Gradual improvement

Great to know Isaac is having fun!

Josiah has gradually improved throughout the day, sleeping for most of it.  When he does wake he likes to grab at his nasal prongs (I'm sure having 8L/min of humidified air pumped into one's nose is not very comfortable).  His breathing has been laboured for much of the day, with quite pronounced indrawing at the ribs.  They have put him on morphine every 2 hours instead of his usual morphine every three hours.  He is still on continuous feeds and has tolerated them quite well.  Right now his oxygen saturation levels are in the high 70s which we haven't seen for some time.

Today we checked into the Ronald McDonald House Hamilton, which is located right next to the hospital.  It's about a 10 minute walk from door to door, which is such a blessing.  I checked in earlier in the day as we wanted to make sure at least one of us is with Josiah in his room.  Then Elizabeth checked in later, in time for the start of the free evening meal.  When she returned I went over to partake of the meal.  It was very yummy, and certainly a blessing to know that there is a free meal there every night we are here.  They also have a continental breakfast each morning.  And the truly amazing feature is that there is free parking!  I'll be staying over at RMH tonight and Elizabeth will be sleeping in Josiah's room.  We'll be able to use RMH for showers and laundry and of course the free meals.  Just a friendly reminder to everyone to enjoy some McDonald's on May 8th (McHappy Day) in support of Ronald McDonald Houses -- they really do make a difference in many lives.

We had a nice visit with friends from Burlington this afternoon.  It was great to chat, and then to pray with them for Josiah before they left.  We are blessed with so many prayerful and thoughtful people in our lives.

Tomorrow we will talk with the doctors, etc. and hopefully figure out a game plan.  We'll of course try to keep the blog updated as we know more.  Thanks again for all the encouraging emails today.  We feel your support and your prayers.

Isaac had a great time with his aunt, uncle, and cousins today.  It was wonderful to see him on FaceTime this morning and he was happy to see us.  He is one very blessed little boy!

Blessings,

Graham

Josiah's helicopter ride

One of the Ornge paramedics was kind enough to take some photos with his cell phone when Josiah and Elizabeth were on the helicopter.  Everyone wears headphones on the helicopter due to the loud noise.  The other paramedic put the mouthpiece out on Josiah's headphones for his shot.  Thankfully Josiah slept through the entire trip on the helicopter.  The paramedics were so kind and helpful.

Sunday morning sunshine

It looks like another beautiful day out there. 

Josiah had a fairly good night, but was certainly up quite a bit, as coughing seems to be painful and wakes him up.  Elizabeth and I got a bit of sleep on the pull-out couch, and just had some delicious bagels from the downstairs cafe. 

They put Josiah back on feeds, but have him on continuous feeds at 30 ml/hour, which is about equal to the 100 ml every 3 hours he has at home.  He seems to have tolerated the slow feeds which is a promising sign.

Thankfully we brought our meds for last night and this morning as the pharmacy here won't be open until this morning.  We were also glad that the paediatrician on call at Grand River yesterday was the one we had worked with in January when we took him to emerg.  She is really lovely, and even shares the same birthday with Josiah.

They tried 4 times at Grand River to get an IV into Josiah but were never successful.  The staff at McMaster have avoided trying to give him one for now.  Thankfully he's able to get hydrated through his feeds, and we can still use the NG tube for meds.

The resident spoke with us last night and they are still under the assumption that Josiah has a viral infection.  He reminded us that day 3 is usually when it is the worst, so that'll be around tomorrow.  The staff will do their rounds later today, so perhaps we'll have more to report after then.  For now, we're camped out in our lovely room in PICU (nice and spacious, with big windows that let us see the sunshine).

We trust you all have a wonderful Sunday.  Thanks again for all your prayers.

Blessings,

Graham

Back at Mac

Unfortunately Elizabeth and I are sitting in Josiah's room in the PICU at McMaster Hospital in Hamilton.  Late this afternoon Josiah's breathing became quite laboured and he started throwing up.  We ended up calling 911 and he was taken to our local hospital for preliminary checks.  They ended up arranging his flight to McMaster at around 9:00 PM (first helicopter ride for Elizabeth and Josiah!).

They think it is his cold that has caused this latest turn of events.  The main concern right now is his laboured breathing.  They want to avoid intubation as much as possible, so they have opted for larger nasal prongs with 8L of air/minute.  If that doesn't provide the relief they want to see, then they will look at using CPAP.  We'll be discussing all options with the doctors over the next few days, so we need God's wisdom in all of this.

Thankfully my parents were visiting us today, so they looked after Isaac after Elizabeth and I had to leave for the hospital this afternoon.  Later in the evening he went over to Elizabeth's parents and will be there the next few days while we get our bearings.  We are so blessed to have wonderful family so close and ready to help when needed.

