UPDATE 20/3:
-Fernanda ate every bit of every bit of food we gave her today. All of it. with only 1 very unfortunate vomitting episode. This means all of each and every one of her every 3 hr around the clock bottles with ironman formula, 1/2 a banana, 2 small bowels of rice/beans, a bottle full of baby cereal, and my special ironman shake of yogurt, ironman formula and peanut butter. She made it all day without vomitting until tonight right after her very last bite of rice/beans. This is the most food she has ever taken. The tias even said she wanted more. We aren't pushing our luck yet. But we are giving God all the praise as this is a miraculous turn around for her in 24 hrs. Plus........she gained 60 grams (2 ounces). Hip hip hooray!!!!! I don't care how much it is, as long as it's in the black! The tias were celebratory this afternoon and in awe that so many people were praying all around the world at the same time every day for this one little girl! They are seeing the amazing results of prayer as well. Praise the Lord for His goodness! Continue praying for little Fernanda as she'll start treatment on Monday that will help her, but possibly hurt her at first!
-Naftal Our center director and his wife (Also a nurse) talked to the doctor taking care of Naftal today but didn't seem to get anywhere or more information. They are still planning to do more tests next week to confirm a few things and plan treatment from there, but in the meantime, he is getting more and more unstable as they are doing nothing to treat any of his symptoms and he is very uncomfortable. Please pray for wisdom for the medical doctors treating him as well as us as a medical team for future decisions we may have to take!
UPDATE 19/3:
-Fernanda ate almost all her food today...Praise the Lord for that. And was doing a LOT better with not vomitting it up (which is simply becoming a control/learned response at this point reminiscent of Dionisio). We didn't gain any weight today, but we certainly didn't lose any either. She's 15 months and only weighing in at a little over 13 lbs (5.97 kg). She is litterally the definition of skin and bones. And she's tall for her age. Our doctor agreed today that she is tuberculosis positive and to start her on medicines (though it will have to wait till the clinic is open on Monday), but she really wanted to have her admitted to the pediatric ICU to do so. Well let me tell you that I almost lost my cool, but by the grace of God....my blood started boiling and I had heartbreaking flash backs to watching baby Addie waste away and die a very slow painful death for almost 6 weeks, finally gasping for each and every breath for her last few days of life without any help or pain meds. I pleaded in the best Portuguese I knew and fought back tears as I explained how fearful I was to take her in there (Addie died from tuberculosis infection as well...at admit the ER doctor wrote that it was TB and to start her on meds and they waited and did absolutely nothing until the last few days of her life). Fernanda does not have WEEKS to start on TB meds and I envisioned this same thing happening. If the meds don't work and she is going to waste away and go home to live with her Heavenly Father, she is going to do it here on base, surrounded by people daily praying for her and loving on her, not in a hospital, surrounded by germs and people that don't care and yell at our tias, don't do anything for her, and being poked and prodded for her last days. Plus, honestly the hospital can do nothing for her that we aren't already doing. She doesn't need IV meds, or IV fluids, or a feeding tube, or invasive tests to confirm anything. She needs love, and all the good foods we are giving her (which they would NOT do), care, cuddling, and praying that we are doing here. She is monitored 24 hours a day by us...the tias keep a miraculous record of everything that goes in and everything that comes out for us. The only thing that is left is God's intervention and TB treatment. Please continue standing in prayer for her with us daily at 9am Eastern time/8am Central time. She will start medication on Monday!
-Naftal-now has some sort of test (don't know what) scheduled for next week, which means they will do nothing until then. He is very uncomfortable and has labored breathing. He has gained 6 kg (13 lbs), all fluid in his abdomen, since admission to the hospital, never once having any of it removed to help him. The father has asked to speak to the doctor for a few minutes for an update and the doctor has ignored him. They are still not treating ANY of his symptoms or giving him blood. Please continue praying for this little one as well!
