Bless Damon's Heart

Dr appt

2008-11-14T14:06:00.002-06:00

Damon had an appt with Dr Tong on Wednesday. It went great. Everything was the same as last time. He weighs 22lbs now and is 33 1/2 in long. Still so small by most standards, but I think he's just the right size. Dr Tong said that if everything continues to go this well he will most likely get to wait another 18 months or so before he has his surgery. So that would make him about 3 1/2. That's good news I think, because it means he's doing so well. But I feel that the older he gets, the harder that last one is going to be for all of us. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess. Thanks for all your prayers and keep them coming.

Sarah

P.S. Our friend Hayden had his appt the same day and got the same news. So he's doing just as well.

Ode to Barney

2008-11-10T19:24:00.003-06:00

Sugar High

2008-11-02T21:05:00.003-06:00

We've been on one ever since the boys put these costumes on and we left the house Friday night for trick or treating. Myles is Darth Vader and Damon was a Mummy. They had a good time trick or treating and everyone loved their costumes. Tonight we went to Munkin and Pa's for a family Halloween party and took a hay-ride (minus the hay) out in the field on the Gator. We had a great night. Damon has still been eating pretty well lately. I expect him to have gained a little bit of weight at his visit on the 12th, but I'm not holding my breath. We hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween.
Even as I'm typing this I can't believe it, but Damon's birthday is in 14 days!!!! This year seems to have gone by even faster than the 1st. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Happy Halloween.........and Birthday too.

2008-10-31T16:33:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and safe Halloween. Hopefully everyone will have fun and be careful at the same time. Myles is going as Darth Vader and Damon is going as a friendly mummy. We will post pictures sometime tomorrow so be on the lookout for that.
We also wanted to wish a Happy 1st Birthday to cousin Braeden. He is a Halloween baby and the boys are looking forward to his party tomorrow.

Hope you have a great day and be looking for those pics tomorrow.

Thanks!!

I'm afraid to say it!

2008-10-21T14:06:00.002-05:00

Something good has been going on around here and I've been afraid to post it for fear it will go away. Has that ever happened to you? It has to me. But it's so great that I feel I need to share. So I'm gonna whisper it to you.

(This is me whispering.) Damon has been eating really well lately. Shhhhh! Don't tell!

Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Here goes

2008-10-14T09:09:00.002-05:00

Ok so it's been a few weeks since we last updated. Sorry about that, but the computer has been broken so we've been using the ones at the library and we only get an hour and they are slow so we've had to neglect a few things. But the computer is back home now and I vow to be more dedicated to this website/blog/lifeline.

Here are some things that God has done for our family this week already.
1: Our cell phone contracts were coming due and Jeremy went into to the At&t store and they told him that they weren't going to service the kind of phone's we have so we had to get new ones. We just got the newer version of what we already had. He told them to forget it if it was going to cost anything, and they said no it wouldn't. So we got new phones for free and we get to send a $50 rebate, each. So in about 6-8 weeks we will get $100 for free!
2: As I mentioned above our computer was all messed up. Jeremy took it in to see what the problem was. We thought the hard drive was going to have to be wiped out and redone, but turns out the guy was able to fix it without having to do that. And we thought it was going to cost $75 and we've let it sit in the shop for almost 3 weeks because we haven't had the money. But when Jeremy called about it yesterday they guy said he had told us it was ready, and it really wasn't so he wasn't going to charge us for fixing it at all since it took him so long to get it done.
3: If you didn't know, Jeremy lost his job a few weeks ago. It was devastating, especially since it's the 3rd time that's happened to him. Only this time, I wasn't working so it was even worse. But he got hired back at JC Penney part time and today he is starting at Fed Ex part time. Between the two jobs he will be working a lot of hours, but we are glad he is able to work both.
4: Yesterday I was able to spend the day with Myles and Damon since Myles was out of school. We had fun playing at the play group and the park. And Damon had been really constipated, but the combination of different laxatives I had been giving him worked so I didn't have to give him an enema. I know it's gross, but hey that's my life.

