Update on Antonino

I have an update/prayer request for you.

Antonino who just came to us from another center needs prayers over these next few months. Please scroll down to see a picture of him under the post titled "new kids." When I admit any kid, i do a full head to toe assessment-ears, eyes, throat, listening with a stethoscope everywhere, Vital signs, any kind of sores & wounds, weight, lymph nodes, basically the works. Anyway, the moment i put my stethoscope to his chest I knew he had a heart problem. He has a very large murmur. I took him to our clinic doctor that very day (who's studying to be an anesthesiologist-score one for having some competence in the heart area) and he agreed and immediately wanted a whole battery of tests done....or said i could take him to the private heart hospital in town. Well, i chose option B as they actually bring in western doctors and do open heart surgery blitzes, know things, and i would eat off their floor it's so clean.....so that being said.....to ICOR we go. We got an appt but it was the friday before last when I left for some down time, the other nurse erin was enroute back to the base and that left our Brazilian nurse(and only other western nurse on the base at the time) to take him to the consult. She doesn't have much experience with pediatric heart problems and couldn't remember the name of what they think he has by the time she arrived back home with him. But what we do know is....they think it is VERY serious and are waiting for the top heart specialist to come back from vacation at the beginning of March before they do anything. So he has another appointment while I'm away in the states on the 2nd of March. I have noticed that when he's playing very hard, he tends to get a little blue around the lips (which means his heart isn't able to keep up with his body and he's not getting quite enough oxygen) and that he's capillary refill (when you squeeze your fingernail-how long it takes to go back to pink again) is sluggish (which means his heart can't pump enough blood to all his extremities because it's working overtime to keep up with him)......but everything returns to baseline when he's resting. He's turning 6 in march, so he's lived with this condition undiagnosed or treated for a long time. That being said, we are just praying over him until the next appointment as well as any surgery he might have to undergo later! We are also praising God that we got him when we did and that we are getting some good help in treating him! Please join us in prayer. He is such a sweet spunky little boy that is very much full of life and charisma!