Update

I spent the last two days in the hospital getting IV fluids and anti-nausea medicines round the clock. I have not been able to keep any food down in over a week and have essentially stopped drinking anything. That, of course, is not good for anybody. On Friday morning my doctor admitted me to the hospital to try to get the vomiting under control. By Saturday evening it was determined that it just wasn't going to happen right now, whether in the hospital or at home. I asked to be sent home and was released a few hours later, with some new prescriptions in hand. If/when I get dehydrated I plan to get some outpatient IV fluid in order to avoid another a hospital stay. I am also scheduled for a gallbladder scan to make sure that is not causing any problems.

Please pray that the sickness would go away soon. I have suffered with hyperemesis gravida with all 3 pregnancies, but it only seems to get more intense with each pregnancy. Right now I feel as though I am barely hanging on. I am praying that this passes quickly, I want so desperately to resume my everyday activities and care of my boys.

In other news, we have begun homeschooling the boys and they really love it. If I am not feeling good one day, the boys ask when we can do school. It is exciting to see them eager to learn! They are both learning so much, and love telling everybody about what they are learning in school. I will try to post some pictures of our school days soon. =)

Well, I think that's about it. Those two things have taken up pretty much all of my time for the past several weeks. Hope to have a good report with my next update.

P.S.-I forgot to add this. I was also told that I have an implantation hemorrhage, which I have been placed on modified bedrest because of. I go in tomorrow for a follow-up ultrasound to see if it is getting any smaller. Please pray that it has decreased in size.

Meet Jim

This is my father-in-law, Jim. Yesterday Jim was diagnosed with cancer of the throat. He will have surgery on February 3rd, followed by chemo and radiation. Jim will turn 80 this year, and could really use your prayers. This is one of many serious health issues he has.

Also, please pray for my mother-in-law and Keith as well. My MIL has issues of her own and Jim is usually the one that takes care of her. Keith would like to be there for his mom and Jim, but he has other obligations right now. It's always hard being away from family, but times like these are especially tough.

In Memory

Maxine Bolden

May 13, 1925-July 23, 2009

My Grandmother passed away this morning. We will be traveling back to Tennessee for the funeral. Please keep our family in your prayers. My Grandmother was a wonderful lady and will be missed terribly.

~*~Seeking His Will~*~

Do you ever wonder if unsaved people have as hard of a time making big decisions as saved people do? I mean, why wouldn't an unsaved person just make the most selfish, self-promoting decision? Anyhoo. That's another topic for another day.

However, what brought that thought to mind is something that is very much on my mind right now. There is a situation going on with Keith's job right now that involves a big decision for us. In the flesh, the decision seems like a no-brainer. But we do not want to act in the flesh. This is something that will have a big impact on our family, and that is not something I want to do out of God's will.

I am being pretty vague right now for a reason. I feel like if we share too much with too many people, we will be more sensitive to other people's persuasions and possibly less sensitive to the Holy Spirit. So for now, I just want to ask those of you who will to pray for us. Specifically for wisdom in making the decision, for clear direction, for peace, and that the Lord's will be done.

Once we have made a decision, I will share the details. Either way. The specifics are just too interesting not to share (in a big world/small world kind of way). And because I know that inquiring minds want to know.
=)

Heavy Hearted

If you have time, please read this article and pray for this woman and her family. They need healing that only God can bring! (Warning: there is one curse word in this article.)

Basically, this is a woman who has gone from being sold out for God to atheist...and is taking her children with her.

My heart is so heavy and burdened after reading this article. I will not continue reading, although part of me wants to. I read some of the comments before it became too much. My heart hurts at the amount of hate there is in the world for God and His people. I will petition God on her behalf, will you?

Would You Pray?

If you think of it when you say your prayers, please lift up my sweet baby Tyler. Tomorrow morning is his surgery. We have to have him there at 6:15 and his surgery is at around 8:30. Please just pray that everything goes smoothly and that the Lord will protect him. I know this is a pretty minor outpatient surgery and that there are far worse things that we could be dealing with. And even if that were the case, God would still be good. I am just worried about my baby, as I think any mother would. Plus, my hormones have not been very kind to me here lately. So just remember our little family tomorrow if you would. I will post an update after we get home, which will likely be tomorrow evening.

