So Much To Be Thankful For

Update on Elizabeth

Elizabeth did not get moved to the regular pediatric floor today as hoped. In the ICU there is one nurse for every patient. At most a nurse might have two patients to care for but on the pediatric floor there is one nurse for four to five patients. Because they are still monitoring her blood sugar every hour it would very difficult for a nurse covering five patients to be in every hour for the blood sugar.
Elizabeth was able to go to the play room on the pediatric floor and she really enjoyed playing with all the new toys. Andrew also had a blast playing with the new toys.

A Trip To The Play Room VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Update on Oregon Trail Baptist Church

Today one of our church members called me to inform me that someone has anonymously given enough money for us to make our $10,000 balloon payment due May 4th. We had about $6,000 in the bank for the payment and now the rest is provided.This is a huge answer to prayer and we are so excited to see God's hand at work in Wyoming while we are in Iowa. Thank you so much for upholding our family and ministry in prayer.

Happy Birthday Andrew

Elizabeth is doing well and today we had a birthday party for Andrew here in the hospital. She was happy to help him open gifts but she wasn't interested in eating cake. We are hoping that tomorrow she will be transferred from the ICU to the regular pediatric unit. Her toxin numbers are beginning to balance out and we are very excited about that.

Happy Birthday Andrew VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Elizabeth Is Out And About...

Elizabeth is still off dialysis and today and they took the regular catheter out. She took two walks around the hospital and pushed Andrew for one walk and a shopping cart for another. She spent a lot of time playing on the floor and she definitively has her spunk back. They are considering moving her out of the ICU and into the Pediatric unit at the beginning of next week. Please pray that her stomach would get back to normal. She spits up a lot of her food still and her system still needs to adjust.

Elizabeth Is Out And About VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

First Steps For The Second Time

Elizabeth was very playful today. During physical therapy she walked around a little and when Andrew came a long she pushed him in his walker. She enjoyed playing on the floor with her brother and we were all surprised how long she played before she tuckered out. Please continue to pray that her system would get back to normal and she would continue recovering. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

First Steps For The Second Time VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Another Day Moving Forward!

Today Elizabeth was very happy to eat real food. The doctors have decided to continue to keep her off of dialysis because her kidneys are doing so well. After her morning nap she took an exciting wagon ride with Andrew up to the sun deck on the 8th floor. Just before bed tonight she took another trip with the wagon to visit the staff in the ER. They all wanted to see her and she looked much better than the day we brought her to the ER. She is much more playful and has enjoyed many of the toys and stuffed animals that she has received. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.

A Very Encouraging Day

 

☺ Her Smile is Back ☺ VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Today was a very encouraging day. Elizabeth will be off of dialysis for 24 hours and she is now able to eat and drink some. She was happy to have some cheerios and apple juice. She was also out of her bed today for some physical therapy. She is now smiling, laughing, and enjoying her toys.

Elizabeth playing with toys in her bed

 

Physical Therapy

Some Good News, A Quick Update, And E-Cards

Good News

1. Elizabeth's platelet count is stable today
2. They took the line out of her artery (this was the line that constantly measured her blood pressure).
3. They took her off of the breathing machine yesterday and she is now on a normal oxygen supplement and doing fine.
4. She should get out of bed today and have some physical therapy
5. She should be able to eat and drink some today.

Update

1. They have capped off the dialysis fluid for the next 4 hours to give her kidneys a chance to have a kick start and get back to work.
2. They plan on giving her some more blood today.

Sending Cards

I found out today that E-cards can be sent through the hospital for free. To send a personalized E-card that the hospital will print and deliver to her room visit http://www.mercydesmoines.org/ecards/Default.aspx.

Mercy Medical Center - Des Moines, Iowa

On The Lighter Side of Life

Andrew is living it up at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. They are teaching him how to eat healthy meals… or at least big meals.

This Morning They Took The Breathing Machine Off...

This morning they took the breathing machine off of Elizabeth and took the tube out of her throat. She is now breathing on her own just fine. The kidney doctor made some changes to her dialysis hoping the kidneys will get closer to their normal work load. She is now resting peacefully.

Good News... Elizabeth's Red Blood Cell And...

Good News... Elizabeth's red blood cell and platelet count has increased. They have decreased the amount of dialysis fluid in hopes of her kidneys picking up the extra work. The doctors are planning on leaving the breathing tube in for at least another day. They hope that the swelling medicine with an extra day will give her enough room to breath on her own.

This Morning They Removed The Breathing Tube...

