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Give a gift in honor of this child.
Sarah Rose
Sarah Rose Stirling Benefit Fund
Account # 1868030064
TCF Bank
200 25th Ave
St. Cloud, MN 56301
The bank manager is Cory at: 320-253-5693 (if you would prefer to do a direct deposit into her account from a different bank - I know this can be done as well, but I don't know the specific details as to how). I was told that any TCF Bank should be able to pull up the account, and the monetary gift can be deposited at any TCF Bank.
Otherwise, if you would prefer to send your gift of love to our home, our address is:
Rik and Diane Stirling
15525 Grover Ave NW
Clearwater, MN 55320-2142
UPDATE: 2-20-06
Sarah has a staph infection in her blood. They are treating her with
IV antibiotics for 10 days, and will then switch her over to oral
antibiotics until her sternum is healed, inside and out. The doctors
plan on removing the IV treatment on Feb. 22nd, so we will be planning
on taking her home shortly after that. They will not place a central
line for IV antibiotics at home, nor will they place a G tube for
feedings at this time. They feel that she is too fragile and should
wait a while. So... we will be learning how to insert the NG feeding
tube and take care of her with that for now. We continue to try to
help Sarah improve with her oral skills in hopes of being able to have
her breast, or bottle feed, instead of these tube feedings.
Sarah's bilirubin is on a downward trend, now at 13.? for the direct
bilirubin.
Her oxygen requirements continue to diminish. She is at a flow of 1.5
at 30%, yet when we bring her home we will not have the option of
adjusting her oxygen. We plan on bringing her home with oxygen, oral
antibiotics, and a NG feeding tube.
Prayers requests:
The oral antibiotics will be assimilated by her stomach and liver and
continue to kill the infectious germs
Sarah's oral skills will improve to the point of that she will not
require a feeding tube
Sarah's heart and liver will continue to heal and return to normal size
We are hoping that Sarah will be able to be weaned from the Lasix, so
that her kidneys will start to function again (she has become dependent
on the lasix now). They have her on the lasix to keep her ''dry'',
supposedly so that her heart doesn't have to work so hard moving
fluids. I continue to wonder if this is ''really'' good for her, as it
robs her precious body of important electrolytes (potassium, magnesium,
sodium, chloride), of which ALL can effect her heart.
At this point, the doctors are trying to obtain a stool sample.
Sarah's stools are full of mucus, and they are trying to see if she has
an infection, due to her normal flora being destroyed by the
antibiotics that she is on...
KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING - THANK YOU EVERYONE - GOD IS STILL IN
CONTROL, AND WE TRUST HIM WITH OUR PRECIOUS GIFT OF LIFE!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 2-15-06
Hello All,
Sarah has had her feedings increased to 18ml per hour, so she is handling food well. Her asitis seem to be down, or gone in her abdominal area. I haven't been able to talk with the infectious disease doctor yet, but he did see Sarah today. He switched her vancomycin over to oxycillin, and left the clafrin (spelling?) the same. It sounds like they are thinking about a discharge date of next Wednesday - I don't know if this is too soon to take her off of IV antibiotics, and I will definitely be asking the doctor, hopefully, tomorrow.
Sarah will at this point, be going home with an NG tube, or so it sounds. We are hoping that she won't need a tube placed in her stomach later, yet we desire to strengthen her first before any surgery, if she doesn't need the central line placed for any antibiotics. I will be working with her oral skills in hopes of getting her to breast, or bottle feed more at home.
I found out that our insurance will only pay for 30 days of home nursing care, 2 visits up to 4 hours per day. SO... it will be VERY different in our household after a month - I can't begin to think about how we will manage, YET I know that the LOrd will see us through it.
I WILL LOVE EVERY DAY THAT I CAN HAVE WITH SARAH IN OUR HOME, BEING WITH OUR FAMILY!
Please be in prayer with us:
Heart to return to normal size and work perfectly
Liver to return to normal size and work perfectly
Lungs to continue to heal and that she won't need any support eventually.
