11:38 PM Monday Day 49

A few improvements to note today, the first of which Zoe successfully took 2 bottles, both 40 cc’s each.  This is exciting because it’s the first time since his surgery that he drank a bottle at all.  He was lovin’ every minute of it, too.  When we go home we will continue to work with him on taking bottles, adding more bottle feedings as his little body gets the strength.  Our goal is to not have to use the G-tube at all, but we understand that will take some time.  Right now, he seems pretty motivated.  Another thing is that he passed his hearing screening test.  This is exciting because weeks ago during his critical stages, it was assumed that his condition would leave him with hearing loss.  As was confirmed today, that is not the case.  Music is a big part of our lives, and especially where my husband goes, so does the ipod for everyone to hear…so now Zoe will be a participant as we enjoy the tunes of life.  There are a few things that will happen tomorrow to further prepare us for going home, one of which will be the car seat challenge.  Zoe has to be able to sit in his car seat and be monitored to be sure his stats don’t drop for the amount of time that it would take us to drive home.  Jim and I will be instructed on things such as CPR and administering meds, operating/understanding the heart monitor, etc.  The heart montitor is not for a heart problem or anything, it is just a machine that tells us his heart rate and breathing patterns. 

I want to share one more thing before I go, something that is so interesting to me.  One of the stories in the Bible that has been a major part of our lives as youth pastors for teaching the students has been found in John 10:10.  Jesus is teaching and he says this, “The thief (some translations use the word “enemy”) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  Not knowing that this verse has already been one of our favorites, a volunteer here at the RMH handed us a piece of paper she copied from a book last week.  It was a description about this verse, she found it and wanted us to see it.  It explains that in the New Testament, there are several Greek words for “life”.  “Bios”, which is the origin of our word “biology”, generally translates into the meaning of “lifestyle”.  Another one is “Zoe”, which translates into “life as God has it”.  In John 10:10, Jesus used the word “Zoe” when he said he came to give ” ‘life’ more abundantly”.  Jesus came to give us “life as God has it”.  He also uses the word “Zoe” (life) in John 11:25 when he stated, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  We knew the name Zoe means “life” when we picked that name.  Reading this information on the translation of one of our favorite verses is exciting in a whole new way.  Hope you find that encouraging as well. 

 

Have an awesome Tuesday!

P.S. Late as it may be, let me just humbly proclaim…ROLL TIDE!  We put the Dawgs in the kennel!

9:35 AM Sunday Day 48

Happy Sunday to you, hope your weekend is going well.  We are continuing to be excited at Zoe’s progress.  Before I begin, let me say that the story on Zoe in the local newspaper is scheduled to come out next Sunday, October 5th.  Sorry for the confusion, but please look for it next weekend.  We have learned how to feed Zoe using his G-tube and it is quite simple.  For those of you who have worked with one before, you know what I’m talking about.  When we lived in B’ham, Isaac had a little friend who had one so I had been just a little familiar with the idea of it.  (Thank you, Danielle for being my example!)   Anyway, before the surgery, Zoe was taking apx. 40 cc’s and today he is back up to 35 cc’s.  If that is tolerated well, he will be up to 40 tomorrow, then by Wednesday they expect us to “room in” with him over night.  Then we would be looking at heading home Thursday.  That is the plan for now, we will let you know if it changes.  Jim mentioned Zoe pulled out his oxygen tube, he must have just wanted to show us all how strong he really is.  He has been free of the tube since sometime early Friday.  It looks like at this point, all he may need to go home on is a heart monitor.  Previously, we were under the understanding that he would go home on 3 different machines, so the news of just one machine is exciting.  Please continue to pray for his liver, it is enlarged and needs to decrease in size.  It is decreasing, but very slowly.  It is believed that the liver problem is connected to the blood count (red blood cells, platelets, etc) problem, so we need it all to be better.  Zoe has come so far from where he was and we are so pumped about that…grateful beyond words.  We continue to pray and believe for his FULL recovery, that he will tell for himself one day of the power of God that has sustained his life.

We continue to be thankful for the provisions of the Ronald McDonald House, where we  have been staying now for 7 weeks (tomorrow).  If it were not for this establishment, we would most likely be living out of our car right now, seeing as how staying in a  hotel for 7 weeks would get quite pricey.  For those of you who are able and willing, please check out info about the house.  Many have asked what they can do to help us, and it would mean alot to us if people could help out the house.  There are simple things like collecting pop tabs and bringing them by to drop of so they can be recycled, or donating food for the families here.  If you can, take a look and see how you can help. 

Thank you for taking time to check up on Zoe, and most of all, thank you for the prayers offered in faith.  May you and your families have a wonderful, beautiful Sunday.

2:00 PM Saturday Day 47

Greetings to all.  I think we have the internet issues resolved here at the house, so we will try not to miss any updates.  Here’s what’s been going on.  Thursday night at some point Zoe pulled his oxygen out and never missed a beat.  In fact they decided to leave it out.  So he has been well over 24 hours now without an oxygen machine.  In fact they are suggesting that if he continues to do so well he wont even need to come home with oxygen.  So now Zoe’s face is clear of all hoses and cables.  I promise to get a picture of his face up soon.  

His G Tube continues to heal and he is already recieving feeds again.  As soon as he gets back up to full feeds we should be able to go home.  That should be sometime this week.  It’s amazing just how good he appears to be doing.  

Thank you all again for your continued prayers.  We can’t wait to go home.

a new prayforzoe.com… again

Hey… this is Brian Buchanan. I had some spare time today so I totally redid the look of prayforzoe.com. I figured that with the story being on national radio on monday and it being in a local paper here tomorrow that it was time to spend some extra time into making it more visually appealing. All of the information about Monday’s big radio story is on the site and as soon as we have a link to the newspaper story we’ll get that up as well.

