Update on Conner

Now that I have my laptop and Conner is resting peacefully, thanks to the sedative Chloral Sulfate, I thought I’d take some time to update what’s been going on with this crazy quick onset of symptoms that put Conner in the PICU at Dell Children’s Hospital. 

 

First, let me say that God is always so faithful.  Walking through valleys such as this gives Him an extraordinary chance to shine brighter than He already does as He shows off the variety of ways He’s continuously meeting our needs and holding us up in the most unpredictable circumstances.  When we think know  we cannot take another step on our own, He so faithfully carries us.  I want to thank our oldest son, Parker, for driving to the hospital today to deliver all of the stuff that Mattie packed for me.  And thank you, Mattie, for gathering everything you knew I’d want and need while I stay by Conner’s side until he makes it home again.  And thanks to my sister, Trisha, for helping in so many ways, from delivering food and snacks to me, to having Sawyer spend the night with you, to cleaning poop out of Conner’s car seat and washing his diarrhea-saturated shorts!!!  And thanks to our children at home who rise to the occasion to fill my shoes in my absence—you do all things well!  And many thanks to my faithful friends who always step in without even being asked to bless our family with meals during times of crises.  Thanks Elizabeth and Alyson for bringing goodies by the hospital and for visiting.  Last, but not least, many thanks to all of the web warriors out there who lift us up to our loving Father, who hears our prayers and is proud of the way His army battles and holds us up during times of tribulation.

 

As you know, we’ve been through the ringer lately when it comes to health issues and hospitalizations in our family.  Satan’s relentless in his attacks, but Jesus is victorious.  He’s already won this battle, and when we’re weak, He is strong.  This we know well through personal experience.  Satan will NOT win this battle because we fight from the victory of the Cross, and we know the end of the story—Jesus TRIUMPHS!!! 

 

So, to recap what occurred with Conner, on Monday he got 3 immunizations (MMR, Varivax, and Hep A), his first US immunizations (he received MANY immunizations in Ukraine).  We have mixed feelings regarding immunizations, but both Conner and Cooper are going to start public school (in a very small Kindergarten self-contained special education class) in our little town on August 27, so we decided to get them both immunized.  Since both boys received SO MANY vaccinations in Ukraine, with no recorded reactions/problems, we decided to just get the required school vaccines and not wrestle with this decision.

 

Well, on Tuesday at 5PM, Conner started running a fever of approximately 102.5 (underarm temp with cheap digital thermometer, but he was BURNING up with fever to the touch).  We figured it was a reaction to his immunizations, so we gave him Motrin.  Conner just wanted to sleep, so he skipped dinner and slept soundly until he woke around 8PM covered in diarrhea.  He also had some retching/vomiting, and was unable to eat or drink without it coming right back up.  The diarrhea has continued since then, without ceasing, round-the-clock, diaper after diaper after diaper.  Usually every 10 minutes to 1 hour, Conner fills a diaper (or overflows it!) with watery diarrhea that resembles a breastfed baby’s stool (seedy, yellow), only it also has mucus and blood in it.

 

Conner had several diarrhea diapers that filled his crib during his sleep Tuesday night, which required bathing Conner because he was absolutely covered in it from head to toe.  At 8AM Wednesday, the inconsolable crying started.  Conner had an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist scheduled for 2PM that day (to discuss the extreme vomiting that Conner’s been having the past few months, unrelated to this current episode), so I thought I’d just take Conner to that appointment and discuss the current diarrhea/GI symptoms in addition to his “usual” vomiting.

As we were driving to Conner’s GI appointment, he got so much worse with his inconsolable crying.  He filled his car seat with diarrhea, and required 3 diaper changes on the 1 hour drive.  Due to worsening and severity of symptoms, I made the decision to skip the GI appointment and go straight to Dell Children’s ER.  Sidenote, Conner said his first word in his desperate plea for help—“MOMMA”!!!!  Such a pitiful way to elicit language, but I rejoiced that Conner now has a momma to cry out to for help!!!