The Boys Went to The Doctor

It sounds funny to say boys---plural. But, I guess it's to that point. Yay! I'm so excited to have 2 boys.

Anyway, both of my little fellows had doctors appointments this week. I had a prenatal appointment on Wednesday and Tyler went to the dentist on Thursday.

My appointment went well. I have gained 18 pounds so far, my blood pressure was good, and baby was measuring just right. He is also head down and ready to go. The only concern was that his heartrate was a little lower than normal, but still within a "normal" range. So, all in all it was a good appointment. I am really looking forward to meeting my new little man, and also losing the bowling-ball-in-my-ribs feeling.

Now, on to the not as good part...Tyler finally went to the dentist yesterday. If you remember, he was supposed to go on Aug. 19th, but we got a call that morning saying that the doctor was out sick and they would call to reschedule. The next morning was when we left for TN and the next two weeks were sort of a blur. When we got home I realized they never called to reschedule, so I called them. Turns out the dentist had to have surgery (I hope he's okay) and won't be back till some time in October. They referred me to another doctor who was able to get us in yesterday.

Anybody who has seen Tyler's teeth knows that he has decay. It's pretty obvious. (Yes, I know. I will not be getting nominated for Mom of the Year. How did I let my baby get tooth decay? Anyway.) The solution? Surgery. $10,000 worth of surgery that our insurance company more than likely will not pay for. So now we are making phone calls to the insurance company, as is the dentist, praying that they will approve his surgery. If not, I'm not sure what we will do. So if you think of it and feel so inclined, say a little prayer. Would ya?

Let's end on a happy note, shall we? I am going on a real, bona fide date with my hubby tonight. Monday was his birthday. This will be our first real date since Tyler was born. Wow! I'm excited.

Y'all have a great weekend.

Quick Update

Hello all. I just wanted to give you all a quick update and say thank you all for your prayers. My step-dad did pass away early Thursday morning shortly after we got to the hospital. The funeral was Saturday. Please continue to remember my mom in your prayers as she gets through this. We will be here for a few more days helping her out as best as we can.

See you soon!

Heading Out

We are leaving for Tennessee now. Please continue praying...

Please, Please Pray

I just received a call from my mom. She said that my step-dad probably would not make it through the day. Please, please pray for him and for my mom! I only know how hard this is for me, and I can't imagine how hard it is for her.

An update on my step-dad

From my mom:

Hi everyone,
Sam has continued to worsen since he was admitted to the
hospital 10 days ago.
Yesterday he began to vomit blood and was moved
to ICU. he had a scope, but
there was so much in his stomach they
could not find the source of the blood.
His diabetes has damaged his
stomach so it takes hours or days to digest a meal. (this is not new).
I
don't know what the CT abdomen showed yesterday.

After the
scope they could not take him off the ventilator because his breathing got much
worse
over the weekend. He is still at Memorial , now in room
CCU-10.
He was stable after the scope, and was finally resting
after fighting to breath for a while.
He is sedated, but can possibly
hear me, according to the icu staff.

He is expected to be
able to recover from this episode. I will let you know
how things
progress.

As always, your prayers are appreciated.

Sickness All Around

Our family is enduring its fair share of sickness right now. If you think of it, could you please remember these 3 specific requests when you pray.

1. My step-dad, Sam. This is an exert from the email my mom sent yesterday:

Dear friends and family,
this will be news to some of you and repeat for others. but, Sam has been quite sick for about 3 weeks.
he has prostate cancer, but his doctors says that is under control for now. he has a 2 low back discs
protruding, compressing nerves and causing leg pain and weakness. He has a rare abdominal lining disease
causing the severe pelvic pain. there is no treatment for it, except to take pain meds for it. He also has a
large area on his lower right leg that is infected, getting worse, and making his leg swell to double.
He has been in memorial hospital since Saturday.

2. My Aunt, Retta. I just heard that the doctors found a lump in her breast and I believe they will be doing a biopsy next week.

