Dear Friends,
My apologies for not posting for the last couple of days. Amy and I have been catching up on some rest during Reagan's couple of good days that she has had. The internet connection where we were staying also had not been working properly and we were having to update at the hospital where we could get a wireless signal. I have also been quite busy trying to get caught up on some work. Anyway, enough excuses!!! It's time for an update....So here it is:
The last time that we updated (Thursday - shame on us) we told you that Reagan had her Echocardiogram and that it still showed a small PDA (open valve in her heart). The heart doctor was out of town during the week and we were told that he would be back the following week. On Thursday and Friday, the nurses said that they heard a heart murmur which would indicate that the PDA had not totally closed. But, on Saturday, no murmur was heard... and on Sunday, no murmur was heard!! Praise God for that!! This does not mean that the PDA totally closed, but it is a good indicator that it has gotten much smaller if not totally closed. Apparently, PDA's can get smaller and then reopen to a larger size but we are going to pray that God has sealed that thing shut and that there will be no more problems with it. I'm not sure when we will be able to tell you for sure if it is totally closed as the staff will have to do another echocardiogram to tell and they may not do one if they think that it is closed. There are many things that we have had to trust God for throughout this process, many unknowns, and we have learned to just take one day at a time and deal with that day as it comes. We are thankful that we have one "known" every day and that is that God loves us, He loves Reagan, and He knows that which is best for each of us. God has either been faithful to help Reagan's situation, or to help us deal with each situation that has come up...I've heard it said that sometimes "He calms the storm" and sometimes "He calms His child." We have experienced both over the last 4 weeks and are more grateful than we could ever express for His faithfulness toward us. Many of you have heard the song, "The Anchor Holds" by Ray Boltz (I think). If you get a chance, google that song today and read the words or just listen to the song...it is very powerful and will help you to put the storms of life into perspective with God's faithfulness. Our "Anchor" is holding strong in our lives and I know that He will for you as well.
Okay... Back to the Reagan update. Sorry for preaching (not really - I just type what God lays on my heart). Reagan is still having some trouble with her breathing but not as much. Her settings on the ventilator are very low which is a great thing, but her blood/oxygen levels go up and down regularly instead of staying steady. We originally were seeing her oxygen levels decrease at the same time that we would see her heart rate decrease, but during the last two days, her heart rate has stayed strong when her oxygen levels have decreased. This probably means that the PDA is not causing all of the breathing problems but just some of them (we seem to learn something new every day). She has had to be bagged several times over the last couple of days to get her to breathe normally and that has several risks that I won't bore you with. Just pray that when she does have to be bagged, that the Lord will protect her lungs from any harm. According to Amy, and some of the other nurses, it is very common for premature babies to forget to breathe on a regular basis. Reagan seems to forget to breathe while she is getting blood drawn or other things that she doesn't particularly like...she likes to be held, but you don't want to disturb her when she is resting peacefully with a sharp stick to her heel! Sometimes she just forgets for virtually no reason (I guess we will excuse this for now given the fact that she came four months early). Different methods can be used to get her to remember to breathe or to help her breathe. She can be "bagged" or given oxygen forced into her lungs from a bag, or she can sometimes just be touched to stimulate her body to remind her to breathe. Sometimes, her settings just need to be turned up momentarily until she perks back up.
Reagan weighed in at a healthy 1lb 14oz today without showing signs of a lot of fluid retention. She has been doing very well with her feeds and I think that she could easily reach the 2lb milestone this week (what a porker huh!?). She just looks really good right now and we have been greatly encouraged. She is such a beautiful little girl and I love her sooooo much!
Prayer Requests for Reagan:
1. Pray that God has closed her PDA without surgery...I'm going to go ahead and thank Him for closing it without surgery as that is what I asked Him to do and I feel that He may have done it already. If it isn't closed, I'll trust Him to take care of it and will give thanks then for the results. I just want God to know that I am grateful that He is listening to me.
2. Pray that her lungs will continue to strengthen (supernatural strength) and that she will be able to get off of the ventilator very soon.
3. Pray for her brain, ears, and eyes that all will be very healthy. It will be awhile before her ears and eyes will be tested and she has not had extremely extensive brain testing yet, so lets start praying ahead of time that all will be in great condition.
4. Pray for Amy and I for continued strength to get everything that we need to get done accomplished.
I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know that my God holds tomorrow and knows each and every circumstance that we will endure. He proved Himself faithful yesterday, the day before that, and over the last 28 days (can you believe that tonight -Sunday night- marks the 1 month anniversary of Amy being admitted to the hospital) as well as throughout many other times in my life, and I have no doubt that He will be faithful tomorrow. I love Him tonight for keeping His promises to me. The same promises that He kept for me are true for you as well! Claim them in your life! There has honestly not been one day that I haven't had peace in my heart about these circumstances - I find that to be an absolute miracle as well as a tremendous blessing and am thankful for God's provision. Thank you all so much, again, for praying. God loves you and so do we!!!!!
