Day Ten - Stable and stunned!

Savannah seems to have stabilised sufficiently for the oxygen supplementation to be reduced to a minimum of 1 litre per hour. If this trend continues Savannah should be able to have her nasal tubes removed, which will be far more comfortable.

She is now taking 25 ml of milk at every feed and we have discovered how to feed her without causing any distress, by feeding very slowly. It is quite an exercise, involving measuring out the volume of milk into a little cup, then withdrawing the stomache contents, incase there is any undigested liquid, then attaching the large syring into which the milk is poured, which then makes its way down into her tummy over 5 - 10 minutes.

The doctors aretelling us that she is likely to be diagnosed with a serious condition called Trisomy 18. We are still waiting for the test results to confirm the situation, but based on various features that can be seen in Savannah's body, such as her clasped fingers, the abnormal ear formation,, some gaps and ridges in her skull and a small opening between the chambers of her heart, the doctors have advised us to prepare ourselves for certain eventualities that are quite common in children with Trisomy.

What does this all mean?

Well - short of God's divine intervention, Savannah will not lead a normal life. She would be in and out of hospital due to immune system weaknesses, and would have various challenges related to feeding, and normal bodily functions. Basically she would not lead a normal life, but would need intensive or high care for life, which is said to be short lived, if she make it out of hiospital.

Progress;

* taking enough milk to stop IV feeding
* breathing has stabilised, although there is still some recession

Prayer points;

* continue to breathe
* stop wight loss (she las been losing for the last three days)
* adds weight (she needs to get up to 2 kg before she will be allowed to brestfeed)
* pneumonia will be overcome
* that she will recover and have a full, normal life.
* that the boys, Mel and rest of the family can cope with the situation

Thank you for all your sms's, calls, visits, meals, flowers and most of all, your earnest prayers.

She wakes up sometimes when we visit, and seems to be able to follow our movements and responds to our voices (or smell)! 

A view of the nursery ward at the Lower Umfolozi Disctrict War Memorial Hospital that is home to Savannah. 

That patch of tape on her chest secures a monitor that regulates the heaters temperature according to her body temperature - it is set to 37.0 degrees celcius at the moment. 

We think that there is abit of ginger coming through her dark crop of hair. 

It is hot under the heater, so she normally sweats a bit. 

Look at that nappy to body ratio! 

She does have the odd grumble or spasm and then her whole body tenses up. 

Her nappy outsizes her substantially. 

Although she is full of pipes and needles, she looks quite comfortable generally. 

Weight loss has taken it's toll on her - she wieghed just 1,6 kg today. 

Savannah is being feb through a pipe in her mouth, up to 25 ml three hourly, which means that her IV feed will be stopped soon. 

Day Six - New challenges.

Savannah has been moved onto double oxygen, or ventilation, as her breathing is not improving. She has also developed a fever, probably associated with the infection that is plaguing her little frame.

It is quite concerning to see her take a turn for the worse, and I found myself weeping over her heaving chest tonight as I fed her milk through the tube that protrudes from her nostril, a permanent lifeline to her tummy. I sang "Thank you Lord for giving us food" and "Thank you Father", telling her that Declan would have insisted that we do that one too, if he were present. After that some childrens songs seemed apropriate, so out came;

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus love the little children of the world" and

"Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, this I know, this I know. For the bible tells me so."

I was compelled to read Psalm 139 over her again, and faltered at the verse that says,

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

as my fears that her days may be numbered to less than I would like to spend with her returned. I cannot bear the thought of losing her, even though she sems to be in much pain and discomfort. I have been hoping and praying that she will live a full life, not that she will just survive, but the fear of what the future may bring always threatens to come into the room of my mind when I opened that door slightly.

Thank you to everyone who is standing together with us in faith for her survival and more than that; "life and life abundantly". Let us continue to trust for her speedy recovery, especially that she will overcome the infection in her sore chest. She is now taking 10 ml of breastmilk every three hours, along with the antibiotics and vitimins being sent down her lifeline.

The staff are really wonderful, a team of caring nurses and sisters who are attentive to every childs condition, led by a dedicated and skilled pediatrician, Dr Kaponga. Please pray blessings over them as they are responsible for the many lives that hang in the balance daily.

I hope to bring you a more encouraging report tomorrow - Savanah is firmly in His hands and who better could one entrust a daughter to?

