Recovering well at home

Dear friends, the cardiac catheterization was done successfully with no complications. Thank you for your prayer support and concern for Z.

She did very well and was a good girl through it all – even when the doctors had to set the IV plug in her hand, our brave girl didn’t even shed a single tear.

Z took everything in her stride, as she has become so familiar with visiting the hospital over the years, she was very relaxed. I give thanks to God for her calmness and confidence!

According to Z’s cardiologist, Prof Quek, both her shunts are functioning well, and are not blocked. The total correction surgery need not be so soon as we thought, but it depends on Z’s need for oxygen. According to him, delaying the open heart surgery for as long as possible is advisable, as the pulmonary artery graft could last in her body from as short as 5 years, or as long as 10 years or beyond. She is in the Lord’s hands.

During the hospital stay, Z did manage to have some fun on the playground…

and eat french fries…

We discharged from the hospital the next evening at 7pm. We were exhausted but happy to be back in our own bed. Lizzie told me “I’m so happy to be at home with you Mummy!”.

She has also been very good keeping still so as to not disturb her healing wounds, and even helped me to change her dressing!

Lizzie in charge of opening the tegaderm…

There it is! landed on her chin

Z's sticker reward chart

Plus she got the two stickers required to complete the set of 10 on her sticker chart to get her reward…. See how happy she is??

Meanwhile she is aware of the dressings, and is so cute, as she walks very carefully taking v small steps. Thank God she did not complain of anymore pain by this evening, and is now sleeping soundly.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.

God Bless,

Elaine

Cardiac catheterization scheduled

Dear friends, the hospital has confirmed that the procedure will be done under General Anaesthetic on Friday 15th October early in the morning at 8:00am.

I ask for your prayers for the procedure and the post operative recovery period to be smooth and speedy. I will be updating the blog again after her discharge.

Thank you to everyone for the prayers and encouragement – I’m sure it will be over before we know it!

God Bless,

Elaine

Hospitalization scheduled on 14th October 2010

Dearest friends,

I just want to thank you for your help and support during the last 3 months. For those of you that are aware of our situation - it was a difficult time for myself and Lizzie, but with the love of our close friends and family, and with God's guidance and protection, we are doing very well, and Lizzie has even gained almost 1.5kg!

To those who have shared so much with us, in your time, resources and care - and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and we love you all very much.

As you have figured out from the title of this post - we have to be admitted next week for a cardiac catheterization. In short, it is NOT a surgery as such, but kind of like doing an investigation or probing/scope of the heart. But it IS invasive, and will require Lizzie to be under General Anaesthesia. For those of you who want to find out more in detail - go to http://www.medicinenet.com/cardiac_catheterization/article.htm

Lizzie will be admitted at NUH at 3pm on 14 October, and will stay the night, so that the doctors will be able to run all the necessary tests before the actual procedure on the 15th.

So I humbly ask once more for your prayers.
That the procedure will go smoothly from beginning of the admission, to the catheterization procedure, to the discharge. I ask that you pray specifically that no complications will arise, and that Lizzie will recover quickly from the whole procedure, as we are hoping to be discharged on the same day if possible.

On a lighter note, before I sign off, Lizzie celebrated her birthday on Aug 9 and we had a lovely Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake which she just loved to bits.

God Bless,
Elaine

Conversations with Lizzie

Dear friends,

I just wanted to share something that deeply touched my heart recently, and will be encouragement to those of you who are fellow believers.

Last Sunday, I was talking to Lizzie and it went something like this:

Mummy : Lizzie have you seen any angels protecting our house?

Lizzie : No angels. Only Jesus.

Mummy : Where was Jesus? Downstairs?

Lizzie : No, in my room.

Mummy : What did Jesus say to Lizzie???

Lizzie : Jesus hug me and say “be well” (she literally said those words)

Mummy : Oh! That’s wonderful. Did you feel happy when Jesus hugged you?

Lizzie : Yes, I am very happy.

Mummy : What else did Jesus say ?

