Posted on 12/09/2006 8:48:18 AM PST by knittnmom
Terrific news about Ian! He's on our Parish Prayer list, and will be listed in the Parish bulletin through the Christmas weekend, so we might get a few more folks than usual praying for him!
Prayers and more prayers. For all who love and cherish this little boy too.
Yes!!!!! Thanks Lord! And thanks, 80 SM for the update!
We thank God for the good news! Our prayers will continue for little Ian and his family...
I'm so grateful for your updates and continue in prayer with thanksgiving to our Father in Christ.
BTTT
Well done, Ian! We'll keep you close to our hearts and lift you up to God unti you are home and well! Prayers continue for all involved, and thanks for the update 80sq mi!
More prayers on the way! :)
Thanks for continuing to keep my friends in your prayers. Tom posted a pretty thorough update to the CarePages, so I've just pasted it below:
"December 18, 2006 at 05:11 PM CST
Ian continues to improve. He was able to eat today, and boy was he hungry! I guess I would be hungry too, if I hadn't eaten for almost nine days. His sodium levels have stayed pretty consistent and he seems to be maintaining them without much help. His potassium was a little low, so they are watching that closely as well.
He did a lot of talking today, some of it appropriate, some of it random. This morning he informed his aunt Ellie that the character on the sticker on his hand was Magenta, not Blue. He also informed all of the group gathered this morning that he is a non-magical person--He said "I am a Muggle." He seems to respond very well to his sister Meredith--she's the one who is able to get him to talk. Morgan also had pretty good luck today too.
He had a little incident this afternoon where his heart rate spiked, his temp rose and his oxygen saturation started to drop, but it only lasted about half an hour. No one suspects that he had another seizure, but they do think it may have had something to do with irritation from being intubated. It went away as quickly as it came, and we are thankful for that.
He still seems to be very tired and has not been moving very vigorously. We suspect that this may be due to some weakness brought on by lack of nutrition. We have also been warned that the effect of the seizures may linger for several more days. I think they're talking about releasing him from the PICU tomorrow or the next day. Frankly, we'd be perfectly happy for him to be here even longer, given our experience when he was on the floor last week. Please pray for strength for his body, healing for his brain, and great communication between the PICU staff and the staff on the Peds floor.
That's about all for today. Thanks again for your prayers and support.
Tom and HJ"
When I got to Ian's room today (about 5 or so), I saw the most beautiful sight - he and his mom were cuddled together in the chair in his room! He was very responsive, and shortly after I got there, his nurse gave him a bath and washed his hair. You should have seen him! His face was pure contentment! It was as if he'd been wanting that bath and shampoo all week!
Here's Tom's update, with more details:
December 19, 2006 at 06:55 PM CST
Today, we have only good news for you. This morning, the nurse woke HJ to tell her that Ian was calling for her. When she went to the room, the nurse asked Ian if he knew who HJ was, and he said, "That's my Mommy!" Needless to say, HJ had to choke back the tears. He was very conversational all morning and talked to me and his sister Morgan on the telephone. It was a little sad, because one of the things Ian said was "I want to come home!" He pretty much continued talking(and making sense) through most of the morning. He even read the names of his preschool classmates in the picture book they put together for him.
After lunch (he ate everything he could get his hands on--we're watching to be sure his hunger off-switch isn't defective), Ian was pretty tired and he hasn't been nearly as talkative for the rest of the day. He did pick out his dinner tonight and has made a few comments about what's been on the TV, etc. Oh, and this morning, HJ reported another Ian moment--when one of the docs came in and asked him to turn over so he could be examined, Ian turned on his side, curled up and faked a snoring sleep. I'm sorry I missed it. Even the neurologist was impressed, saying Ian's recovery is the best Christmas present he could have asked for.
So, at least cognitively, it looks like Ian is on the way back. He's been able to keep his electrolytes balanced on his own and we're awaiting the results of this afternoon's EEG to see if they can reduce his dosage of the anti-seizure medication. While he's not all the way back, they feel like he's on the right track and they feel comfortable enough to probably move him to the floor tomorrow, pending a couple of more electrolyte tests. They expect to remove the central line and his catheter tomorrow--I'm sure that will make Ian happy. Still not a lot of progress to report relative to his right eye--it still looks like the optic nerve has sustained some damage.
Tomorrow, we start back on the motor skills rehabilitation. Ian seems to be moving everything OK, but there's going to be a lot of work to do to get him walking and doing the things he used to do. Ten days of laying in bed combined with hyponatremia (low sodium levels) and seizures have sapped his strength, so please pray that he regains his strength and motor skills quickly. All the girls are saying that the best Christmas present they could get is to have Ian come home for Christmas. HJ and I agree, but we're going to make sure that he's ready before we push too hard for that.
Thanks to all of you for your prayerful support and all the nice messages you are leaving on the message board. I promise we will try to write back as soon as we can. I (Tom) took the morning to deal with issues at home (the outside world doesn't stop for anyone), and there's quite a pile of just daily stuff that needs my attention, but we'll at least say "Thanks" in the update. Boy do we miss Ellie's (my sister-in-law) help since she went back to VA! Please continue to pray for Ian's full recovery and for strength for our family--we appreciate it more than we could ever tell you.
Tom and HJ
That's great news! Looks like it's going to be a very Merry Christmas for Ian's family....and I'm so thankful for that! :)
I love these updates, I am teary eyed and full of joy at the news of Ian's progress. Continued prayers for Ian's strength and recovery. Prayers for his family and all who love Ian. May God bless you all!
They're hopeful he might be able to even spend a few hours at home on Christmas Day. He's made such amazing progress, that it certainly seems a possibility to me!
What great news! Continued prayers.
Thank you - I had to hold back tears when I walked into his room tonight! Last night, I'd been talking to his 18 yo sister, Morgan, and said, "I just want to scoop him up and hold him and cuddle him, so I'm sure for you and your family, it's awfully hard not to be holding him." So, to see him sitting in HJ's lap was absolutely awesome!
What wonderful news...
Ian is a tough little guy isn't he??
Prayers continuing that he will get to a floor room, his strength comes back...and also that his eyesight in his right eye will be okay.
Thanks for the update.
sleuth
That he did, TD, that he did!
Thank you!
He sure is. But, even more, our God is a great God. Thank you for your continued prayers!
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