Psalm 37:5 {9/19/16}

Commit your way to the Lord, 

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5

Nothing worth doing --and doing well-- comes quickly or easily. 

But the wisdom, patience, strength. and even joy God provides will definitely help!

"Slow and steady wins the race" that's the phrase that has been programed into our heads since day #1,  and it could not be anymore accurate or frustrating!

Saturday, September 17th, Ira Jo official started feeds! 1 mL an hour and she stayed at 1 mL until today, Monday, September 19th. She's now at 2 and hopefully each day she can go up by one or two until we reach full feeds! She has had multiple dirty diapers since her surgery, so they know things are moving from top to bottom, which is showing them that the surgery worked! So far they have still not been able to figure out why any of this happened and that's okay, we know God has some amazing reason why this happened and we are satistified with that, but for now all we know is that Ira had about 10 inches of bowel that just didn't work! 

At this point we are doing what by now you'd think we'd be great at...but we definitely aren't, or at least we don't feel like we are...but we are...... waiting!!

We have specific instructions that Ira needs to reach a point where she can take 90 mL (3 ounces) every 3 hours by bottle and have at least one dirty diaper every day or every two days in order to go H-O-M-E!! We also know in order to get where we need to be its going to be awhile and that's okay! Like I said before...nothing worth doing right comes quickly or easily, and it's going to take much patience, strength and choosing to find the joy in every extremely long day! 

(Now, if I can remember that when I have two screaming girls at home!)

But we are at the very beginning very anxiously awaiting that drive home! We are trusting in God and giving Him all our weariness and knowing that This Too Shall Pass! We will walk this journey a little longer, very slow and steady, but with God's help, we will conquer this race!

All I ask is that you please pray for the feeding situation, that she continues to do well with her feeds, she continues to pass stool like she has been..and that Linden and I don't loose our minds! :P 

My constant reminder is that this too shall pass! This is a small phase in our life that will soon be a distant memory.

Thank you all for your on going prayers and loving thoughts.

We are truly blessed by you all!

XOXO

Linden 

Lani

Ada Lou

Ira Jo

Psalm 37:5 {9/19/16}

Commit your way to the Lord, 

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5

Nothing worth doing --and doing well-- comes quickly or easily. 

But the wisdom, patience, strength. and even joy God provides will definitely help!

"Slow and steady wins the race" that's the phrase that has been programed into our heads since day #1,  and it could not be anymore accurate or frustrating!

Saturday, September 17th, Ira Jo official started feeds! 1 mL an hour and she stayed at 1 mL until today, Monday, September 19th. She's now at 2 and hopefully each day she can go up by one or two until we reach full feeds! She has had multiple dirty diapers since her surgery, so they know things are moving from top to bottom, which is showing them that the surgery worked! So far they have still not been able to figure out why any of this happened and that's okay, we know God has some amazing reason why this happened and we are satistified with that, but for now all we know is that Ira had about 10 inches of bowel that just didn't work! 

At this point we are doing what by now you'd think we'd be great at...but we definitely aren't, or at least we don't feel like we are...but we are...... waiting!!

We have specific instructions that Ira needs to reach a point where she can take 90 mL (3 ounces) every 3 hours by bottle and have at least one dirty diaper every day or every two days in order to go H-O-M-E!! We also know in order to get where we need to be its going to be awhile and that's okay! Like I said before...nothing worth doing right comes quickly or easily, and it's going to take much patience, strength and choosing to find the joy in every extremely long day! 

(Now, if I can remember that when I have two screaming girls at home!)

But we are at the very beginning very anxiously awaiting that drive home! We are trusting in God and giving Him all our weariness and knowing that This Too Shall Pass! We will walk this journey a little longer, very slow and steady, but with God's help, we will conquer this race!

All I ask is that you please pray for the feeding situation, that she continues to do well with her feeds, she continues to pass stool like she has been..and that Linden and I don't loose our minds! :P 

My constant reminder is that this too shall pass! This is a small phase in our life that will soon be a distant memory.