Robert and Amy
Go! Reagan, Go!
Go! God, Go! Show yourself strong in Reagan and in our lives!!! Your creations are priceless!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Premie Daily Affairs (PDA)
Dear Friends and Family,
Well the saga continues. Little Miss Reagan loves to keep us on our toes. Her echo cardiogram results are back and her PDA is small again. This means we continue to wait and see if it will close on its own or if it gets larger again we will have surgery. God is really testing my patience. It would be nice to not have to wait and either go to surgery or not but this is out of our hands. Since the surgeon is on vacation I guess it is an answer to prayer that the PDA has become smaller. All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes.-Romans 8:28
I am very thankful that Reagan's only issue seems to be her PDA. She continues to do well with her feeds, she's infection free, and gaining weight. She weighs 1 pound 14 ounces today. She still has a little bit of fluid retention so we are up and down on our weight but overall she looks really good.
Thanks for all the comments, cards, care packages, gifts for Reagan, PTO donations, and prayers. We are so thankful for each of you. I hope some day we can return the blessings to you. God has been so good to us and continues to meet our needs sometimes even befor we ask! I am not going to say this has been smooth sailing and I don't question "Why me/us?" but than I think "Why not me?". I feel that Robert and I are as prepared as anyone can be to take on this new curve of life. I continue to focus on the promise that God will never leave us or forsake us. He knows our hearts desires and cares when we hurt and He rejoices when we rejoice. My prayer for you is that you too feel the peace that passes all understanding and the wonderful love of our Saviour. May God bless each of you for your faithfulness!
Love Bunches!!!
Amy and Robert
Well the saga continues. Little Miss Reagan loves to keep us on our toes. Her echo cardiogram results are back and her PDA is small again. This means we continue to wait and see if it will close on its own or if it gets larger again we will have surgery. God is really testing my patience. It would be nice to not have to wait and either go to surgery or not but this is out of our hands. Since the surgeon is on vacation I guess it is an answer to prayer that the PDA has become smaller. All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes.-Romans 8:28
I am very thankful that Reagan's only issue seems to be her PDA. She continues to do well with her feeds, she's infection free, and gaining weight. She weighs 1 pound 14 ounces today. She still has a little bit of fluid retention so we are up and down on our weight but overall she looks really good.
Thanks for all the comments, cards, care packages, gifts for Reagan, PTO donations, and prayers. We are so thankful for each of you. I hope some day we can return the blessings to you. God has been so good to us and continues to meet our needs sometimes even befor we ask! I am not going to say this has been smooth sailing and I don't question "Why me/us?" but than I think "Why not me?". I feel that Robert and I are as prepared as anyone can be to take on this new curve of life. I continue to focus on the promise that God will never leave us or forsake us. He knows our hearts desires and cares when we hurt and He rejoices when we rejoice. My prayer for you is that you too feel the peace that passes all understanding and the wonderful love of our Saviour. May God bless each of you for your faithfulness!
Love Bunches!!!
Amy and Robert
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Three Weeks Old Today!
Dear Friends,
Today marks Reagan's 3rd week of life and we are sooooo grateful for God's provision thus far for her. I appreciate the extra prayer's as they are working. I trust that she is gaining strength and power day by day and that God is at work in her little heart right now. Reagan had a pretty good day today and did not have as much trouble with her oxygen desaturations. This afternoon, she had an echocardiogram and again, it showed that her PDA (basically, a valve in her heart that usually closes at birth) which had become smaller, was again enlarged and opened. This just reaffirms what the medical staff here suspected. So... as for treatment, they will give her another round of Indocin. The first time they gave her Indocin, it worked for a while and helped her PDA to shrink but it did not close all the way as it needs to. We are praying that God will help her PDA close all the way with the Indocin this time as we really don't want her to have to have surgery. We will know whether the PDA has closed or not on Thursday sometime during the day. If for some reason it is not closed, she will require a procedure to close it. We'll deal with that if she has to have it but right now, we would like for everyone to really lift her up in prayer and ask The Great Physician to close the hole in her heart!!! (It is interesting to me how so many physical things in life relate so significantly to spiritual things). I know that He is more than able to do it! Thank you all so much for continuing to pray. I know that prayer is what is helping her. We are counting on your prayers and are so thankful for them! Please, "Do not grow weary" in praying. Reagan needs your help! It seems that we have a great team of people that pray regularly for Reagan and we can't tell you how much we appreciate it. I believe that these circumstances have been allowed in our life to strengthen our relationships with God and each other. You all mean more to us than we could ever tell you. You have held us up, and continue to hold us up in our time of need. This is going to be a process that will take time, but together, we can all grow stronger in our faith in God. Let's all look Higher for provision for this precious little life! If there is something that we can pray about for you, please let us know as we owe a lot of prayer! May God bless you all and your families and "cause His face to shine on you," He loves you like no other could. We love you too!