ER thought Conner had intussusception (where intestine prolapses), but ultrasound of bowels showed no signs of it.  Conner had gotten severely dehydrated in a matter of hours, so they bolused him with IV fluids twice.  They also drew blood to run labs, and after we waited in the ER for about 6 hours, the lab results were enough to get him admitted to the regular floor.  Conner’s inconsolable crying/moaning/wailing told us he was obviously in pain, we just needed to figure out the source so we could help him.  He was absolutely miserable and ended up crying inconsolably for about 15 hours!!!

Look at those horribly dehydrated lips!!!

 

And look at how much pain our little hero was in.  Nothing could console him.

 

Sawyer was such a big help to me, particularly while I changed diarrhea diapers and cleaned poop off my clothes.  I ended up in scrubs by the end of the night due to getting covered in poop numerous times.

 

Once Conner was admitted and settled into his room, he started convulsing and his skin became mottled and purple.  The head pediatrician for that floor jumped on it, and in a matter of minutes, Conner was surrounded with about 15 medical specialists.  He was going into shock with pre-renal (kidney) failure and was acidotic.  They immediately transferred Conner to the PICU via a special transport team. 

The series of tests began Wednesday night via the PICU, although stool cultures were sent off from the ER.  We’re still waiting for confirmation of tests that are taking a while to get back because they need to keep growing, but so far, everything’s been negative.  They’ve tested for all sorts of parasites, bacterial illnesses, viral illnesses, blood work, etc., but everything’s been negative so far.

Thursday Conner woke, after a rough night and a day filled with inconsolable crying, to the most pitiful hoarse cry/moan/wail.  He spent all day Thursday with intermittent bouts of pain.  A repeat ultrasound of bowels was performed, but it was still clear.  Conner was still in obvious pain, but medicines are hard to figure out because of a variety of factors.  No antibiotics (yet) because that can make diarrhea worse if the cause isn’t bacterial.  He can’t have good pain meds because narcotics slow motility, and if this diarrhea is the results of a virus or bacteria, he needs to get it all out…narcotics could potentially slow that process.

 

Conner was given Chloral Sulfate, a sedative, to help calm him down and relieve pain if possible.  That helped Conner rest, and it’s been our lifesaver since he can’t have good pain meds.  We still don’t have any answers.  Peds GI came by Thursday evening to discuss everything.  He ordered an upper GI, which will happen sometime Friday morning.

 

One thing is for sure, the doctors are running every type of test imaginable, looking for all types of bacterial or viral causes of the diarrhea, as well as anything anatomical they can imagine.  Nothing is showing the cause of Conner’s pain.  Please pray for wisdom and answers and a speedy recovery.  We need the healing touch of our Jehovah Rapha in a mighty way!!!

Conner is in the PICU at Dell Children's Hospital diagnosed with shock, pre-renal failure (kidneys), and he's acidotic. They are growing blood cultures to see if he is in septic shock. He was inconsolably crying and in obvious pain for about 15 hours. This all started suddenly with the onset of fever Tuesday afternoon at 5PM, followed by bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. ER doc ordered ultrasound of bowels to check for intussusception of bowels, but it was clear. Then they started thinking he might have a bacterial infection in his bowels. After he was admitted to the hospital (on regular floor), he began convulsing and his skin became mottled. That's when they started thinking maybe his bacterial infection moved to his blood and he was going into shock. He was transferred to PICU and will remain here until they can figure out what's going on. Poor guy has been miserable. We covet your prayers!!!

What Matters?

Missing Nana

On Saturday, Kiefer (our 4-year-old Haitian son) picked up a pretend phone.  His short conversation pierced my heart.

 

Kiefer:  “Hi Nana”…(pause, as if he was listening to Nana talk)…”I miss you.”

 

That’s all it took to bring tears to my eyes.  Nana (my mom) went to heaven unexpectedly just two days before last Christmas.  She was such a good and loving grandma.  She adored children, and she helped with our kiddos anytime she could.  They all knew how much she treasured them.

