Endurance is Leaving Seattle!

Dear praying loved ones,

Mike sent this wonderful update regarding Endurance to our church and I cannot think of anything more to add except my deepest appreciation for the same two doctors Mike already has, Dr. Lewis-Newby and Dr. McQuinn.  God has used them mightily!  Huzzah!

**************************************

From Mike, April 26, 2011...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

Today we are praising our Saviour!

 

On February 2nd they were telling us to remove life support.

That Endurance was not happy.  He didn't want to be

reintubated, they said.  He wasn't comfortable.  He could

die in the intubation process.  Just let him go 'peaceably.'

 

Now we will be flying out of Boeing Airfield on a Med-Jet.

To go to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH.

 

Both Dr. Galantowicz in OH and Dr. Burke in Miami are both

willing and able to conduct the needed surgery for Endurance.

 

What a difference.  Instead of having to decide to let him die

or to reintubate, now we had to make the really difficult

decision of which surgeon to send Endurance to!  

 

Both of these gentlemen are top tier.  And their teams are also.

Heather and I are indebted to these two teams for accepting

Endurance, when fourteen others said 'No,' five others haven't

got around to presenting him yet, and one other said he'd do 1/2.

 

Columbus is only a 4 hour flight for Endurance, rather than

six to Miami.  Time in the air while intubated is crucial.  The

team here is saying that if a miracle worker [like Burke] fell

out of the sky and said, "I'll do it!" (which is what Dr. Burke

did!), and Dr. Galantowicz was the other option, they would

still go to Galantowicz simply based on the number of times

he's done this exact surgery.  Babies come to him from

around the world for this surgery.  He created the Stage One

Hybrid that is used around the world today.

 

I might add, we are also indebted to the fine staff here at

Seattle Children's.  If it wasn't for Gordon Cohen and Tom

Jones doing the Hybrid, and the amazing Cardiologists,

both regular and  Interventionalists, the attending Intensivists, 

the jolly good 'fellows,' the nurses and RT's, the nutritionists,

pharmacists and PACT team members, and yes, even the

Ethics Committee members - if not for these blessings from

God, Endurance may not be alive today.  And a special

note of thanks to Dr. Tim McQuinn, who helped me when

everyone else in this building gave up on us.  And to Dr.

Lewis-Newby, who had the dream about Endurance and

came in the next day and started things moving.

 

God is so good!  We still have some bureaucratic red tape to cut through that may take another 3 days to 2 weeks before we

leave, but it's happening, the Lord Willing!  Now, we will be

making all of the various logistical decisions regarding who goes, who stays, if any, how do we get there, do we sell this 9 mpg van and get a cheaper one for the drive, do we keep a house here vacant during a potentially long recovery... ??? We figure if the Lord can take care of the Big stuff, the little things will all work out!

 

Thank you for all your prayers along this way we've come.

 

For Christ and His Kingdom,

 

Mike & Heather Holston, for all the Holstons;

Isaiah, Sarah, Hannah, David, Elijah, Noah, Faith, and Endurance

 

"And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes,

that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young

man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses

and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

II Kings 6:17

In the Waiting Pattern

I just wanted to quickly update y'all...

Last Friday Oregon Children's Hospital called Mike and told him "no" to our request for Endurance's surgery.

Tomorrow Stanford Children's will be presenting Endurance to their team and hopefully we will know their answer shortly.

The Columbus OH surgeon had a few more questions regarding Endurance's overall health.   We asked a specific doctor here to talk with him directly, then this surgeon will re-present Endurance to his team either tomorrow or Friday.

We are still awaiting answers from other hospitals as well.

Behind the scenes we've been meeting with a quaint woman who is now going to play a heavy part in Endurance's departure here from Seattle.  She has all of the paperwork filled out except the "hospital transferring to" line!  We've had doctors bending over backwards to help Endurance.

This is slowly becoming a reality to me.  If Endurance makes it through these high-risk procedures, he actually will be coming home!  We're not sure where "home" will be.  I can't think that far ahead!  There are so many unanswered questions about so much that it can be quite overwhelming.  I am elated that God is in control of everything and I can cast all my cares on Him.

Please continue to pray for our family.  We really appreciate your prayers!!!!

Looking Brighter

It is a gray, rainy, spring day in Washington.  But it's only what you think of it, right?  Because we're quite happy here!  Why?  A couple of reasons....

Endurance has his first tooth!    It was discovered quite by accident.  He needed suctioned, something that we're allowed to do, which is basically the same as being at the dentist and having someone put that vacuum-like tube in your mouth to clean it.  Well, I was cleaning his mouth out and this white thing wouldn't get off of his gum.  Hence, I felt it and got a surprise!!!  Sometimes I forget that while he's living in the ICU, he's still a baby and I should except baby things!  So now when he's crying or agitated, we have to add "possible teething" on his list.

Next item...

So far, Endurance has two teams of surgeons that would be honored to perform his Comprehensive Stage II surgery!  Yahoo!!!!  The Children's hospitals in Florida and Ohio have both said yes!  We're still waiting on other hospitals' responses.  Some have come back saying no.  Portland OR will present Endurance tomorrow morning to their group of cardiac specialists.  Stanford Children's (CA) will do the same next Wednesday, Lord willing.

God is so good.  I cannot thank Him enough for using Mike in so many ways to talk directly with all of these surgeons, regarding Endurance.  Some have even called us at home in the evenings.  I always thought that you couldn't talk directly to these surgeons, as if they were too busy sitting on a pedestal or something.  God has shown me not to misjudge people.

Our family asks for prayer for guidance in so many decisions that will be made even as soon as tomorrow.  May God be glorified in every word spoken, decision made, and detail regarding Endurance.  Thank you!!! 

Endurance's pulse can be faintly heard in his right foot now.  Thank you for your prayers!  Yesterday he did not have a good day.  He slept pretty much throughout the day.  His saturations were low, heart rate high, even while sleeping, and temperature high.  His coloring also was a dusty grayish type of color.  So they have took blood cultures to see if he is brewing some sort of an infection again.  Also he had a blood transfusion to see if this would help, which it did.  His blood count was lower than usual.

Today he is doing much better, but the doctors wanted more blood cultures taken and a urine sample to be taken.  They don't think he looks like his usual self.

We have sent out the reports to the surgeons that wanted more information and are now waiting.

Thank you again for your prayers,

Heather

Psalm 33:20...Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

Endurance had a cardiac catherization procedure this morning.  All went well.  He is back in his room right now recovering from the anethesia.  This procedure's results will give the information that various surgeons have requested of Mike, who has been speaking with them back and forth these past couple of weeks.

I do ask for prayer for Endurance.  His upper right leg is where the doctor went in to do this procedure, and now they are unable to find a pulse in his leg.  He has had these interventional procedures before and the second one, I believe, is where he obtained a blood clot in his left leg (and has been on Enoxaparin ever since).  His right leg is also where his picc line is running through.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Endurance.  We so appreciate your love and encouragement.

P.S. We were blessed with a really good nurse in preparation for today.  She requested to be Endurance's nurse!  Thank you Genevieve!