Robert and Amy
P.S. her weight today was 1lb 11oz. That is slightly down from her high of 1lb 14oz but we are glad because she seemed to be holding a lot of fluid and looked very bloated.
Today marks Reagan's 3rd week of life and we are sooooo grateful for God's provision thus far for her. I appreciate the extra prayer's as they are working. I trust that she is gaining strength and power day by day and that God is at work in her little heart right now. Reagan had a pretty good day today and did not have as much trouble with her oxygen desaturations. This afternoon, she had an echocardiogram and again, it showed that her PDA (basically, a valve in her heart that usually closes at birth) which had become smaller, was again enlarged and opened. This just reaffirms what the medical staff here suspected. So... as for treatment, they will give her another round of Indocin. The first time they gave her Indocin, it worked for a while and helped her PDA to shrink but it did not close all the way as it needs to. We are praying that God will help her PDA close all the way with the Indocin this time as we really don't want her to have to have surgery. We will know whether the PDA has closed or not on Thursday sometime during the day. If for some reason it is not closed, she will require a procedure to close it. We'll deal with that if she has to have it but right now, we would like for everyone to really lift her up in prayer and ask The Great Physician to close the hole in her heart!!! (It is interesting to me how so many physical things in life relate so significantly to spiritual things). I know that He is more than able to do it! Thank you all so much for continuing to pray. I know that prayer is what is helping her. We are counting on your prayers and are so thankful for them! Please, "Do not grow weary" in praying. Reagan needs your help! It seems that we have a great team of people that pray regularly for Reagan and we can't tell you how much we appreciate it. I believe that these circumstances have been allowed in our life to strengthen our relationships with God and each other. You all mean more to us than we could ever tell you. You have held us up, and continue to hold us up in our time of need. This is going to be a process that will take time, but together, we can all grow stronger in our faith in God. Let's all look Higher for provision for this precious little life! If there is something that we can pray about for you, please let us know as we owe a lot of prayer! May God bless you all and your families and "cause His face to shine on you," He loves you like no other could. We love you too!
Robert and Amy
P.S. her weight today was 1lb 11oz. That is slightly down from her high of 1lb 14oz but we are glad because she seemed to be holding a lot of fluid and looked very bloated.
Prayer Warriors...Reagan Needs You!
Dear Friends,
Our little girl could really use some prayers tonight / today depending on when you get this. She is doing okay, but seems to be having problems with her breathing again. Her oxygen levels have fluctuated throughout the day and she has had to be given breaths several times throughout the day (from the oxygen "bag"). A couple of times, it looked like she was not trying to breath on her own as her chest was not really moving. Thanks to God, the staff was right there to support her and help her to breath until she started breathing more on her own. They did an x ray to make sure that her lungs looked okay, and they do, but her ventilator tube looked like it was down too far, so they pulled it back up a little bit and were saying that that could have been part of the problem. Her heart PDA is not helping either. It is a scary thing to watch your child stop trying to breath on her own. I may sound a little bit dramatic and don't want to make this sound like a dire emergency situation as it is not, but it is a very serious situation that definitely needs prayer. She is so little and her lungs just seem to have a hard time...BUT...Our God is So Big, So Strong and So Mighty, There's Nothing My God Cannot Do.. and I ask that He will reach down from Heaven, or actually just over from the side of her isolet and give her body a special touch. I ask that He will breath the breath of life into her little body and give her super strength that could be given by none other than God Himself! Our child is a Blessed Child of God! I believe Reagan is gaining strength as we speak! I ask that you will pray for two specific things....
1. Pray that her PDA will close without surgery if that is what is best for her.
2. Pray that her lungs and body will gain super strength from God (He Can Do It!!!)
Now lets trust and believe that God hears our prayers and will answer! I believe!!!
Thank you for your prayers. My God is able to do "exceedingly more" than we could ever ask or think and I expect great things from God in this situation with Reagan. We love Him no matter the circumstances that surround us. Thanks for praying...He is able!