This morning they removed the breathing tube, but there was swelling in her throat that constricted her airflow so she couldn't breathe well and as a result her the carbon dioxide numbers began to go up. They had to put the breathing tube back in and it went in easier this time. Now she is on medications to take the swelling down in her throat and will try to take it out again tomorrow. Some of the fluid her body was holding has gone down which is good. Pray concerning getting the breathing tube...

Elizabeth Is Still On The Breathing Machine...

Elizabeth is still on the breathing machine and stable. Nothing much has changed on her progress. Andrew is beginning to make the Hospital his own. He walks up and down the hall smiling and giggling at people. He defiantly brings some smiles to the Intensive Care Unit. "2 in 1 Baby Tunes Musical Activity Walker and Rocker in Yellow"

All seemed to go well yesterday, but...

All seemed to go well yesterday. Andrew took his walker up and down the halls catching some attention from everyone and Elizabeth was able to drink some more as well as have some solid food. Unfortunately, around 12:30 last night she stopped breathing and they were forced to put a breathing machine on her. They think it was due to a change in the blood pressure medicine. Please continue to pray for wisdom as the doctors continue to monitor her progress.

This morning Elizabeth received another blood...

This morning Elizabeth received another blood transfusion and we were told she could have 3.5oz of liquid in an eight hour period. Her one request over and over has been for a drink. She will often try to sit up and with a painful expression say, "cup, cup." We have never been so glad to give her a Popsicle or a drink of apple juice.

Andrew is doing fine and getting into all...

Andrew is doing fine and getting into all sorts of trouble. Elizabeth still has a lot of toxins in her body and she sleeps a lot. Today they are giving her another blood transfusion because her red blood cell count and platelet count is very low. As the body fights the toxins the red blood cells and platelets are depleted. Please pray as she continues to recover. We will still be here in the hospital for a while.

Andrew is doing just fine but the doctors...

Andrew is doing just fine but the doctors are going to keep him in for a few more days so they can watch him. The dialysis is helping for Elizabeth but her blood pressure is extremely high. They put her on some medication to regulate the blood pressure but because she is so young they needed to get a line into one of her arteries to get accurate measurements of her blood pressure. After trying for over an hour in the afternoon they gave up and decided to try again later. Sometime late last night they finally managed to get the line in.

Last night we took Andrew to the ER because...

Last night we took Andrew to the ER because he was showing the signs of having E coli also. Becca and I didn't get him settled into a room until around 2am.

Elizabeth is still a very sick little girl...

Elizabeth is still a very sick little girl. I believe they have pretty much concluded that it is ecoli. Her kidneys had begun to shut down last night so today they did surgery to enable her to have dialysis they also put in a port for easy access. The surgery was to have been around 11, but wasn't begun til about 5 tonight and completed about 6:45. The next 24 hours will be crucial in knowing if this dialysis will help. Please pray for Elizabeth and family. Hard on everyone, especially gpa and gma. She is still in Pediatric ICU at Mercy. They surely appreciate your prayers. If all goes well she will be in the hospital a week...longer if they encounter problems.

At this point Elizabeth's blood platelet ...

At this point Elizabeth's blood platelet level has dropped and they think she has Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which is from E coli. Her kidneys have been working extra hard to fight this bacterial infection. The doctors are planning on starting dialysis sometime between late morning and early afternoon. We have been informed that she may be in the hospital anywhere between a week to a month. The doctors are hoping to send her home in a week, but there's no telling how long that we will be here... 1145-1199 5th Ave, Des Moines, Iowa

Information about Ecoli and HUS from Wikipedia   Escherichia coli Escherichia coli ( /ˌɛʃɨˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/;[1] commonly abbreviated E. coli) is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lowerintestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls due to food contamination.[2][3] The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2,[4] and by preventing the establishment of pathogenic bacteria within the intestine.[5][6] E. coli and related bacteria constitute about 0.1% of gut flora,[7] and fecal-oral transmission is the major route through which pathogenic strains of the bacterium cause disease. Cells are able to survive outside the body for a limited amount of time, which makes them ideal indicator organisms to test environmental samples for fecal contamination.[8][9] There is, however, a growing body of research that has examined environmentally persistent E. coliwhich can survive for extended periods of time outside of the host.[10] The bacterium can also be grown easily and inexpensively in a laboratory setting, and has been intensively investigated for over 60 years. E. coli is the most widely studied prokaryotic model organism,[citation needed] and an important species in the fields of biotechnology and microbiology, where it has served as the host organism for the majority of work with recombinant DNA. For more details about Ecoli visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli Hemolytic-uremic syndrome Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (or haemolytic-uraemic syndrome), abbreviated HUS, is a disease characterized by hemolytic anemia (anemia caused by destruction of red blood cells), acute kidney failure (uremia) and a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). It predominantly, but not exclusively, affects children. Most cases are preceded by an episode of infectious, sometimes bloody, diarrhea caused by E. coli O157:H7, which is acquired as a foodborne illness or from a contaminated water supply. It is a medical emergency and carries a 5–10% mortality; of the remainder, the majority recover without major consequences but a small proportion develop chronic kidney disease and become reliant on renal replacement therapy.[1] HUS was first defined as asyndrome in 1955.[2][3] For more details about HUS visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemolytic-uremic_syndrome