Immune system to be strengthened, as she has had 3 infections now, with 3 rounds of antibiotics.
We are hoping to get her home soon and start strengthening her precious body. :)
Thank you for all of your continued prayers for Sarah and for our family.
God bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 2-14-06
Hello,
They found out the strain of germ Sarah has. It is called staphyloccoccus aureus (spelling?). It is sensitive to methicillin, which she hasn't been on yet. She will require IV antibiotics, so we are discussing another surgery to place a central line in her that is more permanent to be able to bring her home quickly. We are also hoping to have a tube placed in her stomach for feedings, instead of the NG tube (which is in the nose). Since she will be sedated anyway, it would be good to get both done at the same time. The concern is - if her heart will handle the surgery and recovery time. Please pray that Sarah will make it through the surgery ''with a quick healing'', - that she will come off of the anethestics, pain medications, and ventilator easily so that she will be able to go home.
Keep the prayers coming - thanks!
Diane
UPDATE: 2-12-06
9:00 PM
Sarah NOW has a blood infection - NOT good... We don't know ''what''
strain it is yet, so we don't know how long the coarse of antibiotics
will be. It sounds like 6 weeks of IV antibiotics is the minimum. So,
we need to find out about a central line needing to be placed, which
would mean a ventilator again, and anesthetic requirements. If the
infection is in the bone, then we may need additional surgery to clean
the bone. They are hoping to ''grow'' the culture out by tomorrow, and
we will talk with the heart surgeon tomorrow, and hopefully an
infectious disease doctor, to see if they think it is in her sternum.
We are praying that if she needs additional surgery to place this
central line, that her heart will be strong enough for her to recover
from the stress of the surgery, anesthetic and the ventilator. We
would also have them place a feeding tube into her stomach at the same
time. If we can have a broviac central line placed, then we can bring
her home and administer antibiotics through an IV at home.
Our God can bring her through this and we continue to press in and pray
for Sarah's healing!
Please continue to keep Sarah in your prayers - thank you!
Much love in Christ,
Diane
I have just gotten off of the phone with Diane…it is 2:10PM.
Sarah Rose will not be going home today. She has an infection in her blood. They are waiting on cultures to determine the exact type and whether it is also in her bones. This will require her to have a central IV line for long term antibiotics. She will have to be put to sleep for this line to be put in and that is a big issue with her heart and liver issues right now. Please pray for doctors who have compassion and a desire to help her. Pray for God to simply intervene and restore her heart and liver to health as well as remove the infection. I ask God to just, “fix her”.
Please pray for Diane and Rik to have strength, wisdom, and peace as they make impossible choices in the midst of negativity and opposition. Let us not be judges. We have not walked in their shoes and though we may think we know what we would do and what should be done, we don't. Please just lift up and give encouragement and support as I know you always do. May God's glory manifest itself in the life of Sarah Rose.
God Bless and thank you,
Elizabeth
UPDATE: 2-11-06
Hello,
Sarah has just had what looks like 2 seizure episodes (2/11/05). We
are going to bring her home on Sunday, as we would prefer her to be at
home with her family, if she is close to the end of her earthly life.
Her white blood count is about 29000, normal is 15000 - they don't know
if she has an infection, or if it is elevated due to stress. They will
start her on antibiotics and phenobarbital (for the seizures?) - please
PRAY, PRAY PRAY!
Any thoughts from other T18 families, or families with liver, or heart
issues on this appearance of seizures - please let me know...
ALL PRAYERS ARE NEEDED FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY SARAH!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 2-10-06
Hello,
Sarah's direct bilirubin is VERY SERIOUSLY HIGH - she is now VERY lethargic, and if it doesn't come down she will not make it. Her liver is VERY large, ''they say'' due to her congestive heart failure, or the heart could be having problems due to the liver - they don't really know, or so it seems.