3. Tyler is also very sick right now. Last night we almost went to the ER. His temperature ran in the 100-101.5 range until last night. I thought maybe it was just his teeth coming in, but when his fever got up to 104 and stayed I got worried and called the doctor. She told us to keep him on a Tylenol/Motrin rotation to try to get it down. That worked, but only temporarily. I took him to the doctor this morning and she said there is a very nasty virus going around right now and that is likely what he has. She said it lasts 1-5 days and is accompanied by a fever of up to 105. Eek! At this point Tyler is not sleeping more than 20 minutes at a time and that is only if he is being held. He also isn't eating and only drinking about a sip an hour. As I'm sure you can guess, that makes for one tired and worried little momma.

I'm Still Here

Seems like I haven't had much to say here lately. Really, I have but I just haven't been able to organize my thoughts enough to write a coherent blog post. The death of sweet little baby Jacob last week really affected me. I've been trying to spend more quality time with my hubby and my sweet baby. I've also been trying to address some training issues we've been having. So, I'm still here. Plodding along I guess you could say.

I've also decided to add a section on my sidebar for current prayer requests. It seems there are so many situations right now that really could use extra prayers. If you feel inclined to pray for any or all of these situations, please do.

Prayers Needed

Update: This precious baby boy is now in heaven. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Dear praying friends,
My dear friend Lisa's 5 month old baby cousin is in need of prayer. He had open heart surgery on Monday and is suffering some pretty serious complications. Below are the updates posted on his Carepage today. If you could please pray for this precious little boy and his family.



150 January 15, 2008 at 09:15 AM EST
UPDATE: Things went ok last night, I guess. We were awakened this morning to inform us that Jacob isn't clotting the way he should (he will naturaly have trouble clotting because he is on anti-coagulants aka blood thinners). But, he was even worse than he should be on thinners. They gave him over 8 units of blood last night, and that is a lot. They decided to open his chest back up and try to find the source of bleeding. After opening him back up and washing his thoracic cavity out very good, they were unable to find a true source of bleeding. But, things look better right now. His bleeding has slowed down and his pressures are looking a little better. The biggest concern right now is getting his kidneys to function a little better than they are currently doing. And, getting Jacob to start twitching a little to show movement. He should be starting to move a little by now and he isn't moving at all. The perfusion to Jacob's brain and kidneys looks good, according to the monitor...so that is a good thing. They just performed a cerebral ultrasound to look for any sign of hemorrhaging around the brain. It is a possibility for that to occur on ECMO, as well as on blood thinners. The results of that ultrasound will be posted when I receive them. Jacob is doing better, but has a long way to go. Keep praying, please. Thanks for the prayers thus far, for not only Jacob but Amber and myself as well. We could feel the peace of God throughout the surgery yesterday, thanks to prayers. God bless you all and thanks again.
151 January 15, 2008 at 10:15 AM EST
PRAISE GOD...Jacob has wiggled his toes a little as well as his hands!!! The cerebral ultrasound looks fine, so no hemorrhaging! Now, he needs to start some urine output...thats the hurdle right now (as far as I know). Thank you all so much for your prayers...God bless you all!!!
152 January 15, 2008 at 03:07 PM EST
Still trying to get all the med's and everything just right so that Jacob's numbers look better. Jacob is still out, wiggles his toes only a little with stimulation. Nothing coming from the kidney's as of yet, but from what other's have posted about their experiences this is pretty normal. It just takes a while for a body to recover from such an extensive procedure. Everything, as far as I can tell, is going as it should. Thanks again for everyone that has come by or called, but more importantly...thank you all for your prayers. Crying out to God is what is needed right now, thank you all! We will be posting some pictures of the ECMO (life support) machine as well as Jacob post-operation shortly. Just so everyone can see what I am talking about with the tubes and everything. God bless you all.
153 January 15, 2008 at 03:47 PM EST
Jacob is starting to move around a little more as the sedation wears off more and more. His kidney's still haven't started producing urine yet, but that's ok...God is in control of that too. Just posted a couple of pictures of him post-op (be aware, it is pretty graphic, just to warn you). Thank God for his blessings...thank you all for your prayers.
154 January 15, 2008 at 08:26 PM EST
Jacob just had a seizure...this was sort-of expected. With all the fluid, swelling, surgery, ECMO and everything else combined it is pretty common for a patient to begin seizing at some point. As long as it is treatable, we're good. They are going to begin him on medication for the seizures and consult with neurology tomorrow. Most like an EEG will be ordered and possibly a head CT or ultrasound again, just to ensure there is no bleeding. As of right now Jacob's kidney function still hasn't begun. Beyond all of that, he is doing as expected. His numbers look a lot better than they previously were. Just please don't stop praying now. The road to recovery in some cases is more crucial than the surgery itself. While you are in the operating room everything is controlled. Outside of the OR the body has to begin regulating itself. So, please pray for Jacob... Thank you all for your prayers thus far, God bless you.
155 January 15, 2008 at 09:11 PM EST
Praise the Lord... Jacob just had 5cc's of urine! Thank you Lord! Sorry for sending out so many updates but we had to give Praise! Seems like a silly thing to be happy about, but it is a big step towards recovery. Please take a moment to remember another family in here (in PICU) with us. They have been here just a little longer than us and their daughter is only a little older than Jacob. She, too, is a heart baby and things have taken a drastic turn for the worse. God IS the great physician and His will shall be done. Just pray for their strength right now, they desperately need it. Thank you all for your faithfulness in prayer. God bless you.
156 January 16, 2008 at 09:39 AM EST
UPDATE: Specific prayer requests needed right now... They are getting ready to place a Tenckhoff catheter into Jacob to drain some fluid. They are getting a little concerned about the fluid on Jacob because it is causing Jacob to seize and is also going to begin causing more liver and kidney damage. Jacob's liver looks pretty bad right now, fortunately a liver is great at regenerating itself though. Jacob has continued to have seizures throughout the night, which really isn't uncommon. The lack of urine output is really starting to be a cause for concern. If he doesn't start putting out urine they will need to begin him on dialysis (which can be done through the Tenckhoff catheter is needed). Please pray for these three things specifically...among his overall healing: 1) Jacob's liver to heal 2) Jacob's kidneys to function 3) Jacob to stop seizing God bless you all and thanks.
157 January 16, 2008 at 11:40 AM EST
The Tenckhoff catheter has been put in. Now just hope that it will drain fluid and Jacob's kidneys will begin to function. Please continue to pray for those specific requests mentioned on the last update. Kidney and liver function are critical right now. Just an update about the other family mentioned last night. Their little girl did not make it, so please keep that family in your prayers as they are facing a very difficult time. Thank you all and God bless.