Robert and Amy
Our little girl could really use some prayers tonight / today depending on when you get this. She is doing okay, but seems to be having problems with her breathing again. Her oxygen levels have fluctuated throughout the day and she has had to be given breaths several times throughout the day (from the oxygen "bag"). A couple of times, it looked like she was not trying to breath on her own as her chest was not really moving. Thanks to God, the staff was right there to support her and help her to breath until she started breathing more on her own. They did an x ray to make sure that her lungs looked okay, and they do, but her ventilator tube looked like it was down too far, so they pulled it back up a little bit and were saying that that could have been part of the problem. Her heart PDA is not helping either. It is a scary thing to watch your child stop trying to breath on her own. I may sound a little bit dramatic and don't want to make this sound like a dire emergency situation as it is not, but it is a very serious situation that definitely needs prayer. She is so little and her lungs just seem to have a hard time...BUT...Our God is So Big, So Strong and So Mighty, There's Nothing My God Cannot Do.. and I ask that He will reach down from Heaven, or actually just over from the side of her isolet and give her body a special touch. I ask that He will breath the breath of life into her little body and give her super strength that could be given by none other than God Himself! Our child is a Blessed Child of God! I believe Reagan is gaining strength as we speak! I ask that you will pray for two specific things....
1. Pray that her PDA will close without surgery if that is what is best for her.
2. Pray that her lungs and body will gain super strength from God (He Can Do It!!!)
Now lets trust and believe that God hears our prayers and will answer! I believe!!!
Thank you for your prayers. My God is able to do "exceedingly more" than we could ever ask or think and I expect great things from God in this situation with Reagan. We love Him no matter the circumstances that surround us. Thanks for praying...He is able!
Robert and Amy
A Daddy's Prayer
Dear God,
You know that I love you. Thank you for loving me back. I have this little girl named Reagan that you have entrusted me with and am so thankful for the blessing of a child. You made her "fearfully" and "wonderfully" and I love her. I can see the hairs on her head, but can't count them. You know the number by heart! Her life is precious to me and therefore, I know that it is to you as well. Thank you Jesus for giving her... a miraculous birth, a perfect brain, long fingers, big feet, little toes, a round little nose, a stomach that works, the ability to breath, smelly diapers, peeking eyes, a wrinkled forehead, a body that is well, a heart that will love you, a mind that will think about you, two arms to serve, two legs to go where you lead, a voice that will tell of your love, and all the love of her Heavenly Father. I ask that you would hold her in your loving, protecting hands and that you would shield her from anything that could cause harm. I pray that you would place angels at her beside for protection. I pray for supernatural strength in the development of her organs - such as only God can give so that He will receive all the glory. I pray for her heart to function perfectly and for her body to grow steadily and safely. Especially strengthen her lungs and her heart. Please help her PDA (whatever that is) in her heart to close so that her oxygen saturations will become more normal. Bless all of the medical staff that takes care of her on a daily basis, as well as those that have taken care of her in the past, and help them to know that You love them and that you created them just as you did Baby Reagan. Help them to know that they are the "apple of your eye." Please be with each member of the staff as they come to work that you would guide their minds and hands to give the best care possible, and as they leave work, that you would bless their families, protect them, and give them strength. Help their families with any life difficulties and heal their hurts. Bless the other children, and parents that have children, that are going through the same and even harder things than we are. Give them hope and comfort in You and help them to learn to love You more every day. I ask that You would protect my little girl and help her to grow strong. Give her her mommy's tenderness, patience, and love. Give her all the good that you see in me. Help her to grow to know you and to have a love for you that shines through to all. I pray blessings and strength over my little girl right now and ask that you will hear and answer my prayer. Thank you for being My Provider, My Strength, My Shield, Lord God Almighty, The Most High God, and My Source of Peace. I pray that Reagan will not only live, but that she will thrive and prosper!!! Thank you God for using this little life to bless the lives of so many people already. I'm already a proud, yet humbled father of this precious life. Thank you God for bringing us people that were/are willing to pray. Please bless each and every person that has prayed for Baby Reagan and give them strength in the trials that they face each day. Help their marriages to be strong, their children to be healthy, their families to know Jesus, and their lives to be blessed by You. Give them strength to face the challenges of life and let them know that You are only a word away from immediate help in their times of need. Thank you for being a Rock that I can lean on during this time. Give Amy and I patience as we proceed into the unknown. Stand beside my little girl until all is well and give her supernatural strength! Thank you for answering prayer! I Love You my Savior!!!