Her pace maker was changed to 160 bpm today (it was set before at 140bpm) - we don't know why - the report only mentioned that it was changed - not why it was changed.
It is very difficult to get anyone to do any additional tests, as they seem to just be leaving her as she is, blaming it on the T18, as in the past. They aren't sure what to do either...
We continue to pray for her healing - she really needs a LOT of prayer tonight, as does our family/doctors in all decisions that are ahead for her. If nothing is to be done at the hospital, then we will be taking her home rather quickly, as we would prefer that she pass from this life into eternity with her family, not the hospital staff.
WE THANK THE LORD FOR THE TIME WE HAVE HAD WITH HER, AND CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR MORE TIME. :)
Blessings to all!
Diane
UPDATE: 2-8-06
Hello,
Thank you for your prayers for Sarah!
Sarah is still having congestive heart failure (heart is enlarged),
liver (direct bilirubin is VERY high - almost at 27 again, and her
liver is still VERY enlarged)), and lung problems - she is doing quite
well with staying between room air and 30% oxygen, and is at a pressure
of 3. The nurse noticed blood streaks in her stool today, so they are
doing a culture and xray... I haven't talked with the doctors, so I
don't know what could be causing this.
We continue to pray for healing for her entire body! We are moving
forward in hopes of trying to bring her home - pray that this
transition will go smoothly.
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 2-5-06
Hello All Prayer Warriors,
PRAISE REPORTS:
Sarah had her central line removed today (2/4/06) (it had been in for
over a month - yuk!). NO more IV's - Yea! They stopped the Milrinone
(heart med) to see if she really needs it (please pray that she
doesn't, as she can't go home with this drug, as it can only be given
through a central line). If she does require it, then surgery will be
required to have a more permanent line placed for long term use. They
don't know if she would be able to make it through surgery, due to her
heart failure.
Her oxygen needs are at 28-30% (room air is 21%) and the flow is now
down to a 3. We continue to pray that she will be weaned from this
soon and will be back to room air, taking her own deep breaths in and
out without any assistance.
At this point, we will opt to take her home with a NG feeding tube,
instead of having surgery to place a feeding tube in her stomach. (
surgery isn't a good option at this time-heart concerns). As she
continues to improve, we will be able to schedule the surgery for this
tube later, IF she doesn't learn to breast, or bottle feed (we are
starting to try both - practicing oral exercises with her each day).
She is up to 16cc of breast milk, fortified with other stuff, per hour,
and is handling this well. I still am not sure about the fortification
stuff, "if" I will continue this...
Sarah is off of the Neb treatments for her lungs - only an "as needed"
basis. She is also off the phenobarbital (helps with the bile)...
We will continue to seek out alternative types of
healing/herbs/medicine as well to help her body to heal naturally -
craniosacral therapy, rekia, healing touch, massage, reflexology,
accupressure, garlic, hawthorne, milk thistle, blessed thistle omega 3,
L-acidophilus... (If anyone knows a herbalogist that might know of
other herbs to help with the immune system, liver, lungs, heart, brain
development, digestion, etc. - please let me know).
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR SARAH:
That her congestive heart failure will cease, and that her heart will
HEAL from the surgery, and work properly.
That her lungs will continue to improve so that she will not need any
type of assistance.
That her direct bilirubin (jaundice) will go away (her liver needs
healing - shrink down to normal size and remove the bile).
That her immune system will be STRONG, and her digestive system will
work properly.
That Sarah will be able to nurse, or bottle, instead of an NG feeding
tube.
That her brain will have normal development, along with the rest of her
precious body...
GOD IS SO GOOD - OUR FATHER, SAVIOR, COMFORTER, HEALER - PRAISE HIS
NAME IN ALL HE HAS DONE FOR SARAH AND WILL DO!!! WE CONTINUE TO PRAY
THAT SARAH WILL BE A MIGHTY WITNESS FOR THE LORD!