this is the 2nd of the day...
158 January 16, 2008 at 03:33 PM EST
They are now preparing to place a filter on the ECMO and start pulling some fluid off of Jacob manually. Using the pressure of the ECMO machine they can pull fluid off of Jacob. This is not to be confused with dialysis, but that may still be a possibility if this doesn't work as desired. Hopefully by doing this it will speed up the process of draining fluid and therefore assist his kidneys in their function. Like Lisa mentioned in her post, it is critical to start draining some of this fluid before it begins to cause other problems. They are going to have the neurology department come up and take a look at Jacob to ensure they are properly treating his seizures. Most like an EEG (Electro Encephalogram) will be ordered to check his brain activity. This is being done to ensure the pressure on his brain from the fluid isn't causing any damage. Nothing out of his kidneys still and his liver, to my knowledge, still looks the same (bad). I took more pictures of him because he has gotten even more swollen since the last pictures were posted. I will try to upload them at some point today, just so you can see what all I am talking about. I am ready for my baby to look like himself again and not the Michelin man. Please continue to pray for Jacob. For some of this fluid to get off his body, for his kidneys and liver to do their job, for the seizures to stop, for a positivie neurological report, for continued healing...please. Thank you all for your support and prayers thus far...God bless you.
159 January 16, 2008 at 06:10 PM EST
They now have the hemofiltration on the ECMO pump for Jacob. That should at least begin to drain some of the fluid from his body slowly. They placed another chest tube in on the left side of Jacob's chest to try and relieve even more pressure and fluid from his body. The EEG they performed was inconclusive, there were too many things going on around the bed. Also, there was just too much fluid to really determine if he was having seizures or not. Again we were told that seizures are likely with this much fluid being on his body. As long as he doesn't hemorrhage cerebrally they should be abnle to treat it appropriately. It just seems like he keeps swelling up more and more, instead of fluid coming off. I can't even describe what it feels like to see your son in the condition that Jacob is currently in...he looks like a different baby altogether. Thank God for the strength He has provided thus far! Jacob's liver enzyme levels are REALLY bad. Fortunately we keep hearing that the liver is great at self regeneration and can turn itself around no problem. The only catch to that is to get the fluids off his body. It is now becoming more crucial to start draining fluid, hence the reason they have begun hemofiltration. Please pray for fluid drainage, liver and kidney function, decrease in seizure activity and all around recovery. Thank you all for your prayers...God bless you. "Therefore I say unto, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" -Mark 11:24 The following verse has carried me through all struggles I have ever faced, from school to basic training to Iraq and now through this... "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." -Job 23:10 It doesn't say "if he tried me", it says "when he hath tried me"...trials of life will come, but we can rest assured that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us! Job, too, knows that trials will come.