Your Child,
Robert
You know that I love you. Thank you for loving me back. I have this little girl named Reagan that you have entrusted me with and am so thankful for the blessing of a child. You made her "fearfully" and "wonderfully" and I love her. I can see the hairs on her head, but can't count them. You know the number by heart! Her life is precious to me and therefore, I know that it is to you as well. Thank you Jesus for giving her... a miraculous birth, a perfect brain, long fingers, big feet, little toes, a round little nose, a stomach that works, the ability to breath, smelly diapers, peeking eyes, a wrinkled forehead, a body that is well, a heart that will love you, a mind that will think about you, two arms to serve, two legs to go where you lead, a voice that will tell of your love, and all the love of her Heavenly Father. I ask that you would hold her in your loving, protecting hands and that you would shield her from anything that could cause harm. I pray that you would place angels at her beside for protection. I pray for supernatural strength in the development of her organs - such as only God can give so that He will receive all the glory. I pray for her heart to function perfectly and for her body to grow steadily and safely. Especially strengthen her lungs and her heart. Please help her PDA (whatever that is) in her heart to close so that her oxygen saturations will become more normal. Bless all of the medical staff that takes care of her on a daily basis, as well as those that have taken care of her in the past, and help them to know that You love them and that you created them just as you did Baby Reagan. Help them to know that they are the "apple of your eye." Please be with each member of the staff as they come to work that you would guide their minds and hands to give the best care possible, and as they leave work, that you would bless their families, protect them, and give them strength. Help their families with any life difficulties and heal their hurts. Bless the other children, and parents that have children, that are going through the same and even harder things than we are. Give them hope and comfort in You and help them to learn to love You more every day. I ask that You would protect my little girl and help her to grow strong. Give her her mommy's tenderness, patience, and love. Give her all the good that you see in me. Help her to grow to know you and to have a love for you that shines through to all. I pray blessings and strength over my little girl right now and ask that you will hear and answer my prayer. Thank you for being My Provider, My Strength, My Shield, Lord God Almighty, The Most High God, and My Source of Peace. I pray that Reagan will not only live, but that she will thrive and prosper!!! Thank you God for using this little life to bless the lives of so many people already. I'm already a proud, yet humbled father of this precious life. Thank you God for bringing us people that were/are willing to pray. Please bless each and every person that has prayed for Baby Reagan and give them strength in the trials that they face each day. Help their marriages to be strong, their children to be healthy, their families to know Jesus, and their lives to be blessed by You. Give them strength to face the challenges of life and let them know that You are only a word away from immediate help in their times of need. Thank you for being a Rock that I can lean on during this time. Give Amy and I patience as we proceed into the unknown. Stand beside my little girl until all is well and give her supernatural strength! Thank you for answering prayer! I Love You my Savior!!!
Your Child,
Robert
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday Update!
Dear Friends and Family,
Reagan is continuing to grow! Today she is 1 pound 13 ounces. Some of this weight gain is extra fluid so her hands and feet are a little swollen. We started her on some diuretics to hopefully get rid of this extra fluid. She continues to do well on the vent and has been weaning effectively. Today her settings, for my RT friends, are 22 16/6 with a pressure support of 7. When her rate is at 15 we will discuss trying CPAP again. She is tolerating her feeds very well. We are at 2.5mls per hour. GO REAGAN GO!!!
Today Daddy did something very important. He noticed that a couple of Reagan's toes were blue. This was caused by her UAC ( IV in her belly button) going bad. They took out the line and now her toes are pink again. Way to go Daddy! I told him he would make a great nurse!
Thanks for the continued prayers. Since Robert posted I wasn't sleeping well and people started praying I have not had any more bad dreams. I have been sleeping so well I missed the Doctor rounds a couple times this week and took an afternoon nap. God hears and answers even the little prayers that matter to us!
Thanks again for your support!
Love,
Amy
Reagan is continuing to grow! Today she is 1 pound 13 ounces. Some of this weight gain is extra fluid so her hands and feet are a little swollen. We started her on some diuretics to hopefully get rid of this extra fluid. She continues to do well on the vent and has been weaning effectively. Today her settings, for my RT friends, are 22 16/6 with a pressure support of 7. When her rate is at 15 we will discuss trying CPAP again. She is tolerating her feeds very well. We are at 2.5mls per hour. GO REAGAN GO!!!
Today Daddy did something very important. He noticed that a couple of Reagan's toes were blue. This was caused by her UAC ( IV in her belly button) going bad. They took out the line and now her toes are pink again. Way to go Daddy! I told him he would make a great nurse!
Thanks for the continued prayers. Since Robert posted I wasn't sleeping well and people started praying I have not had any more bad dreams. I have been sleeping so well I missed the Doctor rounds a couple times this week and took an afternoon nap. God hears and answers even the little prayers that matter to us!
Thanks again for your support!
Love,
Amy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
