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BASEBALL, NICOLE GRACE, AND ANNIVERSARY
#1 · August 7, 2004, 3:35 pm
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
Dear Friends, Family, and In-Pact Intercessors:
Four important things, including the latest on Nicole Grace.
1. We just got a note from Dr. Bernard Holmes' daughter concerning his health. As many of you know, Dr. Holmes and his wife, Joyce, are natives of New Zealand who came to the U.S. many years ago. He became well known across America through his profound Bible teaching at various Christian schools, the most recent of which was Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. He was "Mr. Spiritual Growth and Discipler" to all who know him.
Dr. Holmes will undergo bypass surgery Monday at Cox South Medical Center in Springfield, MO on four blocked arteries, two at 99% and two at 70%. Please pray for him, Joyce, the children, and the entire medical staff. Pray that the surgery will be successful and that he will once again be restored to good health and a long life of ministry ahead. You can e-mail at bgholmes@ipa.net. Their home is still in Bolivar, MO.
2. Pray for our upcoming congregational meeting September 5th (when we challenge the church and explain to them regarding the transition away from an IMB missionary) and September 18th and 19th (when we celebrate the church's 10th Anniversary. We're trying to notify all former members, attendees, and pastors of this great event.
3. Pray for our Spanish ministry. Recently our Spanish ministry "pastor", 'Jesus, met about 20 Cuban and Ukrainian guys who wanted him to help them start a baseball team (he's a former semi-pro player in Cuba). He made it straight with them that they'd be talking about God, and they openly welcomed that. Well, last Saturday, NINE of them accepted Christ! Pray for this great work and its explosive growth.
4. Update on Nicole Grace: Here's the latest encouraging letter we got from Deanna Friday.
-----------------------------
Hello everyone!
Nicole had her first visit to her local doctor today. She's up to 6 pounds! Because she's been holding her saturations at 99 to 100% about 95% of the time, we get to turn her down to .4L of oxygen. He would like us to try to wean her down to .3L by her next visit next Thursday. She also gets to increase her feeds to 55 ml per feeding. Next week we'll talk about possibly spacing her feedings out to 3 ½, maybe 4 hours.
She has noticeably improved in her muscle tone, strength, range of motion, etc. She is doing some normal baby things, a little behind schedule, but so much better than even a week ago at the hospital. She is focusing her eyes on black and white objects and also tracking moving objects some.
She likes to be cuddled on our chest - it seems to really help her tummy aches that she gets from constipation (a problem with Trisomy's). She's been sucking a lot on her pacifier. However, the doctor wants us to wait until she gets closer to 8 pounds before trying to bottle feed her again. The therapist has given us good ideas of how to continue her oral stimulation.
As long as we get the monitor attached to her foot good, it doesn't go off hardly at all - unless she gets REALLY mad!
I (Deanna) am doing better. Actually, the feelings of despair began to go away within about 20 minutes after sending the special request. We switched our nighttime routine last night, including moving her to the living room, and I got about 4 straight hours of sleep before a near 2 hour process of feeding her, rocking her to sleep, going back to bed, back up to rock her more, etc. After that I began to have what could likely be anxiety attacks influenced by Benadryl at bedtime and never did get back to sleep. . . . . It's most likely stress, which sleep is the best cure for, however being "stressed" over getting to sleep is not going to help. So please continue to pray for that concern. If I have trouble tonight (without Benadryl), I'll call my doctor tomorrow and see if there is anything I can take.
We go back to the doctor in Quincy next Thursday; then to St. Louis for a check-up and visit with the cardiologist on Aug. 26th. Sept. 7th we go back to get her g-tube replaced with a g-button. She will have a follow-up extensive hearing exam at 3 months old (not yet scheduled). Then in Jan. she already has a follow-up with genetics in St. Louis.
In the meantime we have school starting in 2 weeks, 3 weekly nurse visits, 3 weekly PT visits, speech and OT visits - plus the medical equip. folks coming to change our oxygen tanks.