ORIGINAL POST:
Fernanda-well, my plan failed miserably....I was beaten by the Princess. She not only figured out that I had put ONE spoon of cereal powder into her milk, but she SMELLED it before it touched her lips and knew, screaming and pushing it away. At least, she has a fighting spirit. Unfortunately, it's working AGAINST us. Then I tried the favored beans/rice from yesterday that she so loved. The minute she saw it, she was squirming out of the tias arms (to get AWAY), pushing it away, and crying. 0-2. Then I tried my power shake-milk, yogurt, and peanut, mixed until drinkable. Well she wasn't thrilled and loudly let us know, but she did drink 3/4 of it, only vomiting 1/4 it back up. 1-3. The beans/rice were a no go again tonight. She lost 300 (yes you read right) grams today...that's 14 ounces....16 is a pound. She doesn't have an ounce to lose much less 14 of them. I'm trying a new baby cereal with her tonight to hopefully entice her. I'm not holding my breath though. The problem is three fold....a-it's a control thing. b-loss of appetite due to the Tuberculosis. c-she's a toddler. And clearly, we're getting our butts KICKED!
-Fernanda ate every bit of every bit of food we gave her today. All of it. with only 1 very unfortunate vomitting episode. This means all of each and every one of her every 3 hr around the clock bottles with ironman formula, 1/2 a banana, 2 small bowels of rice/beans, a bottle full of baby cereal, and my special ironman shake of yogurt, ironman formula and peanut butter. She made it all day without vomitting until tonight right after her very last bite of rice/beans. This is the most food she has ever taken. The tias even said she wanted more. We aren't pushing our luck yet. But we are giving God all the praise as this is a miraculous turn around for her in 24 hrs. Plus........she gained 60 grams (2 ounces). Hip hip hooray!!!!! I don't care how much it is, as long as it's in the black! The tias were celebratory this afternoon and in awe that so many people were praying all around the world at the same time every day for this one little girl! They are seeing the amazing results of prayer as well. Praise the Lord for His goodness! Continue praying for little Fernanda as she'll start treatment on Monday that will help her, but possibly hurt her at first!
-Naftal Our center director and his wife (Also a nurse) talked to the doctor taking care of Naftal today but didn't seem to get anywhere or more information. They are still planning to do more tests next week to confirm a few things and plan treatment from there, but in the meantime, he is getting more and more unstable as they are doing nothing to treat any of his symptoms and he is very uncomfortable. Please pray for wisdom for the medical doctors treating him as well as us as a medical team for future decisions we may have to take!
UPDATE 19/3:
-Fernanda ate almost all her food today...Praise the Lord for that. And was doing a LOT better with not vomitting it up (which is simply becoming a control/learned response at this point reminiscent of Dionisio). We didn't gain any weight today, but we certainly didn't lose any either. She's 15 months and only weighing in at a little over 13 lbs (5.97 kg). She is litterally the definition of skin and bones. And she's tall for her age. Our doctor agreed today that she is tuberculosis positive and to start her on medicines (though it will have to wait till the clinic is open on Monday), but she really wanted to have her admitted to the pediatric ICU to do so. Well let me tell you that I almost lost my cool, but by the grace of God....my blood started boiling and I had heartbreaking flash backs to watching baby Addie waste away and die a very slow painful death for almost 6 weeks, finally gasping for each and every breath for her last few days of life without any help or pain meds. I pleaded in the best Portuguese I knew and fought back tears as I explained how fearful I was to take her in there (Addie died from tuberculosis infection as well...at admit the ER doctor wrote that it was TB and to start her on meds and they waited and did absolutely nothing until the last few days of her life). Fernanda does not have WEEKS to start on TB meds and I envisioned this same thing happening. If the meds don't work and she is going to waste away and go home to live with her Heavenly Father, she is going to do it here on base, surrounded by people daily praying for her and loving on her, not in a hospital, surrounded by germs and people that don't care and yell at our tias, don't do anything for her, and being poked and prodded for her last days. Plus, honestly the hospital can do nothing for her that we aren't already doing. She doesn't need IV meds, or IV fluids, or a feeding tube, or invasive tests to confirm anything. She needs love, and all the good foods we are giving her (which they would NOT do), care, cuddling, and praying that we are doing here. She is monitored 24 hours a day by us...the tias keep a miraculous record of everything that goes in and everything that comes out for us. The only thing that is left is God's intervention and TB treatment. Please continue standing in prayer for her with us daily at 9am Eastern time/8am Central time. She will start medication on Monday!