Lizzie : He said must wear spectacles

I thought I would test her out a bit and ask her what Jesus looked like. To my surprise and awe, she told me that his eyes were white, and he was wearing a dress. Not pants, but a dress. A white dress.

PTL!! This is consistent with Christ’s appearance in heavenly form.

“…the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire…” Rev 2:18

“…His garment was white as snow…” Dan 7:9

making cupcakes

Because of her encounter, her transition into wearing spectacles has been an amazingly smooth one, despite being down with the flu and having to get used to wearing the spectacles at the same time – she’s our cheerful, bubbly girl once more.

God Bless,

Elaine

Update 26 may 2010 - A small victory

Lizzie insisting on wearing her white "flower girl" shoes with her PJ

Hi everyone, we brought Lizzie for her appointment with the cardiologist on Monday (24 May) and it was a bitter-sweet visit for us. We are so relieved and happy to hear that the cardiologist is still comfortable with her oxygen level, albeit lower. He thinks that she is not in desperate need of a surgery in the short term. However, he wants to do an invasive procedure on Lizzie sometime this year to assess the conditions of the 2 shunts (tubes from the previous surgeries) supporting her blood flow to the heart.

We were also told that while the major surgery that Lizzie has to go through in the medium term will correct her missing-artery issue, there are cases where the donor artery may only last 5 years (we were previously told that it lasts for 10 to 15 years). When that happens, Lizzie will be back on the operating table. That is a great blow to what we are already preparing ourselves to accept for Lizzie's life.

To us, the stake has just been raised. High-risk open-heart surgeries for the rest of her life every 5 to 10 years!! This thought brought us down on our knees, begging God for mercy and a much-needed miracle for Lizzie.

While we pray fervently and unceasingly for her well-being, we treasure our moments with Lizzie. We do what we can to let her lead a fulfilling and God-honouring life. Lizzie is looking forward to being a flower-girl for the first time on 31 May. She takes her practice very seriously.

Never thought I have to deal with a boy dragging my daughter down the aisle so soon!!!

Lizzie also visited a farm with her school friends on 25 May. I went along and had a great time with her. We sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars and Ba Ba Black Sheep on the bus home. These are simple things I will always remember and thank God for.

Lizzie and the terrapins

Update - 20 May 2010: A time of waiting

Dear friends, thank you for the many encouraging messages and prayers for Lizzie. We treasure each and every one of them.

Playing dress up

Lizzie's oxygen level is still pretty much a roller coaster ride with good times of 80+% and bad times of 50+%. We pray for God's grace to be with her especially during times of de-saturation so that nothing drastic will happen. This is a time of waiting, and of prayer, as we look towards her appointment with the cardiologist next week.

Apprentice chef

Lizzie continues her daily activities, oblivious of her condition. It breaks our hearts to think about what may possibly come her way. Whatever she has to go through, we will be right by her side. We pray that you will help us pray for her too.

Update - 10 May 2010

Our first reaction to Lizzie's decreasing oxygen level was to meet her cardiologist immediately to come up with a remedial plan for LIzzie. However, after calming down a little, we decided that the first thing to do is not to run to anyone but God. We will keep the appointment on 24 May so that we can pray for her.

We are more vigilant in monitoring Lizzie's condition and are taking readings of her oxygen everyday. We noticed that it is lower when she is awake, at around 68 to 74%. When she sleeps, her oxygen level is higher at around 78 to 82%. We are collating this data to meet her cardiologist on 24 May.

Please therefore pray that in the short term, Lizzie's oxygen level will improve, especially during her waking hours when she is quite active (as a 4-year-old) so that her cardiologist and surgeons will not immediately require her to go under the knife. And, for the longer term, for God to heal her of this heart condition so that the need for a major operation will pass by her, not just this time, but for good.

Lizzie enjoying a little drizzle in her ladybird gumboots

Why we are praying for a miracle

Dear friends, thank you for reading this blog. Knowing that you read it gives us motivation enough to keep blogging about Lizzie's progress. We will also be using this blog to keep all our friends updated of any procedures and developments in future. Having the comfort that our daughter is covered by your prayers means a lot to us. We know that prayers will move the hand of God, who is always merciful and loving.

