Today has been an interesting day to say the least. It was a great day despite the troubles along
the way. We started out going to Aomori
just like we usually do. I had asked
Jacob to do the driving today so that I could work on my assignment that I had
procrastinated on. I wanted us to get
there and back on schedule so that I would be able to turn my assignment in on
time. Well that didn’t happen. Jacob wanted to take the truck today because
it is more comfortable to drive. I
agreed and then we headed out. We
dropped off Jason and then started the drive.
About halfway to Aomori the truck decided to stop working on us. I was working on my assignment so I didn’t
really know what was going on but Jacob said he heard a clunk and the engine
just shut off. He pulled over to the
side of the road and tried to turn it back on and it just did the clicking
sound really fast but never turned over.
We tried a gazillion times and it just wouldn’t start. God made sure that we broke down conveniently
in the right spot though. In Japan most
of the roads are one lane and very narrow.
The truck shut off right as we hit a part of the road that had a pull
off margin on the side. Perfectly
planned. Thanks God! We called around a
bit and found an auto company that would come tow the truck back to his shop
close to the base. We also have some
great friends who came and picked us up!
Jacob left a note on the car so that the Japanese police would not tow it
thinking that it was abandoned. He used
his phone to google translate a message to Japanese and then he copied the
message in Kanji (Japanese writing). I
was pretty impressed with his kanji skills.
We have no idea if it actually said the right thing but it looked like
Japanese! LOL. We should have taken a
picture. Maybe the note will still be in
the car later.
Our friends showed up and we weren’t expecting them to take us on to Aomori
but they offered to take us to see baby boy.
What awesome friends we have! We
got up to the hospital and spoke with the doctors and nurses. They had just changed his sheets so the left
his padded blankie off so we could interact with him for a bit. He made all types of silly faces at us. We caught a few yawns and he even sneezed!
LOL It was adorable. Today Jordan’s CRP
was 2.9. The doctors are still unsure as
to the location and type of infection he has.
They can’t really find anything wrong with him besides the blood work
and inflammation test. The inflammation
is going down each day with the new antibiotics that he is on so they are
working. He has low platelets. The normal range should be 20-30 when its
only at 3.1 . The reason for this Is
that the infection and the antibiotics both suppress the bone marrow which in
turn suppresses the production of platelets.
Tonight he received his first platelet transfusion. They do not see any indications of him
bleeding at all but they take all precautions they can to fix an issue before
it becomes an issue.
They have started the weaning process for the ventilator. They decided to keep him on the ARPV setting
for a while. They reduced the pressure
from 18 to 17 and now it is at 16. What
they do is reduce the pressure and then raise the oxygen concentration. So he is at 16 pressure and 35% oxygen concentration. Tomorrow they may lower the oxygen
concentration to 30% or even lower. Then
they can lower the pressure again and raise the concentration. It goes in stages like this to provide Jordan
the best transition. Before he comes off
of the ventilator they will switch the mode to PAV or Proportional Assist
Ventilation. This ventilation type is like the SIMV setting
in that it waits for Jordan to take a breath and then assists with that
breath. It is different because it only
relies on Jordan’s breathing; it does not give him a mechanical breath. It also gives more or less pressure depending
on the strength of Jordan’s breath. If
Jordan takes a shallow breath then it gives shallow pressure but if he takes a
deep breath, it gives deep pressure. It’s
slightly difficult to understand. He
will then move from that machine to CPAP.
The PAV mode cannot be used until Jordan starts taking deeper and
stronger breaths. Hopefully this will be
soon.
We also found out that his next eye appointment is Thursday. So far the middle part of his eye has still
been too cloudy for them to see the retina of his eye to determine the
condition of his eye sight. The cloudiness
should go away completely in the next two or three weeks. Keep praying for that one. They also said that his brain ultrasounds and
activity is very good and his digestion and nutrition is fantastic. His chest x-rays look clear now meaning the pneumonia
is gone! YAY praise God!
After we talked to the doctor for a while, the nurse asked if we wanted to
hold Jordan again. Of course we wanted
to!! We both held him for a few minutes
each. He’s so wonderful. Still small but he feels heavier than before!
LOL. He was also being wiggly and
expressive. I am so much in love with
him. Such a perfect little angel! Cannot
believe he is almost two months old. Words cannot express how great it feels to be
able to hold him in my hands and cuddle his sweet little body. We are blessed beyond measure. God has such great plans and is working
miracles all around us.
Lord I praise you for this day. I
thank you for the fellowship that you allowed us to have with some great
people. Thank you for friends willing to
stop whatever they had planned for the day and come rescue us in the middle of
nowhere. What an awesome testimony. You provide so many things for us. I thank you for allowing the truck to break
down in a very convenient spot that allowed us to sit on the side of the road
for a few hours without the worry of being harmed or interfering with oncoming
traffic. That was definitely something
to be thankful for. We would ask that
you would allow the truck to have a small issue and not a major one. If this is not in the plans then we trust
that you have greater things in store and that junking the vehicle will not be
a problem. Lord we thank you that baby
boy is showing improvement with this new infection every day. We ask that you would reveal the location and
type of infection to the doctors so that they know how to handle it better. We ask that you would continue to allow the
weaning process to go smoothly. Give the
doctors wisdom to decide which ventilator modes are best and when to make the
transitions. Heal Jordan’s lungs and
increase his breathing strength. Allow
him to come off of the ventilator quickly and effectively. We ask that you would clear up Jordan’s eyes
so that the doctors can begin to focus on any eye issues that he may have. We ask that Jordan would have full sight
functions and no major eye damage from the prematurity. Lord please restore Jordan’s platelet levels
with the platelet transfusion and allow for no side effects. We praise you for placing us in Japan
specifically for Jordan’s care. Lord I
thank you for being the cornerstone in our lives and leading us. When I lean on you completely, my burdens are
light. I praise you for this awesome
power and support that you place in our lives.
You are holding my entire family in your arms. We are so blessed. I love you lord. I hope that I am bringing you joy and
satisfaction. Use my voice lord to speak
to others and to guide others to you. Thank
you for enveloping me and my family in your love, Father. Give us rest and endurance. In your name we pray, Amen.
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