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