Day 16 - Prayers for Reese
Update March 26, 2014
Reese is sitting up! He's also playing with toys, and is the little prince of the ICU. His vent settings have been turned down and while he is still unable to breathe on his own, there is hope. Update March 27 ,2014 The doctors didn't tell us that Reese stopped breathing twice during extubation trials. They didn't tell us until we went to meet with his surgeon and to visit him in the hospital March 26th, 33 days post-transplant, that he crashed - flatlined - and that they had to resucitate him while scrambling to set the ventilator up again, a scary 5-minute process. Twice. "We've never had a child unable to extubate for this long post-transplant before," his surgeon apologetically told us. But when we visited with Reese and the whirring of the ventilator was much quieter than the last time we had visited him... watching his eyes, no long yellow, dart back and forth to keep up with the action in his ICU ward... watching him pick up a toy and shake it... we have hope. The doctors are hoping that he will be completely weaned off of the ventilator by April 5th. We're still in the midst of Reese's fight, but there is victory in sight. |
Update April 1, 2014
On March 28th we got a call from Reese's surgeon. He expressed his concern that, because Reese had been on the ventilator for such a long time, the risks were high and that it would probably be in his best interest if he had a tracheotomy. In most situations, the hope is that the child will be able to come off of the ventilator in hours after surgery, days at the most. If the child needs to remain on the ventilator for more than a few weeks, a trach is considered because the risks of infection, tissue damage and other dangerous complications become more and more likely as time goes on. Reese's situation is an incredible miracle, as he has avoided most complications from intubation so far, after over five weeks of being on the ventilator! However, we agreed that for his more safe and successful recovery, a tracheostomy would probably be a good choice for Reese. We signed the surgery papers that day. Monday, March 29th, Reese had his tracheotomy procedure and it was a success. By the next day he was able to be successfully weaned off of the ventilator. The doctors are hoping that in a few days he will be able to be released from ICU and into the regular ward. Read how you can be a part of Reese's story here:http://newdaycreations.com/foster/children/reese.htm
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Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, and persistent in prayer. Romans 12:12
Today's focus is not on a program or an organization, but on a child.
Today's focus is not on donations of money, but on donations of time spent in prayer.
Please read Reese's story and then join me in praying for Reese, for a miracle of healing.
Today's focus is not on donations of money, but on donations of time spent in prayer.
Please read Reese's story and then join me in praying for Reese, for a miracle of healing.
Reese was born April 17, 2013 and abandoned six months later near a bridge. Reese was born with a severe GI defect and was transferred into the care of New Day Foster Home on December 16, 2013. When he arrived he was in very bad shape, suffering from a severely swollen face and jaundice. His eyes looked as if they were bleeding, and he had a very high fever. Reese was admitted into the hospital the next morning with one of our nannies to care for him. Reese needed the miracle of a new liver in order to survive.
Reese received his much-needed liver transplant on February 12, and the operation initially appeared to have been a success. He adjusted well to his new liver and his color improved almost immediately. However, he has not been able to breathe on his own, so he is still on a ventilator in the ICU more than a month after the transplant. For a long time his condition was 'stable but not good', then he started running a fever due to an infection in his IV port. Thankfully the fever has resolved, but Reese still needs the ventilator to breathe for him.
Those who care for Reese and those who care about him are learning daily the lessons of Romans 12:12 to be joyful in our hope for Reese's full recovery even though right now we can't see it, to be patient in this time of trouble despite our desire for him to be fully healed right now, and to be persistent in prayer, never letting the tasks of the day distract or delay us from frequent and fervent prayer on Reese's behalf.
Reese received his much-needed liver transplant on February 12, and the operation initially appeared to have been a success. He adjusted well to his new liver and his color improved almost immediately. However, he has not been able to breathe on his own, so he is still on a ventilator in the ICU more than a month after the transplant. For a long time his condition was 'stable but not good', then he started running a fever due to an infection in his IV port. Thankfully the fever has resolved, but Reese still needs the ventilator to breathe for him.
Those who care for Reese and those who care about him are learning daily the lessons of Romans 12:12 to be joyful in our hope for Reese's full recovery even though right now we can't see it, to be patient in this time of trouble despite our desire for him to be fully healed right now, and to be persistent in prayer, never letting the tasks of the day distract or delay us from frequent and fervent prayer on Reese's behalf.
For more information about New Day Foster Home, please visit: New Day Foster Home.
If you feel led to help with Reese's medical expenses, please go to: Reese
If you feel led to help with Reese's medical expenses, please go to: Reese