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.