Please continue to pray for us. We did take a big pay cut with these two new jobs, but I know God will provide. And we still need prayer for other things that I will leave unspoken. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Request

2008-09-27T19:47:00.002-05:00

Please be in prayer for our family. Damon is fine, but we desperately need your prayers. God knows what for. Thanks.

Fall

2008-09-20T21:48:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it is already fall. Time goes by so quickly these days. Damon will be two years old in just two months. It feels like it was just his birthday a few months ago. He has been a little pill the last several days, throwing fits if he doesn't want to do something. But he is still precious. And he is talking so much! It's really great to hear him putting sentanses together and be able to carry on a conversation with him. Sort of.

Cade is doing ok. He did have some sort of infection, but it wasn't heart related and he is getting treatment at the hospital. They think they might have to stay in the hospital for some time, but hopefully it won't be too long. Please pray for him to get completely better and get to go home soon. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Little copycat

2008-09-17T21:24:00.002-05:00

Tonight as I was getting Damon ready for bed I was telling him to say all kinds of words, every word I could think of and he would repeat everything. He kind of only speaks in one syllable right now, with the occasional second one coming in, but you can tell he is really trying to say what you are saying. He also is putting words together a lot too. Tonight he said "Mama, I wa mo awsa". (Mama I want more applesauce.) He has also learned how to open doors, which mean now I cannot even retreat to the bathroom for alone time, unless I want to lock the door. And then he stands there and bangs and screams until I let him in. He also goes to the back door and opens it to see our dogs and either goes outside, or leaves it open and walks off. He's so mischievous.

I read tonight that our little friend Cade is in the hospital. He is a few months older than Damon and lives down in Texas. He has HLHS also. We first learned about Cade at our church. His Great Grandma and a lady we go to church with are friends and some emails about him requesting prayer were placed on our bulletin board at church. Then when we found out about Damon, someone mentioned Cade to me, so I started reading about him and realized they had the same heart defect. Anyway, our families have become friends. So please pray for Cade. He has a fever and his breathing was erratic so they admitted him and are running tests. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Thanks

2008-09-15T22:00:00.003-05:00

Your prayers and that medicine worked wonders for Myles. He hardly coughed at all today, and it sounded like a normal cough, not that barking seal nonsense it was yesterday. He is going back to school tomorrow and he's so excited. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Still sick

2008-09-14T22:43:00.001-05:00

Myles' croup got worse overnight so this morning I took him to Urgent Care. They prescribed him a steriod to relax his throat muscles. His cough was already sounding better after he had a dose of the medicine. But he went to bed about 9:15 and he has been coughing a lot since. Please pray for him. The cough sounds so horrible and I know it has to hurt because he winces every time. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Croup

2008-09-12T22:07:00.002-05:00

I'd like to call it another name, but I'll be nice. Damon has it, Myles has it, I have a scratchy throat and Jeremy isn't feeling great either. Cold and flu season is upon us already! I had intentions of staying home more often this winter, keeping Damon away from public places more, but after staying home for 3 straight days with him, I'm going crazy. I hope we have a very short winter this year!

So please pray for us to all get better.

Sarah

Sick boy

2008-09-10T07:48:00.002-05:00

Damon hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. He had a fever Monday and Tuesday morning so I took him to the dr yesterday and he has an ear infection. And I'm pretty sure he has croup too, even though they didn't diagnose that. He has been very cranky and not really sure what he wants.

Also as you all know, he has trouble with constipation, however after we treat that sometimes he goes so often that he gets bad diaper rash from being cleaned up so much. So last week I called and got him a prescription for that. I thought it was helping but turns out, it just made it worse. He kicks and screams and thrashes around whenever it's time to change his diaper, it's so painful.

Last night in my efforts to try everything I could think of,I put corn starch on him, thinking that would help. He was already very cranky and kicking around so after we sprinkled it on I sat him up. When he looked down he let out this terrified scream when he saw the white powder on his privates and on his stomach. It was pretty funny!

