Lizzie is 8 months old!

Dear friends,

We just brought Lizzie to see her doctor and physiotherapist yesterday, in terms of development, she is about equivalent to a 6 month old, which they say is okay, because of the 2 months spent in hospital, is her corrected age. The physiotherapist made her do "push-ups" and other belly exercises that Lizzie did not like! She cried so hard, tears were rolling down, but we knew it was for her own good - to help strengthen her muscles, heart and lungs. She did not like that "naughty-uncle". She was so 'man-ja' and kept raising up her arms to ask us to cuddle her after that. She's also mastered her 'pitiful-look' - pouting her lips and blinking her eyes, accompanied by soft whimpering, which we fall for everytime :)

Check up with her genetic/paediatrician confirmed that she is doing well.
Weight-wise she is within the 10th percentile, and height-wise, she is between the 10th to 25th percentile range. Lizzie-girl is taking after her mummy and daddy in terms of height.

Lizzie likes to play the piano with Kong-kong

We put her on the oxygen monitor last night, and the reading was really quite low, much to our dismay. It was around the low 70s, which was a sudden drop.
We've been praying that this does not reflect any changes to her heart condition, but that the low reading is just a temporary fluctuation in her O2 levels. We ask that you please include Lizzie in your prayers.

Despite what we see in test results and monitor readings, we continue to commit Lizzie to the Lord, and trust that His will is perfect and will be for the good of all those who love Him.
We take comfort that Lizzie still appears pink and healthy, as you can see from the pictures above (Thanks for the colourful caterpillar and my 'blingage' Uncle Tim & Aunty Jen!), she is active and growing well.

Sleepy Lizzie drinking milk

We're once again attending at Lighthouse Evangelism, at the Miracle Service every Saturday. Thanks to the loving and caring gospelighters who regularly interceed for us - we are grateful for all of you (especially Aunty Jane, Joanna and Tracy).
Last week, we received prayer from senior Pastor Rony, and we were touched by his care and compassion.
We want to give God the Glory and thank all of you for your prayers and support.

God Bless,
Elaine

Lizzie's Testimony

Dear friends,

We are in the process of sharing Lizzie's written testimony, and also preparing to share to our church congregation our story. PLMC is releasing a book of testimonies of its church members, so Simon and I submitted Lizzie's story to be included.

We made a promise to God, that we would testify for Him, both in Lighthouse and in PLMC, and we decided it was time. We believe it is an act of faith to do so, even before we see the healing take place, but our little Lizzie has been growing and developing so well, that the life we see in her is a miracle in itself, and a testament to God's faithfulness.

We will be transferring the whole contents of the yahoo group website to this new location, so all future postings will be at this blog. We realised having a blog would be easier for our friends and family to access, see pictures and post comments, and we will also try to post more often! Do subscribe to receive updates through email. Pictures can be accessed through the link- Lizzie's photo archive.

Again, we thank you for all your prayers and well wishes.

God bless you!

Elaine, Simon & Lizzie

Milestones @7.5 months

Dearest friends, it has been a while since we've updated the website, and since the last posting, Lizzie has been making great progress. Last visit to the paediatrician and cardiologist confirm that Lizzie is on par with normal children in terms of growth and development. Her reflexes and developmental milestones are normal as well, and we thank God for that.

Last Saturday (17th March) was my Dad's birthday, Lizzie suprised us by sitting up, unsupported (for a good few minutes) the first time. As you can see on pic, she's got her arms raised up, and balancing very well with strong back muscles. Everytime Lizzie goes to the hospital for her vaccinations, she is a brave baby, and doesn't cry very long after she's given a jab. Also despite the doctors' expectations that she would turn blue, Lizzie has been able to maintain her colour and oxygen saturation well, even after a long crying episode. The recent echocardio scan shows that the PDA is still open, and the shunt is still functioning well. The cardiologist informed us that we may be looking at the next operation when she is about 20kg, or later, depending on the blood flow to the heart. The shunt may have to be replaced earlier, in another op, and a cardiac catheterization procedure will be conducted after age 1, in order to determine when it is necessary.

Lizzie is quickly developing her own personality, and is becoming a very cheeky, playful baby. She's quickly outgrowing her cot mobile - she's learnt to catch the animals with her feet, pass them to her hands and yanks the whole entire mobile down with a couple of hard pulls. Lizzie's favourite toy is a rattling balloon - which serves as a great distraction during those times when nothing seems to pacify her. Like all babies, she loves to pull anything and everything within her reach and put it in her mouth. We are still praying fervently for God's intervention, and though Lizzie seems to be growing and developing well, with good oxygen saturations, we know that more challenges and trials lie ahead. We thank you all for your continued prayers, support and friendship,and most of all we want to give thanks to our Father in heaven for giving us Lizzie, and joy we experience in the little things each day.

With Love, Elaine

Lizzie's First Christmas

Dear friends, Lizzie is now 4.5 months old, and has been growing and developing well, despite all that she's gone through. She's reached many milestones which are normal for babies her age, and we thank God for that. Lizzie is learning how to grab toys (her favourites are butterflies and red objects), and especially loves to play on her musical 'piano' gym which hangs over her - she's able to reach out and 'play piano' much to mummy and daddy's amusement. Lizzie's also quite an expressive little girl, she likes to smile, giggle and squeal real loud, and will often demand to be carried. We've also noticed that she's not only a very gentle girl, but also a very happy girl. This is one aspect of her character that Simon and I committed to prayer before and during my pregnancy, and we know that God has answered our prayers with a joyful child :) Recently Simon and my mum-in-law brought Lizzie in for her usual hospital reviews, and they happened to scan her kidneys. We were told that one of her kidneys had calcium deposits or stones. This was cause for concern, as Lizzie is on calcium supplements due to low calcium levels. We were told to return the next day for amore detailed scan of the kidneys, so that night we prayed hard, that God would spare Lizzie the need for any more medical procedures or medications. The next day I brought her in, together with my mum-in-law, they scanned Lizzie again - she cried so hard during the scan, but shewas a good girl and kept still for the doctors. We were so thankful and relieved - for detailed scan showed that the stones had indeed disappeared. We continue to pray and ask for total and complete healing for our Lizzie, and that she will not have to undergo anymore procedures. We know that nothing is impossible with our Lord Jesus Christ, and continue to trust and lean on Him. We thank you all for supporting us and Lizzie through your prayers, encouragement, friendship, and most of all for being a part of our testimony.
God Bless, Elaine

Lizzie's Infant Baptism

Dear friends, Lizzie will be baptized on 17 Dec 06 at Paya Lebar Methodist Church (5 Boundary Road) at the 11.15am service. After months of agonizing over her conditions and fervent prayers, this day will be a great milestone for us as parents, and for many of you who kept us and Lizzie in prayers. Do come and join us if you can.
God bless, Simon