 

The timing of when God took my mom to heaven hasn’t made a bit of sense.  Two days before Christmas, plus just weeks before Matt and I went to Ukraine to adopt Conner and Cooper.  My mom would have helped with our kids in our absence.  She would have helped with Conner and Cooper once they were home.  She would have been a tremendous help with all of the hospitalizations and health issues we’ve faced the last few months.  My mom always offered to help, and I never felt guilty because…well…she was MY MOM.  We just don’t feel guilty accepting help from our moms because that’s what moms are for!

 

However, in my mom’s absence from this earth, Jesus has been so very good to provide another person in our lives who continues to step in and serve in ways we least expect.  God has been using our dear friend and ministry partner, Stephanie, to minister to our kiddos and family in a grandma sort of way.  She is our amazing school teacher, but she’s also always offering to help in ways that Nana would have done.  We feel so very blessed that Stephanie is who she is.  God’s sovereignty and faithfulness is evident in so many unexpected ways.  Oh how we praise Him through this storm.

 

Kiefer, buddy, I’m with you.  “Nana…I miss you!!!”

Happy 7th Birthday, Conner!

Yesterday we celebrated Conner’s 7th birthday, which is beyond hard to believe.  SEVEN YEARS seems impossible for this lil guy, but it’s true and documented in Ukraine’s birth records that Conner’s birthday really is August 2, 2005.

Today is the 5th month anniversary of Conner’s (and Cooper’s) homecoming.  It’s hard to believe the boys have only been in Texas for 5 months, and they’ve both made such tremendous progress.  The focus of today’s blog post is Conner’s 7th birthday and the progress he’s made, so I’m going to post some photos and measurements and accomplishments of our sweet boy.

Conner’s 15-year-old prayer warrior, Madison, made the above collage in honor of Conner’s 7th birthday.  The variety of photos of Conner over the past five months is a testament to the miraculous healing of our Jehovah Rapha.  Conner was so very sick and so very tiny when he came home on March 3, 2012.  He simply is not the same child.  Our pediatrician often reminds us of what love can do.  He says nutrition is only a small part of the equation, that LOVE is the main part.  Jesus is love, and the above photos are a reminder of His amazing love and faithfulness.  Praise Him!!!  Thank you, Madison, for this beautiful tribute.  Oh, and if you like the above photo collage, I have a feeling you’ll like Madison’s blog post wishing Conner a happy 7th birthday.  Click HERE to read it.  In February 2011, Madison committed to being “Oleg’s” (our Conner) prayer warrior and advocate.  She started THIS blog, prayed without ceasing for “Oleg”, and a year after Madison’s prayer commitment to Conner, he was officially adopted in Ukraine!  I’m so grateful for Madison and all she’s done (and continues to do) to bless our family!!!  (Did I ever mention that this is the same Madison who drew us the beautiful portrait of Chrissie?  Just another continuation of our “God Nod” journey!)

 

Pictures are worth 1,000 words, so here’s what Conner looked like on the day he arrived home (March 3, 2012), at the age of 6 years 7 months:

And here is what Conner looks like five months later, on August 2, 2012, at the age of 7 years:

To God be all the glory, for great things He has done!

 

In 5 months, Conner has gone from wearing a size 1 diaper (for newborns) to a size 4 diaper!!!  And, as you can see from the above photo, he’s now HAPPY and HEALTHY!!!

Conner is a little lovebug.  We’ve never had children with Down syndrome, but many people have shared with us how those who sport “designer genes” are often the most loving kiddos you’ll ever meet.  Even though Conner was badly neglected and abused for six years, he still knows how to love.  Do you know what the very first thing is that Conner does when a person picks him up?  He HUGS the person, each and every time.  And if you make a kiss sound, he’ll reach out and plant one on ya!

While Conner isn’t biologically related to his Ukrainian brother, Cooper, he did spend his first six years in the same orphanage, in the same room/groupa, as Cooper, so they’re very much like biological brothers.  Almost everyone thinks they’re twins, and they sure act like it.  Silly “gooseballs” (as Chrissie would have said).

