little henry is 1 month old!

you may be wondering how my nephew, henry, is doing. well, he is hanging in there and doing well. he still has a long road ahead of him, but has made it through so much so far in his first month of life....
heres a picture of nikki holding him FOR THE FIRST TIME!

here is an email from steve yesterday. i have added my comments to the email so you know whats been going on until this point....

October 19, 2008

This Friday’s ultrasound showed no additional bleeding (in his brain)and the docs report a slight reduction in the ventricle size, indicating reduced fluid buildup. The existing blood again appears to be slightly resolved, furthering our optimism for no additional issues. Praise God for stopping the bleeding and healing our man. We are not out of the woods here, but no additional bleeding is awesome news! Please join us in praying for continued resolution of the existing bleeding, and no additional fluid buildup.

His left hand continues to improve as well (about 2 weeks ago, while trying to put in an IV in his left arm, they hit an artery and his entire arm, from elbow to finger tips, turned blue and purple. there was no pulse below the elbow either and there was a fear he may lose his entire left arm from the elbow down) . There will likey be some “injury” to his thumb, but the other digits appear to be healing well. For perspective, if you were to lose the tip of your thumb equal to the size of two pencil erasers, that is proportionally what Henry is facing… Of course his little thumb is not even as big around as a pencil, so it really is a pretty small area of injury. Again praise God for hearing our prayers for healing and responding in kind.



This week the docs started a round of steroids aimed at boosting his lung strength. There is no direct measure for us to see, but he seems to be responding favorably, and the staff has been able to reduce the level of oxygen they are giving Henry through his vent. He is likely to be on the vent for some time; until his x-rays show no pneumonia and the doc feel he can support breathing on his own. Please join us in praying for continued healing for Henry’s lungs, and for their strength and integrity.



The BIG news for this update is that Henry and Mama (nikki) spent a glorious hour together in each other’s arms Sunday evening! Henry was relaxed, displaying a reduced heart rate and great oxygen levels the entire time. This is HUGE, as the Lord intended them to be together, especially during these developmentally critical early days. We should expect to repeat this as part of his daily treatment (Mama’s too!) going forward. Ultimately, Baba(steve) will get to hold him too!


Speaking of miracle cures, Henry continues to receive increased levels of Mama’s milk. As of Sunday evening, he is getting 108ml a day! The increased feeding volume is in direct proportion to his weight, and hold on to your socks, he now weighs 2 # 11 oz! That means he has nearly gained a pound since birth!

what a great email!

steve and nikki live about 3 hours from the childrens hospital henry is in. another awesome thing that has happened....someone that goes to their church at home, has a sister that lives in the same town as the hospital. the sister is a travel nurse, that in oct, went away on a 3 month assignment...and her husband is in iraq, so she offered nikki, steve, and An Na her home to live in while she was gone!!! (follow all that?!?!?)

people are truely awesome!