Please be in prayer for him. And Myles too, he woke up crying about a mysterious bump on his ankle. It looks like a mosquito bite, but he says it's painful. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Computer

2008-09-08T13:27:00.002-05:00

Last night I was messing around with the computer trying to find something and I found a list of all the programs we have installed on our hard drive. There were some that we didn't ever use and so we removed them. Well that was a big mistake because now our internet won't work. We still have a connection, but the internet explorer icon doesn't work, so we can't pull up the window. (I'm using someone else's computer to type this.) We have tried several things to fix it, but nothing has worked so we are thinking we will have to wipe out our hard drive then put all the programs back on. ARG!!! So who knows what will happen, but just pray that we don't loose all our pictures! Talk to you soon

Sarah

Elijah is home!!!

2008-09-04T21:55:00.001-05:00

Thanks for all the prayers you all sent up to our Father for this little boy and his family. God does answer prayer! Here is what his mom posted earlier today...

Just a quick note

to let you all know that WE ARE WALKING OUT THE DOOR AND GOING HOME! I will update from home later! We are very excited to be discharged and getting home. Thank you for everything!
Love,
Bec & Elijah

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

2008-08-30T15:17:00.002-05:00

I have several things to say, so this might get a little long.

First, an update on Elijah. He had to have another surgery to put in new chest drain tubes. The procedure went well, but then he had to go back in and have another one put in because they found more fluid in another spot. As soon as they got that one in, they drained a ton of fluid. They sent some of the fluid off for testing and it had bacteria in it. So now he's on 3 antibiotics to fight that and they told his parents he will have to go home on iv meds. Please pray for no more set backs for him.

Second, we found out this week that we make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. So once all the paperwork gets processed we will be loosing that and then we will start receiving bills for every drs appt that Damon and Myles have. Up to this point in Damon's life we haven't had to pay anything for his medical care, and we are so grateful for that. However, being a one income family, our money is tight and we really can't afford to pay any of the bills we are going to start receiving. Also, we got an update on one of our utilities and it has doubled so that's hurting us too. The bottom line is, we need some extra income to make it. But every idea we've had to get some has a road block in front of it. We really are trusting God to take care of this because frankly we have no other choice, and we know that He will. The other thing that would greatly help is if we could sell our car. That would free up some of our monthly income. So please be in prayer for us on this matter.

Third, in my efforts to be frugal, I gave Damon a hair cut today! Yikes! He did great though and his hair doesn't actually look that bad...at least not that I can see. And Myles is going camping tonight with Pa, and he's so excited. He's been doing really well at school and on the bus and brought home his first homework assignments on Friday! He's so grown up, tear! I hope you all have a great long weekend and be safe!

Sarah

Update on Elijah

2008-08-27T16:31:00.002-05:00

He has been having lots of trouble with draining fluid from his chest and his chest tubes are causing him a lot of pain. Well yesterday they took out one of them and were hoping that the remaining fluid would drain out of the one that is left, but I just read his website and the drs have found a pocket of fluid behind his heart that the drain tubes weren't getting to. He went to the cath lab earlier so they could try to drain it in there, but they told his mom if they can't, he will have to go back into surgery.

I know you all probably get tired of me giving updates about someone that you don't even know. But listen, this little boy needs our prayers. And so does his parents. One open heart surgery is such a huge load to handle on a little boy's body, but this little boy has had one major open heart surgery, and two heart caths so far, all in about 3 weeks. A heart cath alone is a major procedure. And now they are talking about possibly another surgery...that is so scary to hear.

I know that we can sympathize in ways that most of you probably can't in this situation. Not too much longer from now we will be in their same shoes. But imagine if this was your child. Wouldn't you want everyone you knew to pray for them? Please, please lift up this boy and his family to God in prayer.

About slide show below...

2008-08-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

if you want to hear the song, press play on the little box in the bottom left corner. If the video covers up the pictures, just click the "x". I hope you enjoy!

Sarah

Tryin something new...

2008-08-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

Still pray

2008-08-20T14:49:00.002-05:00

Little Elijah is still in the hospital and his drain tubes are giving him a lot of trouble. They are still draining a lot and they've actually taken them out and put new ones in. He is having a lot of pain because of them and he also is having trouble keeping food, and meds down without throwing up. His dad has gone home to be w/ their other two kids and that leaves his mom there alone. That is rough on her. Please keep this little guy in your prayers, he really needs them right now. He's stable, but just having some complications that are keeping him in the hospital.