Thank you for ALL of your continued prayers and gifts of love for Sarah!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 2-2-03
We are scheduled for a care conference on Friday, Feb. 3rd at 11:30am. We are hoping to develop a plan on her care, in hopes of bringing her home. Sarah is still having congestive heart failure, her liver is enlarged, along with her spleen, and her lungs seem to be slowly improving. The infection seems to be under control - praise the LORD! Her immune system needs MUCH improvement! We realize that she is not able to go home while on this pressure type of nasal canula, so it could be awhile - I pray not... Her heart seems to be the big issue that effects everything else - pray for the heart muscle to return to normal size and heal from the surgery.
We have started some alternative medicine - cranial sacral therapy, herbs, massage, Rakia, relexology, accupressure, etc. - these will be starting while hospitalized - she had her first cranial sacral therapy today and seemed to really enjoy it.
Please pray for the Lord's guidance in this meeting, along with continued prayers for Sarah's complete healing.
God bless everyone!
Diane
UPDATE: 2-1-06
Hi, Diane requested that I send out an updated prayer request for little
Sarah. She needs continued healing for her heart, lungs and her liver. They
are also going to have a care meeting on Friday with the doctor to see about getting
her home. Please pray for wisdom for everyone involved. Please also pray
that they will be able to get a nurse or aide or someone that can come in
and help them care for her. Thank you and Lord Bless!
April
UPDATE: 1-30-06
Sarah still needs prayer for healing in these major areas: heart,
lungs and liver... Her CO2 is up, her bilirubin is in the low 20's
which is high... I am hoping to talk to an alternative doctor this
week (hopefully soon). She is on 30% oxygen which is good though...
Thank you for keeping everyone in the loop, and for ALL of the prayers!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-28-06
CO2's are at 53 this morning - no ventilator, just Cpap
congestive heart failure and liver failure - continues - I haven't
heard anything new...
Keep the prayers coming - THANK YOU ALL!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-26-06 2AM
Update: 4PM
Sarah's CO2's were down to 51 at 11:00am - no intubation - praise the
LORD! Keep praying for her heart and liver to return to normal size
and working order, and her lungs to heal and the infection to clear.
God Bless,
Diane
Sarah is having a hard time - her heart is enlarged - the atrium (top
half is not working properly - don't know the details yet - they did an
echocardiogram on 1/25/06), her liver is VERY enlarged - don't know the
ultrasound results yet (done 1/25/06), her CO2's are down tonight
(11pm) - praise the LORD for this! She is still on the C-pap, was
given ativan to settle her down and now she is resting.
Still waiting to talk with the doctors - please pray that the doctors
would be guided by the Lord in ALL of their decisions regarding Sarah's
care - THANK YOU!
I will update when I know more. :)
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-27-06
Sarah's CO2's are at 74 this morning - I believe they will be
intubating her as I write this... Her bilirubin is still high, but
lower then 2 days ago... Her heart is very large, along with her
liver... She does have an infection somewhere and is on 2 different
types of antibiotics - she needs a Miracle for her body to heal - which
is an easy request to give to GOD! Please continue to lift her up in
prayer!
Thank you for updating her site and for all of the continued prayers
from everyone!
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-24-06
Tuesday, January 24, 2006 9:57 AM
Hi, I am just sending you the most recent update from Diane this morning.
Everything went great with the removal of the vent and now she is on a CPAP. They are hoping to get that turned down and onto a nasal can in a few days. Please pray for her lungs to keep getting stronger and her heart to continue to heal. They are still concerned about the fluid in her abdomen so please keep that in prayer and for her bili-ruben to keep climbing down. Thanks!
April
Tuesday, January 24, 2006 12:39 AM
Hi, I just got a message that they are planning to take little Sarah off the
ventilator tomorrow since she is doing so well. They said that even though
she will most likely do well, it is still a risky thing so Diane was asking
for prayer regarding this. Since Diane has been home more I noticed that she
has been keeping up this site: http://childrenofpromise.net/sarahrose.html
with more continuous updates in case you would like to follow things a
little more closely. Thanks and Lord Bless!