We are in the ER with Elizabeth right now...

We are in the ER with Elizabeth right now. She has something wrong and the Doctors aren't quite sure what it is. Please pray for her.

Slowed Down For Showers From Our Savior

His Work is Perfect

Deuteronomy 32:4

He is the Rock, his work is perfect:

for all his ways are judgment:

a God of truth and without iniquity,

just and right is he.

Today we simply could do nothing but praise the Lord. As we prepared for Easter Sunday I had no idea what to expect knowing that for many people the only times they attend church are at Easter and Christmas. We had an average crowd for Sunday School but for our morning service we had 16 children and 32 adults for a total of 48 people. We started the service a little late due to the fact we needed to find chairs to fit everyone in the building. With everyone packed inside the sound filled the room with life and energy as we sang hymns in the small auditorium. We were also privileged to have Cindy Sawyer, the founding pastor’s wife, with us and she was overjoyed to see the ministry that her husband started continuing to move forward. I preached from 1 Corinthians 15 on the resurrection of Christ, as well as, the future resurrection that we as God’s children will experience. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will take the inadequate message that I preached and work it into the hearts of the hearers.

His Way is Perfect

Psalm 18:30

As for God, his way is perfect:

the word of the LORD is tried:

he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Our plans were to leave for Des Moines, Iowa after lunch to be at New Testament Baptist Church for their Missions Conference this week.Knowing it would be a long drive we made plans to stop in Omaha, Nebraska for the night. It is about 8 hours from Guernsey to Omaha so we wanted to hit the road as soon as possible. The Lord had different plans and we were rejoicing that His ways are not our ways. There has been a camper parked beside our church for the last 2-3 weeks that Becca’s cousin and the Tuckers used while they was with us. Craig, the man who owns the camper, stopped by and was preparing to take it home. When we looked inside to double check that everything was ready to travel we discovered that someone had put several sacks of grocery's and paper goods in the camper for us. We had no idea when the groceries were put in the camper, but it couldn’t have been in there too long before we found them because the bananas and fruit were still fresh. If Craig had not come to get his camper we would have not looked inside and many of the groceries would have spoiled by the time we returned from the Missions Conference. With that delay a young family who joined their grandparents for church with us today asked to fill my tank with gas before we left. I had intended to get gas Saturday night but forgot and when they asked to fill our tank I had just finished telling  Becca that I would run and get gas while she finished getting the kids ready. They graciously filled our tank and we were on the road later than we planed but on time with God’s plan.

Family Snapshot

Family Snapshot From This Week VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Elizabeth

This week was Elizabeth’s 2nd birthday, but  she was very sick all night before her birthday, the day of her birthday, and at this point she is still very sick so we have not yet celebrated her birthday. We plan to do that when we get with Grandma and Grandpa when she feels better.

Andrew

Andrew is a boy all around. He is a cookie monster and of course he thinks bigger is better. He enjoyed playing on the slide at the park but it wasn’t long until he crawled his way over to the bigger slide.

The Lord Is Good

Financial Answer to prayer

The Lord is clearly working on our behalf concerning our mortgage. The man selling the building has agreed to take about $6,700 off of the price, drop the interest rate by 2%, and extend the loan for another year. This does not completely take the burden off our church but it gives us a lot more breathing room. Praise the Lord for working behind the scenes and giving us favor with the man selling the building.

Two New Faces

On Friday I was informed that a lady would like to attend our church but because she is in a wheelchair she has been unable to come. So, on Saturday we made a trip to Wheatland where the nearest lumber yard is and got the supplies for a ramp. By sunset on Saturday we had everything in place. Sure enough on Sunday morning two ladies came down the street to attend church. One in a wheelchair and the other pushing a walker. They were both excited to be able to come to church. We had 15 this Sunday and we are praying that God would continue to bless.

 

Our First Month In Review