I also want to explain why we have been stubbornly praying for a miracle, instead of trusting medical science to take care of Lizzie's conditions. We do believe that God can heal us through doctors and surgeons, and such professionals and their knowledge are God-sent. In Lizzie's case, the experts are saying that they can operate on her when necessary to put in a human graft (a donor artery) to address the issue of the missing pulmonary artery. In the same operation, they will also rectify the VSD (simply, a hole) in her heart.
What these do not address are:
1. donor graft is not permanent. It may calcify and require replacements, every 10 to 15 years. For a 4-year-old, that will mean many surgeries for the rest of her life.
2. Her chromosome defects and her calcium deficiency will be permanent.
3. She will be on life-long medication which will have other side-effects.

In short, medical science cannot do a lot for Lizzie.


We therefore covet your kind prayers for her in the following areas:
1. A creative miracle from God to correct her heart, chromosome and calcium conditions.
2. No more surgeries. Even though Lizzie has gone through 2 surgeries since birth, she hates surgeries, as do her mommy and daddy.

"All I asked, Oh Lord, is a pulmonary artery and no more surgeries... and lots of marshmallows!"

We believe that God hears us and loves Lizzie. Her condition and her healing will be a testimony of that. There is nothing too great for our Almighty God and His everlasting love. His healing will be perfect in timing and in purpose. Thank you for your prayers.

Prayer request

Dear friends,

In the past few months our Lizzie has changed in so many ways - her physical and mental development have just surprised us on a daily basis, and we give thanks for that.

This month, however, we would like to ask for your prayers for Lizzie's oxygen levels.
We are very concerned and a little disheartened at the sudden drop recently - her normal levels are above 75%, but in the last few days it has come down to the low 70's, and she's occasionally looking blue during these episodes.

We know that God's will and his plan for her is sovereign, but we are still praying that Lizzie would not need to have the open heart surgery at this time, and that this low oxygen will not affect her irreversibly in anyway. We are praying for His grace and mercy to be upon her, and for us, as her parents to have the wisdom to make the right decisions and care for her to the best of our abilities.


We have been experiencing the joys of normal parents with a normal child in the last few months - as Lizzie is actually catching up with her classmates and able to really communicate with us, she also started ballet lessons (which she loves), and we have even gotten her chronic constipation problem successfully under control.



We are sad that just when things seem to have gotten to the point of normalcy, have may have to return to the situation of a pending surgery once again. Dealing with fluctuating oxygen levels has always been stressful for us, but we are determined to stay focused and continue to entrust her life into God's hands.


God bless you all.

Elaine

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Dear Friends,

How time has flown by, and once again I'm struggling to get this posted on time!

We've just had a very festive Chinese New Year, with Lizzie enjoying her very first school field trip to Chinatown - the teachers organised two busloads of preschoolers to walk through the streets of the night market, and even buy their own souvenir.

Then they spent weeks practising for a CNY concert which was performed in their school carpark. Though it was in the blazing hot sun, the kids put on a good effort, and the parents were ever enthusiastic with their cameras and camcorders - I was no different!

CHINATOWN FIELDTRIP

"Flamingo" class photo

Its fun being a tourist

"Nian nian you yue"

"I love you tiger"

First day of CNY

Hooooray!

Just making sure Mummy trimmed my hair properly

Thanks Aunty Sheryl for designing my rockin' T-shirt

Everyone remember to say grace before we eat!

Thank you Jesus for the food....

SCHOOL CNY CONCERT

Sitting with my two pals - Shevaun & Hon Wei

Can you spot the three buddies? They have their arms around each other!

Hope you enjoyed these photos and videos - we are deeply touched to know that you are still supporting us in prayer and that someone is actually reading our posts. It does prompt me to keep this blog up to date!

Blessed Chinese New Year to you and your families.

God Bless,

Elaine