April
UPDATE: 1-20-06
Hi,
Sarah is now in the NICU - she is on full feedings - YEAH! She is OFF
ALL continuous IV's, as well as the TPN. Her bilirubin has dropped
again, and is now down to 9.8 direct - we pray that it will continue to
go down to normal. Her ascites (spelling?) is still in her abdominal
cavity - this MUST go down before they will think about taking her off
of the ventilator. She has been having some trouble with the new
ventilator - the one in NICU is different from the PICU one - they are
trying to figure out a good setting for her that she can handle well -
hopefully they will figure it out soon.
They believe she may be addicted to morphine, or the past narcotics
that she had been on. She has been VERY agitated the past 2 days and
has required morphine and ativan (spelling?) to settle her down. It is
hard to imagine what her little body is going through in trying to
recover from all the medications, surgery, etc. We continue to pray
for the Lord to fill her with his peace, and comfort her, heal her, and
to strengthen her whole body!
Let all His people - praise the LORD!
Diane
UPDATE: 1-17-06
Hello,
Sarah is doing well, considering she had a pacemaker installed. Her bilirubin is down to 17. from 27, which is great! She is off the milironone and they are finally increasing her breast milk feedings, and decreasing the TPN. Sarah will be heading for the NICU tomorrow - please pray that this goes well. Her ascites is NOT good - she still needs to reabsorb the good fluid that is accumilating in her abdominal cavity. She will not be able to come off of the respirator until this fluid subsides. God is able to do this very easily, and we continue to petition him for a complete healing on her life.
Thank you for all your continued prayers for Sarah - we see much hope ahead - she is feisty...
Diane
UPDATE: 1-16-06
Sarah had her pacemaker installed this morning. She is still asleep from the surgery... her heart and lungs are doing well with it. No feedings yet, as her stomach and bowels are still asleep. Her ascides (fluid in her abdominal cavity) is not good - she needs to retain this fluid, not leak it out into her abdominal cavity. The surgeon said that he was discouraged when he opened her up in that she is "not" healing as he would like her to be doing. Please pray that her nutritional needs can be addressed, and quickly. Her bilirubin is VERY high, yet has remained stable for the last 3 days (high 20's - not good). It sounds like Sarah will be moving to the NICU tomorrow, so we are praying for excellent doctors, and nurses to be caring for her.
Rik is back to work in the morning, and I will be back to being mommy at home... I don't know how often we will be able to check on her, or visit her, so I am a little stressed about this - I continue to pray that the Lord will give me MUCH peace in this area.
Keep the prayers coming!
Diane
UPDATE: 1-13-06
Sarah Rose will be going into surgery for a pacemaker at 8am Monday Please pray she won't need the pacemaker and will find permanent sinus rhythm. Protein still leaking and stomach looks bloated. Increased Lasix to get fluid off her lungs. Jaundice has worsened. Stats look good. Please pray for these specific needs as well as overall healing. We will keep you updated.
UPDATE: 1-12-06
Hello,
We were told that Sarah threw up last night, most likely due to being
taken off one of the sedatives (fendynl?spelling), so they have
withheld her feedings AGAIN! Pray that none of it went into her lungs,
since she is on a ventilator. Her bilirubin has now doubled - NOT
good... She still needs to find her sinus rhythm, as her top and
bottom of her heart are not in rhythm. They have dropped her Nitric
oxide down to 5, and hope to wean her down to 2% today. Her oxygen had
to be bumped back up to 50%, due to her stats were dropping in the low
90's when the nitric oxide was lessened down to 5 from 10.
Continued prayer for her heart to find it's sinus rhythm again and be
able to keep it! Also, her lungs to be strengthened and be able to go
back to room air. Sarah needs to be able to eat in her tummy more
(they are starting her back at 2ml per hour of breast milk today and
hoping that she doesn't throw up again), as the TPN (IV nourishment
that can cause liver problems) could be causing some of her liver
issues, we don't really know what is going on with the bilirubin
stuff... We are praying that it is just a trisomy 18 problem, and will
go away, as the other trisomy 18 children's bilirubin levels have
returned to normal after several weeks.
