Update and Request

Rebecca is about the same. She is having seizures, but she is able to rest when she is medicated. We have to make a decision on a medicine change.

Please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvDsIs0aeYI for our video prayer request.

We have to give her a medicine that will cause her to be relaxed all the time and we most likely will lose any small steps that we have gained in strength, but it will help her muscle tone by making it less rigid. This is hard for us as parents to decide. She has no control over her muscles and basically is a quadriplegic, however, she is not paralyzed. This means that although she has no control over her muscles, she feels them. It hard to imagine this state, but once you wrap your mind around it its only more painful. We are meeting with the pediatric neurologist tomorrow and we will discuss treatment plans. Please pray for us.

Our OT has suggested several appliances to help Rebecca. Her little legs are starting to remain rigid and crossed at the calves. This makes it very hard to change her diaper, but I am not sure if pain causes the rigidity or if pain is caused when you try to relieve the stiffness. So hopefully a specially designed chair and wheel chair will help her. She has no control over her muscles, so we will have to basically strap her in the chair at various points of her body, starting with her head and ending with her feet. Her mouth will need a bite guard because she has a new kind of seizure that causes her to bite down and grind her teeth together. She only has four. Her feet, we are told, will need removable casts that will have to be monitored for blisters and sores. Please pray for her during this time.

This has been a tough week. Elizabeth started kindergarten this week and she impressed her teacher by doing math problems in her head and saying her alphabet backwards. She is dressed and waiting for the big girl bus before day break. This is going to be a fun year for her.

Katherine is restarting piano lessons and wants to learn how to play the guitar. She is enjoying being a big sister to Elizabeth at school.


Thanks

Back to the Hospital

Rebecca was having some trouble with the feeding tube, so we were back in the hospital for a few days. She was released on Friday August 1st.



She is at home and getting used to her feeding tube.



Katherine and Elizabeth have some new puppies. Brownie and Spot have been a great diversion and they are great pets.



Thanks for all of your prayers.



Also, my nephew JR is having a birthday party at the Skating Rink in Bossier Wednesday Night at 6:00 pm. Everyone is invited to skate and have pizza for free. Don't bring a present, just bring some used sports equipment. He is going to donate it to a local charity. Not to bad for a first grader.

Finally Home

We are home a few days early. Rebecca is healing and she is glad to be home. Thanks for all the prayers and kind words.

Happy Anniversary

Rebecca is having a better day. Her veins are weak and she has had to have her IV replaced several times. She is tolerating feedings well, which is a blessing. The doctors will keep her in ICU for a few more days to make sure she heals properly and comes off the pain medicine appropriately. Please continue to pray for her healing.

By the way, today is our 12th Anniversary. I just want to thank Susan for being such an incredible Christian, wife, friend and mother. She is a true woman of God. She refuses to leave the hospital, so we will be having a romantic anniversary dinner at the Hospital once again. (Last year we were at Dallas Children's.)

Thanks for all the prayers and kind words. You all will never know how much your prayers support and encourage us at this difficult time. I have been honored to share the gospel with several medical providers.

Also, our close friend and next door neighbor, Kenneth Bowden, passed away after a long illness. Please take a minute and pray that the Holy Spirit uplift his wife and children. Kenneth and I would talk about death and suffering often. I would go to his house to encourage him, however, I would leave blessed. He was a true Christian and had surrendered to God's will. He was a blessing as a neighbor and friend and he will be missed.

Finally, in the ICU we have met a little girl almost Rebecca's age with a brain issue who was having a similar procedure done. I don't want to tell you her name, but please pray for her also. She is a beautiful little girl and her mom is from out of town.

Lastly, Sutton's Children's is a hidden secret. I hope that each of you will consider making a donation to the Hospital. Everywhere you look, there are crosses and other indications of respect for God and His comforting and healing grace. Most all of our nurses have been Christians and truly love these children. As a family that has been to just about every hospital around, I can honestly say you can feel a deep respect for God in this facility.

PS- Susan, as you read this tomorrow, I want you to know, that I bought myself some heavy duty hedge clippers for my anniversary present after watching Edward Scissorhands yesterday--you might not recognize the back yard when you come home. And if there is a dog in the yard when you pull in, its most likely ours, the girls and I might have brought one home by then. Elizabeth called a family meeting yesterday. There was a quorum even without your presence and "your daughter's" motion to do a study and purchase a dog passed unanimously. :)

Out of Surgery

Surgery went well. Now she begins the healing process. Please keep her in your prayers.

Surgery Friday: Please Continue to Pray

After two days of testing, Rebecca's doctor's at Sutton's Children's Hospital in Shreveport, have decided to go froward with surgery. The test revealed severe reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus and that her stomach was not emptying in a timely fashion.

So the doctors will wrap part of the stomach around the esophagus to reduce the amount of a reflux. Next they will remove a small portion of the valve at the bottom of the stomach so that the stomach will empty faster. Lastly, the surgeons will insert a feeding tube in the side of Rebecca's abdominal wall. The feeding tube will allow us to feed Rebecca even if she is having seizures. (go to http://oce.sph.unc.edu/phnceac/babyguide/gastrokeep.pdf for more info). This will also allow us to administer her medicines directly to her stomach without having to subject her taste buds and throat to the strong meds.

The doctor's will keep us in ICU for about 5 days for recovery. Please pray for Susan and the girls as they go through this. Also keep our doctors in your prayers.

Thanks in advance for your prayers!
Ryan

Back to the Hospital

Rebecca has had difficulty feeding. She becomes highly irritated when taking her bottle. This causes more seizures, so tomorrow we will be checking into the hospital for some gastrointestinal testing. It has been suggested that Rebecca needs to have a feeding tube inserted in the side of her stomach so that she can receive her seizure medicines and eat with less difficulty.

Rebecca's seizures and spasms are getting worse and we hope that giving her meds through a feeding tube will spare her some stress. This was not an easy decision. Please pray for our doctors and please keep us in your prayers.

A few weeks ago, we made a road trip to Baton Rouge to visit Mike the Tiger. Mike's new home is great. I reminded Katherine that she went to her first LSU game in Susan's tummy!