Thankful Thursday

Ok, one last post on Stellan {yeah right!}.

Today I am soooooo thankful he is going HOME! You have to read the amazing story of how God has changed this little boy's life forever! They were able to get the SVT taken care of. No more heart monitors, no more medication, no more scary bouts of SVT. There are still things to overcome but they are small in comparison. I am definitely thankful for this answer to prayer.

What a blessing!

PS. If you didn't know, click on the bolded type. It is a link to the story.

And now it's Tuesday!

I apologize for not posting this update on Stellan earlier. I haven't been able to sit at my computer {last post was scheduled}. I knew that yesterday I was going to cry for Stellan. I was just hoping and praying that it would be joyful tears. And it was.

The sweet, little boy got out of surgery last night and, according to his mom, is SVT free! You got it. The surgery was difficult, long, and very tedious but by God's grace {and a wonderful doctor's hands} this little boy has been given another chance at life. With a whole heart! You just have to read the story to believe it but let me tell you, tears of joy were shed at my house. How wonderful it was to see that prayers from all over the world were answered for baby Stellen. I do not understand why other prayers have not been answered for babies just as deserving as Stellen - prayer is definitely something I do not totally understand - but God says to pray so I do. All I know is that this prayer was answered, this boy is alive and getting better all the time, and I will rejoice and be glad! Amen!

I also wanted to share a quick update on Kate. I took her to see an allergist this morning. The pediatrician we saw while she was so sick a couple weeks ago recommended that we go get her checked out to be able to rule out any allergies. She wasn't positive that she had allergies but since we hadn't had her tested before she though it was wise. So we met Dr C today.

He's a very nice older Dr. Very sweet to Kate {who wasn't really in any sort of mood to see any Dr, again}. But we made it through. At first he didn't sound convinced that we needed to be there. When I told him about all her illness this past year alone {strep, walking pneumonia, influenza, ear infections, and colds - one which required hospitalization} he figured we needed to have tests done to see if her immune system was developing and if she was having trouble with that. But he thought we should do some tests too, again, rule things out.

They put 10 different possible allergens on her back - dust, mold, juniper, cat, dog, hay and a few others I don't remember. When he came back to check on them I think he sounded quite surprised at what he found. He said something like "Boy we have a very allergic little girl here". I hadn't looked at her back. I had spent the time trying to distract her from scratching it. So after he saw it was the first time I had a glance. And yes, she had reactions to several things on her back. Definitely allergic to juniper trees {of course our house has lots of those surrounding it}, hay {we live across the road from a hay field - gets Mark and I every spring and fall}, mold {um yeah I'm pretty sure we've got some of the that}, some dust and slightly allergic to cats {but not enough to justify getting rid of our cat}. Apparently it's not common for young kids to have these types of allergies. They haven't been around for enough seasons for their bodies to become sensitive to anything. He said it was definitely not common when he started practicing but it has gotten more and more frequent.

So. It's somewhat of a relief. I'm glad to have possible reasons for her asthma issues. We are starting her on Singulair (?) tomorrow and trying that for a month to see if it helps. Hopefully we are on our way to managing her allergy asthma. We also will need to step up our bathroom remodel. Unfortunately we have a leak in our bathtub and know that it is leaking into the floor. We had planned to redo it after the holidays but it may not wait that long. If it's leaking worse than we thought there very well could be mold in our floor or under our house right by Kate's bedroom. And it would be nice of us, as parents, to try and eliminate at least some of the things that are giving her a hard time :) So we'll see how things go after Mark and I have a chance to do some talking over the next couple days. I may have a remodel to blog about! Won't that be just insanely crazy....

It's Monday!

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

I wanted to update on the happenings in our lives but I can't do that until I share what's been on my heart for the last few weeks. I blogged a couple weeks ago about a little boy named Stellan. I have prayed and cried for this little guy. Again, I don't know why I've been drawn to him or the other people in the blogs I follow. I guess I can't help but think "It could be me." Struggles, hardship, tragedy. It happens to anyone. It doesn't pick or choose. Life is hard. At any moment I could be walking these walks. I know God will give me grace when I need it. For now I pray for His grace in these people's lives.

Stellan did not make it home for his birthday. He was too sick still. He did return home a couple days later but was told that he had to go to Boston for another heart surgery. His heart condition was getting worse. As of right now he and his mom are in Boston waiting for surgery. They had to wean him off of his medication that was making his heart beat correctly before they can do surgery. As they began weaning him his heart starting beating too fast again. Like over 200 beats a minute. This morning his heart stopped. They were able to get it going again but they have to get him stable before they can do a very risky surgery. The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday but he will not make it till then. They have to go in asap.

This little guy is intubated and sedated. They are working hard at saving him and I have been in constant prayer all morning. He's a month younger than Jack. I sat with Jack last night and just prayed and prayed. So thankful to hold my little one. So thankful he's healthy and he's home with me. So sad for Stellan's mom. I can only imagine the emotions that she is dealing with, alone, in Boston. Please pray for them today as you think of them. This is a day that will forever change them, no matter the outcome.

Jesus, I pray for Jennifer and Stellan. For peace in their hearts - literally and figuratively. You have saved this little boy over and over again. I pray you do it yet again. Please be with the Drs as they work on his precious little heart that you gave him, you designed, you created but that the yuck of this world has tried to destroy. Stellan is a crawling, breathing miracle. He has defied all odds. Because of You. We trust You. Put Your mighty hands on that little boy's heart and make it whole. Make it new. Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for Your grace. May You pour it out on this family. In Jesus' name. Amen.

I have run out of time. Children are getting restless :) I will get back on later and update you on our family. Thank you for listening. Thank you for praying.