Our church continues to be awesome in all this. We have food delivered each day, which is so wonderful. Even have laundry being done for us. If only someone could take a shower for us.. 😉
Other than measuring out medicines and feeding through a tube on a rigid schedule, changing diapers around a couple wires, etc., life is pretty much the same as getting used to 3 kids in the house under any circumstance.
Guess that's it. Please continue to pray that we will sleep and sleep well. For the amazing amount of peace that we have experienced through most of this, there is no reason why the Prince of Peace can't handle the anxiety of sleeping as well. I know the stress is very present regardless of whether or not we are aware of it, but there's no reason why we shouldn't sleep any less peacefully (though shorter in time) than during the past several months.
----------------
Nicole had her first visit to her local doctor today. She's up to 6 pounds! Because she's been holding her saturations at 99 to 100% about 95% of the time, we get to turn her down to .4L of oxygen. He would like us to try to wean her down to .3L by her next visit next Thursday. She also gets to increase her feeds to 55 ml per feeding. Next week we'll talk about possibly spacing her feedings out to 3 ½, maybe 4 hours.
She has noticeably improved in her muscle tone, strength, range of motion, etc. She is doing some normal baby things, a little behind schedule, but so much better than even a week ago at the hospital. She is focusing her eyes on black and white objects and also tracking moving objects some.
She likes to be cuddled on our chest - it seems to really help her tummy aches that she gets from constipation (a problem with Trisomy's). She's been sucking a lot on her pacifier. However, the doctor wants us to wait until she gets closer to 8 pounds before trying to bottle feed her again. The therapist has given us good ideas of how to continue her oral stimulation.
As long as we get the monitor attached to her foot good, it doesn't go off hardly at all - unless she gets REALLY mad!
I (Deanna) am doing better. Actually, the feelings of despair began to go away within about 20 minutes after sending the special request. We switched our nighttime routine last night, including moving her to the living room, and I got about 4 straight hours of sleep before a near 2 hour process of feeding her, rocking her to sleep, going back to bed, back up to rock her more, etc. After that I began to have what could likely be anxiety attacks influenced by Benadryl at bedtime and never did get back to sleep. . . . . It's most likely stress, which sleep is the best cure for, however being "stressed" over getting to sleep is not going to help. So please continue to pray for that concern. If I have trouble tonight (without Benadryl), I'll call my doctor tomorrow and see if there is anything I can take.
We go back to the doctor in Quincy next Thursday; then to St. Louis for a check-up and visit with the cardiologist on Aug. 26th. Sept. 7th we go back to get her g-tube replaced with a g-button. She will have a follow-up extensive hearing exam at 3 months old (not yet scheduled). Then in Jan. she already has a follow-up with genetics in St. Louis.
In the meantime we have school starting in 2 weeks, 3 weekly nurse visits, 3 weekly PT visits, speech and OT visits - plus the medical equip. folks coming to change our oxygen tanks.
Our church continues to be awesome in all this. We have food delivered each day, which is so wonderful. Even have laundry being done for us. If only someone could take a shower for us.. 😉
Other than measuring out medicines and feeding through a tube on a rigid schedule, changing diapers around a couple wires, etc., life is pretty much the same as getting used to 3 kids in the house under any circumstance.
Guess that's it. Please continue to pray that we will sleep and sleep well. For the amazing amount of peace that we have experienced through most of this, there is no reason why the Prince of Peace can't handle the anxiety of sleeping as well. I know the stress is very present regardless of whether or not we are aware of it, but there's no reason why we shouldn't sleep any less peacefully (though shorter in time) than during the past several months.
----------------
In reference to Deanna's not sleeping, she had shared in this letter and a subsequent one to Jo Ann that she felt much of this was a combination of Benadryl, weariness, and maybe some gastro-intestinal problems.
Thanks for praying about these matters. Please continue praying specifically, authoritatively, and confidently over the requests we've sent in the past. Some people pray "opportunistic" prayers; others pray "importunistic" prayers. The latter are those who pray until the answer is given, the burden is lifted, or God reveals other plans. That's what we're asking you to pray.
In His Bond, For His Kingdom, and To His Glory,
Bob and Jo Ann
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