Elizabeth and I will be camped out in his room tonight, but I think they will look into the local Ronald McDonald House for tomorrow. 

Thanks everyone for your prayers!  We appreciate all the love and support this past year, and continue to pray for a miracle in Josiah's life.  We also continue to pray for divine wisdom as we're once again faced with some major decisions regarding Josiah's care.

Blessings,

Graham

A cold

This was a productive day.  Isaac hung out with my sister-in-law all day and then played with his cousins after they finished school.  He had a wonderful time. 

I hung out with my parents for a lot of the day and was able to go to twelve different places to cross off twelve errands from my to-do list, including picking up medicines and medical supplies and dropping off paperwork at the paediatrician's office. 

Since our brief loss of power a few weeks ago, we realized that we needed more flashlights.  We are now ready to see in the dark if necessary. 

Isaac does not enjoy getting his hair rinsed in the bathtub.  He certainly makes it sound like we are traumatizing him when we rinse it.  We tried a new technique tonight but it didn't go over well.

Enjoying cake

After we pray with Isaac and sing our goodnight song, Graham says goodnight and leaves the room and I ask Isaac what song he would like me to sing.  He often picks, "Jesus Loves Me."  I told him tonight that some people don't know that Jesus loves them.  He agreed with me that that is sad.  

The other sad news is that Josiah has been coughing from time to time tonight.  I'll be listening to him carefully tonight and tomorrow.  We haven't dealt with nasal congestion before and I pray that we don't have to now.  He doesn't need anything to negatively affect his breathing.   

Thank you so much for your prayers!  We need your prayers for health and also for sleep tonight as Josiah keeps waking up.  We're thankful for God's tremendous goodness in our lives.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Sunshine and breeze

What a beautiful day!

Isaac and I went into the backyard this morning.  He enjoyed the climber and sandbox while I started putting together the swing set.  Thankfully Grandpa F. showed up and finished the job.  It felt great to be able to put Isaac and Josiah (separately) in the swing in their own backyard.  Isaac definitely enjoyed himself.  Josiah was sleeping when I put him in and he kept trying to sleep so we'll get a better idea tomorrow what he thinks of it.  Isaac told Grandma F. that he was "blowing like the wind." 

While Isaac was having his nap I walked to the store and found some sandals for him.  Grandma and Grandpa were at our home.  It felt so nice to just go for a walk in the sunshine and breeze. 

When Graham arrived home we asked Isaac if he wanted to go and show Daddy the new swing set.  He was too busy building his Lego.  He called us into the living room a little while later and showed us his creation.  He said, "Blew the trumpet, wall fall down."  We just read about the battle of Jericho a couple of nights ago.  Oh how he makes us laugh and smile.  What an amazing privilege it is

Josiah intrigued by the ceiling fan

to not only watch someone grow but to actually be a part of that growth!

I wrote the other day that a few aunts (through Graham) were going to come and visit but that I cancelled the visit due to my cold.  Well, two of the aunts made a cake for Isaac (they had asked him what he would like on Sunday) and Grandma F. brought it with her today.  Wow!  Delicious!  It made me think of a tiger brownie but then it had wonderful icing plus drizzled chocolate on top.  I'm sorry you didn't get to try some!   

The walls of Jericho have fallen

I was actually able to accomplish some paperwork and medical emails today so that felt really good.

Thank you so much for your prayers!  Isaac still needs lots of nose wipes but Josiah has been clear.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Joshua 6:20
So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

B-I-N-G-O

A while ago I made up a short song for Isaac about giving people two thumbs up to encourage them because they did a great job.  Every so often at our kitchen table he'll put two thumbs up and ask me to sing the song.  This happened this morning.  At the end I asked him who we should give two thumbs up to.  He thought about it and said, "God."  We sang the song again for God. 

This afternoon Isaac came into Josiah's room with a book saying, "I know this one."  He showed me the cover of the book that he'd found on his shelf and then told me the letters: B-I-N-G-O.  He remembered the song so he could tell me that it spelled Bingo when I asked him.  He was quite excited.

Isaac went on a long walk this afternoon with his volunteer who comes on Wednesdays.  He saw ducks, and dogs, and a rabbit. 

Isaac likes his daddy's jokes; he keeps asking Graham to repeat them.  I am not sure how a two year old thinks he knows more than his parents but he is already hard to convince if he thinks he is right.  Graham was trying to convince Isaac that a cocoon is not called a raccoon but I don't think he was successful. 

It was a gorgeous day.  We went to the grocery store this morning to pick up some things.  Josiah had a long walk with his nurse.  He ate a good lunch and a large supper. 

It's time for Josiah's last meds and then I'm off to sleep.   Isaac has a cold but mine is on its way out.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Blessings,

Elizabeth

2 Thess 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.