Also, pray for Jeremy and I. We decided last month to start making a budget and sticking to it so we can try to get our debt paid off asap. We believe that being debt-free is God's desire for us, but the devil is trying to throw us off in our efforts. We know God will provide for us, but please pray that we won't get discouraged and that He will be that provider. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

This Week

2008-08-16T20:53:00.004-05:00

I'll be sending my baby to Kindergarten!!! I can't believe it. Myles is so excited for school to start. He keeps asking if tomorrow is school day. We are going tomorrow to his open house, and school starts on Wednesday. He is going to have such a great time there. But please everyone pray for him on the bus. If you will remember, he had a hard time behaving.

Elijah Palmer is doing really great. He was extubated a few days ago and has moved from the intensive care unit to a room on the floor. I haven't seen anything more on his page about his lung infection so I'm hoping that means it's all gone. He is still draining a lot out of his chest tubes and they can't find the reason why. That has to completely dry up before he can even thing about going home so please pray for that.

Also, there is a little girl, Allie, that we go to church with. She has had a surgery on her stomach because she couldn't keep any food down for a long time. Well she has lost a few ounces the past three weeks so her drs want her to go back to KC and see what is going on. She will be there on Wednesday to have an upper GI scope test done. Pray that nothing is wrong and it's just a lactose intolerance problem, or something else minor.

Granny and Pa (Jeremy's mom and dad) are going on an Alaskan cruise this week so we can't wait for them to get back and tell us all about it. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Pray for Elijah

2008-08-12T09:06:00.003-05:00

Please continue to pray for Elijah Palmer. His drs found that he has a lung infection. He has also been having irregular heart beats, which is causing his blood pressure to act up. He is very sick right now. The drs are going to do an echo today to see if they can find what's wrong, if they can't find anything w/ that they are talking about doing a cath, but that's very dangerous so soon after surgery. His mom said on the last post for him that they have also discussed reversing his Fontan. I don't know what his options would be if they did that, since he isn't handling it well this time. I think that would be a very last resort though. Please pray for this little boy. If you want to read his carepage, go to www.carepages.com and you will have to create a user name and password and his carepage is titled "elipalmer". The site would update your email address every time it is updated.

Dr Appt today

2008-08-11T17:21:00.002-05:00

Damon went to see Dr Tong today. He did well, and everything is just the same as last time, which is just what we want to hear. He still only weighs 20lbs. He is only 2 ounces short of 21. So he's gaining weight, just at an extremely slow rate. His sats were also really high today, around 89-92%, the highest they've ever been. They have been hanging out around 78-83% the last several times we've been to see Dr Tong. So that was good to see. We are so grateful for how well he has been doing the past few months. Thanks for all your prayers. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Elijah

2008-08-08T10:53:00.002-05:00

He had his Fontan surgery on Wednesday. Right now, he having a little trouble with his blood pressure, and a fever. Please pray that this fever will go away and he does not have any infections. Also, his mom and dad have been staying at a hotel near the hospital. There are no rooms available at the Ronald McDonald House so when they check out of the hotel (probably today) they will be sleeping in the waiting room. NOT COMFORTABLE AT ALL!!! Pray for a room to open up for them.

Jeremy will be flying home tomorrow. Please pray for safe travel for him. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Prayer requests

2008-08-06T21:21:00.003-05:00

Elijah Palmer had his Fontan this morning. Surgery went well. His carepage update says he needs prayer for his heart rate to come down and his blood pressure to stabalize. Please pray for a quick recovery for him. And pray for his family to have strength.

Gage is a little boy with brain cancer for the 2nd time I've mentioned on here before. He had surgery a few months ago to remove a tumor. He had an MRI either yesterday or today and the radiologist saw something. They were told it could just be a clump of dead cells, but fear creeps up at the smallest things. Please pray for a best case scenario for Gage, that it is indeen just a clump of nothing and that the cancer will stay away.