Prayers...

Please pray for the 2 month old daughter of one of Keith's troops. She was taken to the hospital last weekend with a fever of 102. The doctors at our local hospital couldn't figure out what was wrong so she was flown to Children's Mercy hospital in Kansas City. Yesterday her hemoglobin level was dangerously low and she was given a blood transfusion. The doctors still aren't sure what is going on. The only nourishment she is getting right now is through an IV in her tiny little head. Also, the father is scheduled to be deployed very soon. As of right now, I'm not sure if he will be able to stay here or not.

I decided to crawl off my death bed...

to say hi!

Okay, so I wasn't really on my death bed. I have been pretty sick though. That little "cold" I had really did a number on me. I lost my voice for about a week, which I'm sure hubby appreciated. ;) But worse than that was the extreme fatigue I've been experiencing. It's been awful. I really feel like I've been running on 5-10% of my normal energy level. It's getting a little better now, but I'm still no where near completely back to normal.

I went to the doctor last week because I wanted to make sure that it wasn't strep throat. My throat hurt so, so, so bad. It was the worst sore throat I ever remember having. Good news-it wasn't strep! Yay! Praise the Lord for that. If it had been, I more than likely would have had to stop nursing cold turkey because of the antibiotics I would have to be on. However, the bad news was that there was absolutely nothing she could give me (prescription or OTC) because I am nursing. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to let this one run its course.

So, does anybody know of any good herbs or vitamins for energy? I'm already taking a prenatal vitamin and caffeine is a definite no for me. :)

Please Pray

Hello all. I just received this email from a dear friend in Tennessee.

hey, so dad was working in upstate NewYork and he fell off of a truck today
and got hurt.Thomas took him to the hospital b/c he couldn't walk and was in
a
lot of pain... Well, he broke his hip in 3 places and they did surgery...
well mom is trying her hardest to get there but is having a hard time doing
it... I took her to Nashville to get a flight (Knoxville no help at all!!!)
but
she is now stuck in Charlotte on a delay and she is just totally a
nervous
wreck!! thankfully Tenika is with her but i feel so bad that i
cannot be with
her right now... but after they get there and are able to get
dad released in a
few days the hard part is going to be getting him home
safely and easily... i
honestly do not know how it is going to happen
because with a broke hip and just
having surgery that is going to be majorly
tough!! please keep them both in your
prayers....

Please, if you could, remember this family in prayer.

Prayer Request-Brother

My brother was admitted to the hospital today for some tests and possibly surgery. He has some internal bleeding and the doctors are unsure of what is causing this. It may not be a big deal, but then again it may be. He is my big brother and has never been in the hospital before. I think I'm more nervous than he is. Please remember him in your prayers.

Thank you

Update: My brother is out of the hospital and doing much better now. Thank you all for praying.

Prayer Request

Please remember my Grandma in prayer if you will. About a year ago she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and only given 3 months or so to live. Well needless to say, she far exceeded those expectations. However, she has now slipped into a coma and likely will not come out of it. She requested no feeding tubes or IV's. She hasn't had any food or water in about 5 days now...so it is just a matter or hours or days before she will be gone. She is saved (Praise the Lord!) and ready to go, but it will still be difficult for the family. My mom has been at her side round the clock for the past 8 months now. I know it will be especially difficult for her.

Please remember this if you will.

Love, Liz

UPDATE: My grandma passed away this morning (20 Dec). Thank you for all your prayers.