-Naftal-now has some sort of test (don't know what) scheduled for next week, which means they will do nothing until then. He is very uncomfortable and has labored breathing. He has gained 6 kg (13 lbs), all fluid in his abdomen, since admission to the hospital, never once having any of it removed to help him. The father has asked to speak to the doctor for a few minutes for an update and the doctor has ignored him. They are still not treating ANY of his symptoms or giving him blood. Please continue praying for this little one as well!
ORIGINAL POST:
Fernanda-well, my plan failed miserably....I was beaten by the Princess. She not only figured out that I had put ONE spoon of cereal powder into her milk, but she SMELLED it before it touched her lips and knew, screaming and pushing it away. At least, she has a fighting spirit. Unfortunately, it's working AGAINST us. Then I tried the favored beans/rice from yesterday that she so loved. The minute she saw it, she was squirming out of the tias arms (to get AWAY), pushing it away, and crying. 0-2. Then I tried my power shake-milk, yogurt, and peanut, mixed until drinkable. Well she wasn't thrilled and loudly let us know, but she did drink 3/4 of it, only vomiting 1/4 it back up. 1-3. The beans/rice were a no go again tonight. She lost 300 (yes you read right) grams today...that's 14 ounces....16 is a pound. She doesn't have an ounce to lose much less 14 of them. I'm trying a new baby cereal with her tonight to hopefully entice her. I'm not holding my breath though. The problem is three fold....a-it's a control thing. b-loss of appetite due to the Tuberculosis. c-she's a toddler. And clearly, we're getting our butts KICKED!
On a serious note....she isn't doing well. She's shrinking before our eyes and the first weeks of TB meds will be hard on her little body, harder than what she's battling now. We don't have weeks to wait before they kick in and increase her appetite and increase her weight gain. She will die before then. She HAS to put on some weight. Like a week ago. She is taking an Ironman formula (extra fortified with oil and sugar) every 3 hrs literally around the clock even when she refuses the food we are giving her and even that is not helping with the weight gain. Please join us in prayer. We took her tonight to be prayed over at our weekly church service. And we all prayed over her for healing and strength and wait gain and for the TB to be removed from her body, and for the will to live, for a spirit of JOY to come over her, for LIFE, for a hunger for food, for a miracle. This afternoon, before church, God laid it on my heart to start asking people to pray for her daily. So the missionaries here on base are going to gather around Nanda every day in our clinic at 3pm when she wakes from her nap and it's time to be weighed and we are going to lay hands on her and pray. EVERYDAY. until she doesn't need it anymore. We are inviting each of you to pray with us at exactly the same time as we are praying. If you are on eastern time that will be 9am. If you are central is 8am. Please stand with us and intercede for this very precious baby!
Naftal-is not doing any better either. It has been confirmed that the Wilm's tumor has metastasized to his heart as well as his second kidney. They have decided to start chemotherapy first and try to shrink the tumors before doing surgery. They are still not treating any of his discomfort, severe anemia, fluid filled abdomen, or problems breathing. Please pray just as hard for Naftal, the tias staying with him, the missionaries working with Laura's dorm, the kids and tias in Laura's dorm and Naftal's family (brother and father)!
Thanks for lifting us up in prayer! We are expecting and waiting for God to show up in a mighty way!
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