Thank you all for your on going prayers and loving thoughts.

We are truly blessed by you all!

XOXO

Linden 

Lani

Ada Lou

Ira Jo

Surgery #3

Surgery #3 = Complete!

Remember how this surgery was to determine whether we got an ileostomy bag and a mucus fistula, or we don't get anything and Dr. Helmrath just resects the bad bowel and reconnects the healthy???

{Expect the worse...pray for the best!}

 WE GOT THE BEST!

Dr. Helmrath is confident that Ira Jo's bowels are going to work properly this time! Obviously he's not God, so we're praying things work, but from a surgical stand point, he is very hopeful!

(Huge Sigh of Relief)

Dr. Helmrath told us that the surgery went well. They opened her up with the same incision and he said there didn't seem to be a whole lot of scar tissue around the incision area, but further up, closer to her stomach there was quit a bit. They did in fact put a G-Tube into her stomach and Dr. Helmrath said it was a better they did it now while she was already in the OR rather than wait, because it would have been very invasive. When the surgical team looked at the piece of bowel they reconnected the first time, they found a big ball of scar tissue around the two ends they connected, and a leakage/hole. Before we thought that her bowel had perforated in another spot on the opposite side of her body, but that wasn't true. Instead, the hole that developed in the ball of scar tissue had leaked and all the stool that came out of it just built up on the opposite of her stomach, causing the infection. Dr. Helmrath said that the leakage at the reconnection sight would have never healed on its own, but he did mention that he could see a blockage of stool in the part of the bowel that just didn't function right. The same part of the bowel he wishes he would have taken out the first time. So he went ahead and took out that whole area, 10 centimeters or 4 inches to be exact, then he reconnected two healthy ends! :) He said she didn't lose but a few tablespoons of blood!

Yes, he is that good! 

Ira is obviously in pain, but if you didn't know, your bowels have no nerve endings...so her bowels aren't causing her any pain. Her incision and her stomach muscles hurt and that's it!

Dr. Helmrath is an amazing surgeon! We can't say enough good things about that man! It was truly a God thing that we got Dr. Helmrath as surgeon! It really was!

That's all about the surgery; however, I do want have a share a story with you folks!

I'd like to show you just how awesome our God is and continues to be through this whole process!

So some of you may know this already, but just last week when we found out we were starting over, Dr. Helmrath came to Ira's room and I just so happened to be here! 

Thank goodness!

He wasn't coming for any update or any new news...instead he was coming to spend sometime and just check up on Ira! He was quit thrilled to tell me that the days that I'm not here and he is...he makes it a part of his day to come and talk to Ira and see how she is! :)

Well I thought while he was here I might as well ask about his research and how it's going!

Turns out... Ira Jo has helped him further his research a lot!

He was telling me about how he works on regrowing bowels for transplants and etc...then he told me "Im thankful for two reasons. One because I was only on call that one week in June that Ira was born and two because you signed the paper giving me permission to research on the things I have taken from Ira. I have been able to grow an entire new bowel system, muscles and all. Literally everything your bowels need to work correctly. I also have an esophagus, and a stomach growing, all from the things Ira didn't need. Once they are fully developed, I will be able to do a transplant for another baby that needs it. Your daughter will help save other babies lives."

I remember asking God when this all started, why he would use the one thing in this world I loved most to teach me whatever lesson I have to learn. Then also why He had to do it like this...

Well, it turns out God is trying to shows me that not only does He love my children more than I do, but also because He loves me more than I love my own kids. I need to learn to trust Him with EVERYTHING in my life, my children included.  I need to trust and be patient, along with everything else under the sun I need to learn! Plus, He showed me that every single little detail in His plans matter...Ira having a bowel problem, the fact she was a preemie born just the right week for Dr. Helmrath to be her surgeon, his research project and so much more... all of it, all of it mattered. God is truly always for us!