Blessed are the flexible ...

... for they shall not be broken.

While I (Elizabeth) know that I am immeasurably blessed by God, I don't think it's due to my flexibility of any sort.  Let's just say that I like to be in control of situations.  Perhaps day to day life with Josiah will help me to appreciate the reality that God is always in control and I don`t need to be.  I suspect it may take a while to learn this lesson.

Yesterday we went to a 1:00 appointment at SickKids for a VCUG to check out Josiah`s kidneys.  We`d asked for prayer as we were told it would be uncomfortable to have the catheter inserted.  Well, the procedure didn`t go poorly at all as it had been cancelled but we hadn`t been told.  I feel bad that I felt the need to point out that we would be in the car driving three hours there and back for this procedure.  Clearly I should have been immediately thankful that Josiah wasn`t going through a procedure he didn`t need.  The staff person who we dealt with was wonderful.  We were meant to be at the hospital yesterday for other reasons.

Yesterday morning began with a visit to see the local paediatrician who again noticed that Josiah`s heart beat was very fast.  I spoke on the phone with one of our amazing nurse practitioners when I returned home and she suggested seeing her at SickKids after the VCUG so that`s what we did.  She agreed that Josiah`s heart certainly "chugs along." His oxygen saturation levels were also lower than usual.  We ended up having another ECG and an echocardiogram.  His ECG was normal and the echo showed that the pulmonary stenosis had not changed much (a good thing).  We also found out that the last X-ray at McMaster showed that "his lungs are not remarkable" (another good thing).  Since they do not know why his heart is beating fast, he was attached to a holter moniter that records his heartbeat for 24 hours.  We just removed it from Josiah tonight and I will Express Post this $3000 piece of equipment back to SickKids tomorrow.  Let`s hope it doesn`t get lost on its return home.  We should get the results next Tuesday when we return for another echo. 

While Josiah was having his ECG, his big brother Isaac was with his Daddy visiting our family doctor.  It turns out that he has a throat infection so he is now on antibiotics too!  Graham got up with him at 4:00 this morning when he woke up screaming, while I was feeding Josiah (which happens to be what I`m doing now so I`m typing with one hand.)

Josiah met his family doctor this afternoon who was quite surprised at how well he looks.  There are currently no appointments booked for tomorrow - we`ll see what the day will bring.

One surprising discovery we`ve made is that many people aren`t sure how to pronounce Josiah`s name.  In case you`re wondering, the "s" in his name sounds like an "s" (and not a "z") and you stress the second syllable "si" (rhymes with "hi") when you say the name.  However, we certainly don`t mind if you say it incorrectly.

Prayer requests:

• That Josiah`s heart rate would decrease and his oxygen saturation levels would return to (his) normal and the doctors would be able to figure out what`s happening
• That Isaac would get better and no one else in the household would get sick
• Safety while traveling 
• Sleep for everyone (Thankfully Josiah slept in his crib last night and only demanded to sleep on Mommy after 6:00 AM)

Thank you for your support and prayers!


Blessings,

Elizabeth and Graham