The protein stuff doesn't seem to be leaking anymore within her
abdominal cavity - praise the Lord! We are praying that her body is
absorbing this much needed nutrient.
Please pray that they won't need to give Sarah anymore morphine - as it
just slows everything down in her system. I am praying that they will
allow her to tolerate more on her own, before just giving it to her
first...
God Bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-11-06
Jan. 10-11:55AM
Hello,
The doctors will be trying to keep Sarah stable and quiet today. She did fairly well throughout the night (she has more awake times now - which is wonderful). Her O2 sat's remain in the 90's, and her oxygen level is at 50%, nitric oxide at 20%. They don't plan on weaning her today, or changing much of anything - they are taking it SLOW. She is VERY dried out, so they will wean back on her Lasix today. Her potassium levels are constantly being chased, trying to keep them at a normal level. Hopefully, with less Lasix she will be able to keep them within the normal limits and that her heart will work perfectly.
Praise report: They have increased her feedings up 1ml, from 4ml to 5ml per hour (small baby steps forward in digestion).
I don't know much news about her heart/lung issues - just trying to give her time to heal.
They will be placing a stitch in the incision where one of the drain holes are today. They are concerned that bacteria could enter in. Hopefully, the protein that has been leaking out will be reabsorbed and not bloat her abdominal area up. Her tissues need to quit leaking this protein from them and absorb it to nourish her.
Continued prayer for: heart/lung healing, lungs to remain clear, heart to return and maintain sinus rhythm, digestive system to return to normal, liver and kidney function to be normal, and I continue to pray for normal brain development, protection for her eyes and hearing, and that the extra 18th chromosome will be null and void within her body!
Thank you for all of your prayers for Sarah!
God bless,
Diane
UPDATE: 1-9-06
8PM
Hello,
We continue to pray for Sarah's heart to return to a normal sinus rhythm, that her
lungs will be strengthened and stay clear, that her protein will not leak out of the drain
holes in her abdominal area - it needs to be absorbed by her body, that her digestion will continue to wake up and absorb the nutrition that is being given to her, and that EVERYTHING will work properly - all these things are POSSIBLE with God!
It was such a hard time Sunday night with Sarah going back on the pacemaker, due to her heart acting up. It seems that we take 2 steps forward, and 1 step back, and sometimes 2-3 steps back - it is such a slow process for healing, much because she is so small. She needs to get some good fat on her bones. :)
A quick miracle would be wonderful, yet I will take a slow healing as well - I continue to trust in the LORD, as I continue to press in with MORE prayers - he is so faithful!
When I am weak, He is strong - I am pretty weak these days...
Blessings to you all - Keep the prayers coming,
Diane
I have just gotten off the phone with Diane. Apparently she had some problems with her heart last night. I'm not totally clear on all the issues so please pray for normal sinus rythmn, infections to heal, and normal pressure on both sides of her heart. She needs prayer for her lungs to strengthen. They think she may not be absorbing her proteins and needs prayer for nutritional needs. Pray for the doctors to agree on the avenue of care she needs. There seems to be some confusion between the surgeon and the cardiologists. They are discussing moving her back up to NICU. Please pray for good nurses and care personnel on that floor. Pray for her drainages to decrease so the tubes can be removed as well as overall healing and health.
Diane also needs your prayers as she tries to understand the medical jargon and make decisions for Sarah Rose. Her husband is not able to be with her right now so she needs extra prayers for strength and wisdom.
I will update again as soon as there is more news to share. It is always a battle with a Trisomy 18 but with God nothing is impossible. Thank you for your continued prayers.
God Bless,
Elizabeth
UPDATE: 1-8-06
Sarah did fairly well last night. They have weaned her O2 down to 55% overnight, and her BPM down to 22 from 24 (she was hyperventilating due to the ventilator machine, her CO2's were low).
