Timothy James

I was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 8th because my amniotic sac was leaking and I had begun to dilate. I was ordered to lie flat on my back until the baby came ( I was due April 2nd!). Well, on Dec. 17th my water broke at 7:15pm and Timothy James decided to come early. He was breech and already on his way out, so the doctor did an emergency C-section and at 10:20 pm he was delivered. He went straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and has been there ever since. Timothy was only 25 weeks along in his development (a "normal" pregnancy lasts 40 weeks) so he still has a lot of growing to do.

Timothy had his eye exam today and the doctor and Mommy and Daddy decided that it would be best for Timothy to send him to Children's Hospital in L.A. We are not sure the exact time of his transport yet, but we believe it will take place within the next 2 or 3 days with surgery following that.

Prayer Requests:
-Safe Transport from Fontana to L.A.
-Wisdom for the doctors
-Peace for mommy and daddy (mommy is really worried)

Psalm 118:8 " It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man."

Actual Age: 5 months
Adjusted Age: 2 months
Weight: 5 lbs. 9.4 oz.

Timothy has his 2nd opinion eye exam on Friday. Please pray that it would be swift and not too uncomfortable for him and that he would recover quickly afterwards.

He has had several conditions over that last 2 weeks which have had the doctors baffled. They have tried several different treatments and now most of those conditions are improving. There still needs to be further improvement if he is to be transported to another hospital and undergo surgery.

Praise - his body appears to be healing
- GOD IS IN CONTROL!

Prayer - the eye exam on Friday

Psalm 13:5-6 " I have trusted in Your lovingkindness. My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD because He has dealt boutifully with me."

Actual Age: 5 months
Adjusted Age: 2 months
Weight: 5 lbs. 9 oz.

The Lord has dealt boutifully with Timothy. He has brought him such a long way and worked many miracles in his life. We praise Him and give Him all the glory for what He has done.

We are now faced with a new challenge. Timothy's eye exam today showed that the retina in his left eye has detached from the eye and the right eye is beginning to detach as well. This is a very serious condition which can result in blindness. Surgery can be attempted to re-attach the retina and remove the scar tissue which is causing the detachment. There is a chance that this might save some of his vision. No guarantees!

This surgery would need to occur at Children's Hospital in L.A. Right now, Timothy's condition is not stable enough to survive going under anesthesia, much less the actual surgery. We have requested that the doctor wait at least a week to let him heal. We have also asked that they use more comfortable measures of care and stop/lessen some of the more invasive/aggressive treatments in order to give his body a chance to heal on its own (along with God's mighty power). We have also requested a 2nd opinion regarding the eye exam before he is transported to CHLA. This matter is weighing very heavily on our hearts and we covet your prayers!

Praise - it doesn't look like problems in the brain are causing the fever and ph issues
- both conditions seem to be improving
- God has sustained Timothy up to this point

Prayer - decisions regarding his eye condition
- complete healing of both eyes
- healing of his liver and kidneys - they are not functioning 100%
- peace for mommy & daddy

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

We find comfort in these verses as it has been a very exhausting week.

Actual Age: 5 months
Adjusted Age: 1 month
Weight: 5 lbs. 5.8 oz.

Today was a rough day for Timothy (and for us)! Early this morning it was discovered through a blood test that he does not seem to have an infection at all, but his ph is out of balance (his system is very acidic) and this can be a very serious problem if not corrected quickly. His doctor has been working all day to correct the problem. Some of the interventions include IV fluids, putting him back on the ventilator, stopping feeding temporarily, blood transfusions and several more blood tests. As of 8:00 this evening it was starting to correct, but still has a ways to go.

He has also been having difficulty holding his body temperature. At the beginning of last week, he had high fever spikes. For the last 2 days he has had very low body temperatures and is requiring the aide of a heat lamp to stay warm enough. The doctor thinks this, along with the ph imbalance may be due to some damage in the areas of the brain controlling these functions. She will be consulting an endocrinologist and neurologist on Tuesday to see what else needs to be done to diagnose and treat these issues.

This really seems like a set-back to him coming home, but we are trying to take it a day at a time, knowing that God is in control even when the doctors are still trying to find out what's going on and we are trusting that He will reveal it to them in His own perfect time.

Praise - the problems were discovered before more damage was done
- his doctor was on duty to work on treating the issues

Prayer - wisdom for the doctors and consultants
- healing of Timothy's body
- brain issues to be resolved
- strength for mommy & daddy