Progress today;

* continued to take milk nasally
* still passing stools and urine
* digesting more of her fod and meds

Prayer points;

* continue to breathe
* digest milk and medicine (she only managed to take in 6 ml of the 10 ml given)
* maintains and adds weight (she needs to get up to 2 kg before she will be allowed to brestfeed)
* pneumonia will be overcome
* that she will recover and have a full, normal life.

Thanks and love.

Day Five - Believable!

I am grateful and assured as I write this latest update on the fate of my daughter. The Lord has shown his strength in our weakness over the last few days, as we have truly been sustained by His grace, made real through many of you who have arrived with bags of food, sweet lemon meringue tart, comfort and counselling, even a digital camera so that we can record Savannah's progress and share some pic's with you.

I only wish that we could share the few movie's that we have made at every visit, monitoring her breathing and the slight improvements that we cling to like promises fulfilled. We prayed that the staff would feed her overnight so that we could have a break from the three hourly feeds, and they did. We prayed that she would continue to breathe, and she is. We prayed that she would start to take breastmilk, and she has took milk for the first time last night by nasal tube.

Progress yesterday;

* breathing has improved slightly
* started taking breastmilk by nasal tube
* still alive!

Progress today;

* continued to take milk nasally
* doctor reported that she is stable

Prayer points;

* continue to breathe
* digest milk and medicine (she only managed to take in 6 ml of the 10 ml given)
* maintains and adds weight (she needs to get up to 2 kg before she will be allowed to brestfeed)
* pneumonia will be overcome

Please feel free to post any comments of encouragement on the site (juct click on the comments link).

Thank you for all the messages of encouragement and support - I am sorry that I have not replied to each one, but we are just managing to maintain with the regular visits and the boys at home. Both of our moms came on the day of her birth and are able to stay until next Saturday - what a blessing!

Day Three - Praises!

Savannah has made remarkable progress overnight and through the day today. She was wide awake tonight and held onto my fingertip quite firmly, eyes wide open and almost focused on my every move. She managed to turn her head from the side to an upright position a few times and lifted both of her arms at different times.

All this for a child that was given a 30% chance of survival on arrival.

Progress yesterday;

• sustaining breathing without ventilation
• still alive!

Progress today;

• passing urine and stools
• moving arms and head
• aware of touch and movement
• crying (pressumably for food)

Prayer points;

• continue to breathe
• be cleared to start receiving expresses milk
• maintains and adds weight
• healing for Mel to manage four hourly visits from home

Mel is now at home, after attempting a night in the hospital, but we felt it would be better for her to recover first before she starts the three - five daily visits to ICU to feed.

Thank you to everyone for your support, flowers, cards, calls, sms's and offers to help with meals and minding the boys, who ask where their sister is every time we return from a visit and cannot understand why children are not allowed into ICU to meet their sister.

Neil helped us to make a short video of Savannah last night, so I am going to play it for the boys tomorrow when they wake up, so they can see their little sister for the first time.

Join with us as we " . fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith.. (2 Tim 4:5)

We sing Psalm 100 over you Savannah;

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfullness continues through all generations." (NIV)

Much love

Sean & Mel

Day Two - Help!

Dear Friends

There have been so many calls and messages that we have not been able to respond to that I thought that I could mail you with an update for anyone who has not had a reply - I just cannot keep up with the messages and calls.

We had a baby girl, named Savannah Grant.

Weighing in at a whole 1,73 kg, she was delivered 9.12 am on 14.06.05 (yesterday) by emergency Caesar after fetal distress. She has been transferred to ICU at the NPA hospital after birth at Garden Clinic. She is struggling to breath, fighting pneumonia. Her ears are not properly formed and her hands are not fully opened and there is some sign of a cleft palette.

- Please pray that God will intervene and "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ". (Ph 1.6)

- We agree to believe for Savannah that

"you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because you are fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Ps. 139)

Mel held her for the first time tonight - she is really battling - she needs faith to hope for Savannah's survival (less than 30% chance over the first 24 hours they said - well we have overcome that statistic!) Mel must be with Savannah every three hours but may only stay for one hour.
- please pray that she will recover from the Caesar soon and for strength for her to make the trip from her ward to the nursery every four hours.
- pray that Savannah will continue to breathe and overcome the pneumonia that she is fighting
- pray that she will put on weight and that she will start to feed soon!


Thanks to everyone. You have all been so wonderful and we are privileged to have you "fighting the good fight of faith" with us for this daughter of God.

Love

Sean and Mel