They are discontinuing the medication that keeps her pulse low, as she has remained stable in that area.
Her bilirubin was up a little bit this morning, it could be due to stress on her system, so they will continue to monitor this.
She was starting to digest the breast milk, but no bowel sounds have been heard, so they can't up any of the feedings until her bowels "wake up". I don't know if that can happen while she is heavily sedated.
She has gotten an infection around her chest sutures, and around the holes where the drain tubes were located, so they have started her on a heavy dose of antibiotics that cover a wide spectrum of germs. Please pray that the antibiotics "nip it in the butt quickly".
In terms of her breathing - they will not be doing much of anything today - they want to move slowly.
In reference to her heart repairs:
We did find out that she has a small hole around the VSD patch repair, so she still has a small VSD. I don't know the size, but pray that it will not increase as she matures. They don't intend to do anything with it. She does have pulmonary hypertension (high pressure in the right side of her heart), which is causing her lungs to not properly work. This is why they are giving the nitric oxide to help her lungs uptake the oxygen. It seems to be working -
GOD IS SO WONDERFUL IN ALL HE HAS DONE - SO MANY MIRACLES EACH DAY - IT IS AMAZING TO SEE HIS HANDYWORK IN ALL AREAS OF HER BODY. WE CONTINUE TO CLAIM HEALTH AND HEALING IN JESUS NAME FOR HER LIFE! WE TRULY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR PRAYERS - THANK YOU - KEEP THEM COMING, AS WE STILL HAVE MANY ROADS TO GO DOWN.
"Future" prayer concerns for Sarah -
extubation will go well (when she can finally come off the ventilator)
she will be able to breast feed, instead of having a tube placed in her stomach
her liver and kidneys will continue to function normally
the soft malrotation in her small intestine will not require surgery (it is non-problematic right now).
WE CONTINUE TO PRAY THAT EVERY AREA OF HER BODY WILL BE STRENGTHENED, AND HEALED, AND THAT THE EXTRA 18TH CHROMOSOME WILL BE NULL AND VOID IN HER BODY!
It has been an amazing journey, and the Lord has placed many families in my path to witness to, and pray for!
Prayer requests:
9 day old girl, Elan, - RSV - continue to heal
12 week old - Trisomy 21 boy, named Leo - please pray that he will not need a pacemaker - he had surgery right before Sarah and his heart has not paced since.
a small boy, named Isaac - continue to heal from heart surgery - he has been extubated and doing well - praise the Lord!
God bless all of you!
Diane
UPDATE: 1-7-06
Hi,
Sarah had a rough time last night with keeping her Sat's in the 90's. She seemed to range from 70's- high 80's. They tried a few different approaches, but not much change through the night, or this morning. They have increased her blood volume with albumin (twice), and tried an extra Neb treatment, along with suctioning as well. Not much else can be done, PLEASE PRAY for her lungs to heal!
PRAISES: Her heart has shrunk in size and is ALMOST normal now!!!!! Sarah has FINALLY found her sinus rhythm path (freeway route in her heart), yet she still alternates from her sinus path to the junction path (country route in her heart). Her pacemaker is only on stand by, if her heart were to drop below 80 bpm. Please continue to pray that her heart will stay on the sinus rhythm path, and that her bpm will stay consistent. She is doing wonderful in terms of her heart issues, considering that she just had her chest closed yesterday! They are going to possibly remove her 2 drainage tubes from her chest today.
The BIGGEST concerns right now are her lungs and oxygen saturation levels. A normal oxygen level is 100%, so she needs to continue to move towards that level. Her lungs needs to become stronger and be clear of all junk.
They are going to start her on 3ml of breast milk an hour, just to coat her stomach and start it thinking about working. Since she is heavily sedated, her stomach is most likely asleep, so until she can come off all of the drugs, she won't be able to eat for awhile. They are continuing her on the TPN (IV nourishment). They will increase her Lasix to help remove some more fluid from her system.
