Hi friends,
Will is not on oxygen, but he has come down with a new infection. He has a 102 fever, no appetite, and is very lethargic and just wants to be held all the time. It's too early to tell whether what he's got is bacterial or viral, and the doctor said another infection on top of what Seth and Gracie already have could land them on a medivac to Australia. Therefore, Will is being isolated at Debbie's house, a HUGE provision from God. He loves Debbie's house and everyone in it, so he's in good hands. It's sad not to be able to focus on him, but it's all I can do - with help - to take care of the two kids on oxygen plus Marcie, who's still sick and clingy. David is living with his Monday playdate friends/family and is happy as a clam. I'm attaching some pictures of him. He's by far the healthiest of all the kids and we sure want to see him stay that way!
Right now Seth and Grace need oxygen but not hospitalization. They are getting WONDERFUL care from our docs and nursing staff here. Thankfully, they are tolerating the liquid steroids we got today (a Godsend!) so should no longer need the painful Dexamethasone shots. These kinds of steroids work best when taken orally anyway, so it's great they can swallow it and keep it down. None of the other kids is on any medication (other than Tylenol/Motrin) or oxygen yet.
Grace was off oxygen the vast majority of today and is on just the tiniest bit right now, the lowest the canister's flow will go, although when it's turned off altogether her oxygen saturations drop into the 70%'s!
Seth is still needing a liter of oxygen per minute to keep his saturations in the 90%'s. Off oxygen he continues to dip into the 70%'s. He'll be on steroids for a while yet to combat the lung inflammation due to his pneumonia.
Even though Gavin and I are fighting this infection as well, we are VERY blessed, surrounded by loving and knowledgable helpers. A nurse friend was here for a couple of hours today. Marmi and Papa stop by and help out a couple of times each day and are always on call. Lots of our friends in the community have continued to help us in various ways and feed us delicious food! My appetite is definitely not hindered yet by this cold. ;)
Our pediatrician has said a couple of times that this is "a miserable bug" for a great many people in our community. It seems like it's not just one bug, either, but a few different ones circulating. Please keep praying for healing in God's perfect time and for no further concurrent infections.
I had to laugh: the nurse asked the pediatrician in exasperation: "Why do we have such nasty viruses in PNG?!" Her Easter weekend was VERY busy, poor lady. God bless these servants! We love you, Clinic Staff and Ukarumpa community!
Grateful to all of you who are praying and encouraging us,
Carrie
Will is not on oxygen, but he has come down with a new infection. He has a 102 fever, no appetite, and is very lethargic and just wants to be held all the time. It's too early to tell whether what he's got is bacterial or viral, and the doctor said another infection on top of what Seth and Gracie already have could land them on a medivac to Australia. Therefore, Will is being isolated at Debbie's house, a HUGE provision from God. He loves Debbie's house and everyone in it, so he's in good hands. It's sad not to be able to focus on him, but it's all I can do - with help - to take care of the two kids on oxygen plus Marcie, who's still sick and clingy. David is living with his Monday playdate friends/family and is happy as a clam. I'm attaching some pictures of him. He's by far the healthiest of all the kids and we sure want to see him stay that way!
Right now Seth and Grace need oxygen but not hospitalization. They are getting WONDERFUL care from our docs and nursing staff here. Thankfully, they are tolerating the liquid steroids we got today (a Godsend!) so should no longer need the painful Dexamethasone shots. These kinds of steroids work best when taken orally anyway, so it's great they can swallow it and keep it down. None of the other kids is on any medication (other than Tylenol/Motrin) or oxygen yet.
Grace was off oxygen the vast majority of today and is on just the tiniest bit right now, the lowest the canister's flow will go, although when it's turned off altogether her oxygen saturations drop into the 70%'s!
Seth is still needing a liter of oxygen per minute to keep his saturations in the 90%'s. Off oxygen he continues to dip into the 70%'s. He'll be on steroids for a while yet to combat the lung inflammation due to his pneumonia.
Even though Gavin and I are fighting this infection as well, we are VERY blessed, surrounded by loving and knowledgable helpers. A nurse friend was here for a couple of hours today. Marmi and Papa stop by and help out a couple of times each day and are always on call. Lots of our friends in the community have continued to help us in various ways and feed us delicious food! My appetite is definitely not hindered yet by this cold. ;)
Our pediatrician has said a couple of times that this is "a miserable bug" for a great many people in our community. It seems like it's not just one bug, either, but a few different ones circulating. Please keep praying for healing in God's perfect time and for no further concurrent infections.
I had to laugh: the nurse asked the pediatrician in exasperation: "Why do we have such nasty viruses in PNG?!" Her Easter weekend was VERY busy, poor lady. God bless these servants! We love you, Clinic Staff and Ukarumpa community!
Grateful to all of you who are praying and encouraging us,
Carrie
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| Painting with water |
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| No, this isn't Isaac. This is David's "foster brother" who is GREAT with kids. David and Seth especially just LOVE him! |
I love the photo of Walter & David coloring together. So thankful David & Seth have such a great pal in Walter!
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