Conner does not yet know how to play appropriately with toys, but we’re working on it daily.  His favorite thing to do with anything, whether it be a toy, a book, a birthday gift, or any other item he can get his hands on, is THROW it.  Then he laughs with his signature deep belly laugh.

Conner can now climb our entire flight of stairs (crawling).  He also climbs out of his crib. :-)  He loves to swim and can get around the entire pool without assistance, as long as he has his lifejacket on.  He can stand alone.  He can take 4 steps without falling.  He cruises everywhere and he’s into everything.  All.  The.  Time.  Check out this video of Conner climbing a ladder at his physical therapy:

 

Conner’s sparkling brown eyes and sweet smile will light up a room.  No words necessary.

See what I mean?  Preciousness.

 

Oh, and Conner is now allowing us to spoon feed him!!!  Due to Conner being severely orally aversive, we truly didn’t think the day would ever come that Conner would allow anything in his mouth, other than his nutrition drink.  About a month ago, Conner started accepting a small spoon in his mouth, as long as it was smothered in sweet yogurt.  Today, Conner is allowing us to mix some baby foods in with the yogurt, so we’re moving toward total nutrition via baby food instead of relying 100% on liquid nutrition.  What an amazing accomplishment for our little man. :-)  So proud of him!

 

And for the number crunchers, here’s a list of Conner’s measurements/weights/sizes:

Weight (Conner has nearly doubled his weight in 5 months!!!)

• 16 pounds (March 4, 2012)
• 29 pounds (August 2, 2012)

Length (head to heel)

• 32 1/4” (March 4, 2012)
• 34” (April 1, 2012)
• 36” (August 2, 2012)

Length (hip to heel)

• 15” (March 4, 2012)
• 16” (April 1, 2012)
• 17” (August 2, 2012)

Length (shoulder to wrist)

• 10” (March 4, 2012)
• 10 1/2” (April 1, 2012)
• 11” (August 2, 2012)

Waist circumference

• 14” (March 4, 2012)
• 17” (April 1, 2012)
• 17 1/2” (August 2, 2012)

Wrist circumference

• 3 1/2” (March 4, 2012)
• 4” (April 1, 2012)
• 4 1/2” (August 2, 2012)

Ankle circumference

• 4” (March 4, 2012)
• 4 1/2” (April 1, 2012)
• 5 1/2” (August 2, 2012)

Upper thigh circumference

• 7” (March 4, 2012)
• 8” (April 1, 2012)
• 10” (August 2, 2012)

Head circumference

• 18” (March 4, 2012)
• 18” (April 1, 2012)
• 18 1/2” (August 2, 2012)

Clothing Sizes

• Shirts—12 months (March 2012)
• Pants/shorts—12 months (March 2012)
• Shirts—3T (August 2012)
• Pants/shorts—2T (August 2012)

Diapers

• Size 1 (March 2012)
• Size 4 (August 2012)

 

And last, but not least, here’s a video of our family singing happy birthday to Conner:

Happy 7th birthday, sweet son.  We love you and we’re grateful God chose you to be a part of our family!

Lucky to Love Little Lyla

The above photo gets me every time.  First of all, there’s a miracle girl in this photo (Lyla, the princess who has a heart condition and Down syndrome) who has a story similar to our Chrissie’s.  Secondly, the radiant momma who is holding Lyla is wearing her Boss Your Heart shirt, in memory of Chrissie.  The significance of this shirt on this day and the details of God making this Summer’s only wardrobe option (Summer’s luggage was lost along her journey to Ukraine, but she had packed this shirt in her carry-on) just completely blows me away.  Seeing Lyla physically touching the very handprint of Chrissie (which is in the center of the heart on Summer’s Boss Your Heart shirt) brings me to tears.  This is much deeper than I would have ever fathomed.  I can “see” and feel Chrissie in this photo, and it reminds me of what God shared with me shortly after Chrissie went to live with Him in heaven.  Beauty from ashes indeed.  Summer’s the one who actually held Conner and Cooper in December 2011 when we committed to adopting them when Vlad and Dima’s adoption fell through.  She emailed me priceless photos of our sons before we even got to meet them.  Another testimony to add to our God Nods.