The doctors are talking about moving her to NICU sometime in the near future. I don't feel comfortable with that idea yet, due to the history from her NICU stay. Please PRAY for her to have excellent nurses, and doctors when this transition occurs.
I will not be able to be with her like I have been, due to Rik will be returning to work, and we will lose the childcare that we have had. Major fears of not being able to be at the hospital to monitor her care - I need to give all these fears to the Lord!
Thank you for ALL your continued prayers for Sarah! The Lord is SO worthy to be praised!
Diane
UPDATE: 1-6-05
6:24PM:
Sarah's chest was closed today - PRAISE REPORT!
They have lowered the pacemaker settings so that unless her heart drops below 80 bpm it will not activate (it was at 130).
Her heart still needs to figure out the proper route for the electrical impulses, and to stay in rhythm. We are praying that she will NOT require a pace maker.
Added concerns: liver function, digestive system function, kidney function, lung function, etc. -that all these will function normally as her body continues to recover. They will be keeping everything pretty much the same over the next few days to allow her time to adjust to her chest being closed. They are also keeping her body temperature lower so that her heart will not act up. Hopefully, she will be able to start some breast milk on Saturday to start her digestive system up again. She is pretty stable right now, considering.
The Lord is SO good - we continue to trust in Him and pray for a complete recovery!
Thank you ALL for your continued prayers for Sarah - the Lord is faithful and definitely answering them. :)
God bless you ALL,
Diane
I was finally able to leave the hospital today for a little while, to open a Benefit Fund Account for Sarah, as was recommended by April. Please forward this email on to everyone on your prayer chains - thank you!
We are asking only that each family prayerfully consider what the Lord would lead them to give as a gift of love to help with Sarah's care. The information is as follows:
Sarah Rose Stirling Benefit Fund
Account # 1868030064
TCF Bank
200 25th Ave
St. Cloud, MN 56301
The bank manager is Cory at: 320-253-5693 (if you would prefer to do a direct deposit into her account from a different bank - I know this can be done as well, but I don't know the specific details as to how). I was told that any TCF Bank should be able to pull up the account, and the monetary gift can be deposited at any TCF Bank.
Otherwise, if you would prefer to send your gift of love to our home, our address is:
Rik and Diane Stirling
15525 Grover Ave NW
Clearwater, MN 55320-2142
Sarah is critical, yet stable. She still needs to figure out how to reroute
her electrical pulses in her heart - they said it is like her heart is going
the country route, and she needs to learn to send the signals the freeway route. She
is scheduled to have her chest closed on Friday, at 1:45 pm. On Saturday they
will try to start her on breastmilk feedings again. Her bilirubin is now at
6.1 total, which means that her liver is functioning - PRAISE THE LORD for
everything!!!! We continue to pray for His healing touch on her whole body that everything will line up properly, function perfectly, and that the extra 18th chromosome will be ''null and void'' in her precious body!
MUCH CONTINUED PRAYERS ARE NEEDED! PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS FAITHFULLNESS IN ALL HE HAS DONE IN SARAH'S LIFE THUS FAR!
May the Lord continue to bless ALL of you for your faithfullness in praying for Sarah!
Diane
ADDED: 9-10-05
Condition=Our unborn daughter has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18. She
is due on Nov. 30th, 2005
Comments:
I thought I would send you a photo of our unborn daughter, Sarah,
taken on 8/17/05. She weighed in at 1 lb. 2 oz. Isn't she
beautiful?! Thank you for all prayers for her! We are continuing to
pray for a complete healing, which includes: that her body will get
rid of the extra 18th chromosome, that the VSD (hole) in her heart
will close, that her brain will develop normally, that her hands will
be able to open and close, that she will be able to nurse, breathe,
etc. She is swallowing amniotic fluid, which is a good sign! We
continue to trust the Lord and pray that His glory will be revealed
through her life!
God Bless,
Rik and Diane
 
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