks. We do have a place to stay in town, thanks to some wonderful friends of ours. God has been good, even though the situation has been extremely difficult.

UNCONTROLLED PAIN...

Yesterday, Isaiah was stable enough to have his breathing tube removed as well his arterial line that monitored his blood pressure continuously. Even though he is breathing on his own, a big praise, we are unfortunately dealing with him having uncontrolled pain. He hasn't slept well in several days and has been unbelievably uncomfortable and often cries out in pain, even in the middle of his sleep. It's been excruciating watching him be in pain and not be able to do anything about it. We have been fighting with the doctors to achieve proper pain control. They have been very slow in upping the strength of the narcotics because they are afraid of slowing his respiratory system. But, we continue on and hope today is the day they figure out the perfect combination of pain meds.

Just continue to pray for healing for his little body. He just lays there, unsmiling, not moving, not talking. It's heartbreaking.

IMPROVEMENT...

Praise the Lord Isaiah has been taking continual small steps towards recovery! He is no longer critical, but guarded, meaning medically stable but still monitored closely in ICU. Even though he is still on the breathing tube and usually sedated, he has had periods of lucidity. He has been answering questions by nodding yes or no, following commands, and repositioning his "blue bear" to have it close by his side. He continues to have a lot of pain and the nurses have had to give him extra doses of pain medication to make him comfortable. Tomorrow they are planning to take his breathing tube out and hopefully his NG tube as well. We have been blessed with amazing and understanding nurses and other medical staff. It has made this situation much easier for us. They have been taking excellent care of Isaiah.

Josiah came down today with my brother David to visit us. It was too overwhelming for him to see Isaiah, but we said that was ok and it was very brave for him to come down to CHOP. Chris and I really enjoyed playing with Josiah, hugging him, tickling him, and having dinner with him. We really miss him and are grateful to Dave for bringing him down. Josiah said when Isaiah gets his breathing tube out, he will spend time visiting and talking to Isaiah. Also, our pastor from Calvary, Bill Tarr, came and prayed over Isaiah. One can never underestimate the power of God's people praying. We are thankful for godly leadership that take time for us.

Thank you for all the emails, texts, calls, etc. We have been encouraged by you. As for me, I am much more sore today, but surviving. Tomorrow, my mom will be coming up from TN to help us out. It'll be nice to have an extra set of hands.

Please pray for the following:
1. That we will be able to get into the Ronald McDonald House.
2. That Isaiah continues to improve.
3. That everything with the insurances work out for car repair and hospital coverage from my car accident.
4. That my soreness resolves quickly and that I don't have any residual negative effects from the accident.

EMERGENCY SURGERY...

Isaiah's x-ray at Lehigh Valley Hospital showed a blockage of some sort that required immediate intervention from CHOP doctors. They transported him to CHOP via ambulance. He received an NG tube to decompress his stomach and IV fluids. His NG tube was actually draining stool because his bowels were so backed up.

The CHOP team quickly surmised that Isaiah probably had a blockage due to adhesions from previous surgeries, and needed emergency surgery. He was in there for about 3 hours and they did find an adhesion that created a blockage in his small intestines. They had to remove approximately 30 cm of dead bowel. They gave him an ostomy (opening on the stomach for poop to come out) because they couldn't repair his intestines right away due to all the inflammation.

On the way down, I was rear ended on route 76 by a man who fell asleep at the wheel. Thankfully, I was able to drive my car the short distance to CHOP, but it may be totalled. My brother-in-law, Andre, came to the ER, since Chris couldn't get there right away to help me and support Isaiah. My back and neck really hurt and required being seen at HUP. I went there after Isaiah went into surgery. Chris walked me over, and then went back to be with Isaiah.

Now the bad news...Isaiah is in critical condition because his body went into shock during surgery because of the necrotic bowel, loss of blood and fluids, and infection. He is currently intubated (on a breathing tube), on dopamine to stabilize his blood pressure, and has received 1 unit of blood and 3 liters of fluid. He is needing a central IV line and an A-line for blood pressure maintenance, IV antibiotics, and other IV access. He will be here at least 2 weeks.

1) Please pray for Isaiah that his little body will recover and he will return to his normal mischievous self. He was playing yesterday in a pool. It's amazing how quickly life can change and take a turn for the worse.
2) Pray that the pain in my back, neck, and legs resolve quickly.
3) Pray for Josiah who has been moving from place to place and misses us all being home together. He really misses his little brother.
4) [CHRIS]: Pray that I can be the strength my family needs to get through this, and that I can get Joy's car taken care of this week so she is not stranded without a car. Pray that I am able to manage all this and still get my work done at my job.

Thank you all for being with us through this. We couldn't have come this far without all of you and your support. We would have drowned a long time ago if you had not interceded on our behalf before God.

COMPLICATIONS...BACK TO CHOP

Isaiah was doing really well at Good Shepherd and was reaching his goals. However, he ran into complications with his bowels and ended up at Lehigh Valley Hospital for testing. He is being transferred to CHOP today for a bowel obstruction of some sort. He has an NG tube and IVs right now. He is in a lot of pain, and is quite nauseated. Please pray they find out what and where the blockage is and that it can be easily resolved with or without surgery. I don't know how long we will be at CHOP. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and safety for us as we travel back and forth.

FEEDING CLINIC--ONE WEEK DOWN...

Well, we have survived one week of Good Shepherd's feeding clinic. Thank you to those who prayed for us. Isaiah is doing well. He has charmed his way into the hearts of all the nurses, doctors, and therapists. All he has to do is smile at the staff, and he often gets his way. His first day there, he commandeered a tricycle, and has been riding it ever since all over the facility. He hasn't made any real progress yet with eating, but it takes time. The doctor has already cut down on Isaiah's tube feeds, and has required him to eat 3 meals a day with a therapist. They weigh Isaiah daily to make sure he doesn't loose too much weight.

Continue to pray for us. We are doing a lot of running back and forth between home, work, and Good Shepherd. It's exhausting. Also, it's hard being separated from one another. We have a minimum of at least 3 more weeks of this. Thank you to those who are helping out with staying with Isaiah or have been watching Josiah. We greatly appreciate it. We still are looking for people who are willing to stay with Isaiah during the day and/or overnight. We just don't like him being alone. If this is something you are interested in, please email us at isaiahsjourney@yahoo.com.