 

You may recall back from THIS post, when I asked you all to pray for Little Lyla, a treasured miracle princess with Down syndrome.  Well, if you’ll go check out THIS blog (which is entitled Lucky to Love Lyla), you’ll see that Lyla’s family is in Ukraine right now loving on their miracle daughter for the very first time as they are in the final process of bringing Lyla home.  I urge you to sing praises to our Lamb with me and pray for Him to keep Lyla stable and get her home in Godspeed!

 

I met Summer in Ukraine in January of this year when she was adopting Gavin (who also has Down syndrome) from the exact same groupa (group/.room) in the same orphanage as our Conner and Cooper.  Summer tells the story HERE of how God worked miracles to connect her back to Lyla, the very princess she committed to adopt over two years ago!  However, Lyla has a heart condition and was too ill to be adopted two years ago when Summer was ready to go get her.  So, over the past two years, through their pursuit to adopt Lyla, God has brought two other Eastern European former orphans with Down syndrome into Summer’s family, and now it’s LYLA’S turn!!! 

 

Lyla is currently well enough to be adopted, Summer and her husband are in Ukraine following the steps to bring Lyla home, but they need your prayers.  Please pray that Lyla would be stable in her health, and that the adoption would be processed with Godspeed so that Lyla can fly home as quickly as possible.  Lyla is in the same orphanage that our Conner and Cooper were in, but she’s in a different room/groupa (she looks so much healthier than our guys in terms of her size/weight).  This region takes a minimum of a month and doesn’t waive the mandatory 10-day waiting period after court, but God is able to do abundantly more than our earthly brains can fathom, and He already has.  Just seeing Lyla in the arms of her forever family is proof of that!

Happy Dance

My heart is dancing like David in his ephod over here!!!

 

Can you guess why?!?!

 

ANDREW HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Andrew’s family is beginning the long, challenging, expensive journey to bring him home, and they desperately need your support.  They need your prayers as well as your donations.  They need you to share their story far and wide so others will know of this little life that is in the process of being redeemed.  It will take an army of supporters, but God’s a great Commander and He’s got this.  He loves Andrew more than we do, and He will provide to get that sweet boy into the arms of his new mommy and daddy.  Praise Him!

 

If you recall, Andrew is blind.  He was in the same room as Cooper and Conner at their orphanage.  My heart ached to leave so many treasures behind, and it ached even more to discover so few children were registered for international adoption.  My heart rejoiced when I found out Andrew was indeed available.  I long to see every child from our boys’ groupa in the arms of a forever mommy and daddy.  My heart is DANCING with the news that Andrew now has a committed family!!!  I cannot praise God enough for answering this prayer for Andrew.

 

I beg you to please donate to bring Andrew home, even if it’s just a few dollars.  Every penny counts, and God’s in the business of multiplying what we sew. 

 

Here’s how you can help and stay updated:

• Click HERE to donate directly to Andrew’s family so that they can immediately use these funds to complete their home study and to pay for dossier documents.  This type of donation is not tax-deductible, but it will go directly to Andrew’s family and be used 100% toward bringing Andrew home.
• Click HERE to give your tax-deductible donation to Andrew.  This money stays in Andrew’s Reece’s Rainbow account and will be given to Andrew’s family once they are set to travel to adopt him.
• Click HERE to follow Andrew’s family’s blog.  Leave a word of encouragement and pray regularly for God to provide the funds and expedite this process for His glory.

 

And PLEASE share Andrew’s story, as it’s a beautiful redemption story for God’s glory, one we can all rejoice in.  Thank you Spivey family for answering His call, for stepping out in faith, and for loving others the way He loves us—unconditionally.  We’re praying Andrew home and cannot wait to see him in your arms!!!  Yes, indeed, your are making a difference for THIS one!!!