I’m sure that after Jim and Carmen and all of us watch the Georgia/Alabama game then either Jim or Carmen will post an update. Some pretty amazingly cool things have happened since the last post but I don’t want to be the spoiler so I’ll let Jim share it all when he gets a chance.

11:30 PM Wednesday Day 45

So Zoe had his suregery today and it was a success.  He was in and out with a G Tube in no time.  Everything seems to be going well.  His liver size is reducing but slower than the doctors would like.  This seems to continue to mess with his platelet count and causes him to need transfusions.  I know that healing sometimes takes time and so we wait.  Patiently impatatient if that makes since to anyone…. 

We were asked today to speak to some teens from a local church who were volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, so we shared Zoe’s story.  There are two primary emotions involved everytime we tell Zoe’s story.  First is the why?  Why did God do it?  Why doesn’t He do it for everyone?  I can say God is all knowing or we’re just blessed.  But it’s hard to say my faith was just bigger or better, mainly because I just don’t believe that “faith for healing” is the only thing going on.  For Carmen and I we know God will, from beginning to end, be glorified.  Then we just believe His Word.  The truth is I don’t know why “us” and not “them,” why “this time” and not “that time.”  That emotion keeps us humbled and won’t allow Zoe’s story to be bragging rights.  The second emotion is just knowing that God is the one who has brought Zoe to this point, that makes us want to shout and give Him glory.  The fact, that every question asked should have an answer having something to do with Jesus, is one that surprisingly comes with caution.  You want to say things like, “Sure the doctors did a lot, but God did the most.”  Then we quickly exclude those who didn’t get their miracle.  It’s like looking another believer in Christ in the face and saying, “My God’s better than yours.”  That’s crazy.  Sure God is the responsable party.  He is the one who did the impossible in Zoe’s life, but He’s the same God who didn’t in the child’s life just two beds over from Zoe.  It’s not just that we go to God asking, but it’s the manner in which we do.  God’s not just the leader of a cool club we get to be a part of.  He’s everything.  We trust Him to do what’s right.  I have come to the conclusion that faith is more than just claiming the prize.  Faith hinges on trust, and trust is understanding that you will not understand.  “His ways are not like our ways, and His thoughts are not like our thoughts.”  They are just different, and we cannot comprehend them.  So when we share Zoe’s story it is important that we do so yes giving honor and glory to God who is responsable, but to also be aware of the fact that my faith was not the demand that made it happen.  My faith through obedience and trust just enabled it to happen. So without fear we try to maintain the balance of those emotions and gladly tell Zoe’s story.  Why?  Because anytime God is involved, it is a story that needs to be told, and we have the responsability to rell it right, so that everyone may be drawn to Him.

You may remember me asking you to pray for a young man named John Paul who was recently in a car wreck returning to school here in Savannah from home.  He was supposed to have surgery today, but could not because his temperature spiked.  The doctors believe he has pneumonia.  John Paul is in need of a miracle so I ask again that you would pray for this young man.  If he were your son would you want believers believing for his healing?  Yes. 

Also some of you may know Scott Martin a missionary to India.  I am working on a project with him and he sent me an email asking me to pray for his daughter.  She has contracted Dengue Fever which can be fatal.  Please lift this family up and believe for healing in this young girls body. 

I know that many of you have been and continue to pray for Zoe.  Maybe you don’t check in everyday or multiple times a day, but Zoe is on your heart and mind.  Carmen and I are thankful for that.  We have had strength through some tough days recently, because of the love and support of so many believers.

9:55 PM Tuesday Day 44

Thank you for checking the site.  Many of you have been very consistent in doing so, and we are encouraged by your faithfulness.  Countless ones have labored in prayer for our little Zoe and we cannot thank you enough for that.  As Jim said earlier, it is not the prayer, but the faith of the one praying that reaches the very heart of God.  When my son obeys with an alterior motive, say…..wanting a new toy, that means nothing to me.  On the contrary, when he obeys out of genuine love for me or his daddy, that grabs my heart.  Having said that, I want to ask once more for specific prayer for Zoe for Wednesday…and beyond.  Particularly on Wednesday (today for many of you who are checking this in the morning) because it’s the day Zoe is scheduled for surgery to insert a G-tube.  This is a minimally invasive device that will aid in his receiving nourishment.  It is a good thing and we want to pray that the surgery goes well and he recovers soon, with no infection or set-backs.  He will have to be put back on the ventilator for the surgery since alot of times the medicine they give babies to keep them out during the procedure may relax them so much they don’t breath on their own.  Following the surgery, it is typical that they wait apx. 48 hours until they resume bottle feedings.  Until that time, they nourish him with fluid and vitamins, etc., but he needs the calories, so we pray that he bounces back quickly.  That reminds me, I would like to proudly announce that he is now 4 pounds and just over 9 ounces.  We are proud of him and hope he continues to “pig out” so he will pack on a little more weight…in a few days.  Please also pray specifically for his liver to function properly.  His blood count has been great until just a few days ago, and we are told that the problem seems to be linked to his liver.  They did transfuse him today in preparation for tomorrow’s procedure.  He received platelets and red blood cells.  Jim gave platelets today, a triple dose, so he has felt a bit week all day.  He is donating every 2 weeks during our stay here, and will continue to do so as trips to Savannah allow after we return home. 

Considering where we were 6 weeks ago, many miracles have taken place in our son’s little body and we are completely amazed.  I don’t know if I will ever completely process it all, when I think of how great God is, my mind kind of goes numb.  Along with that comes overwhelming joy in my heart at the priviledge of being a part of this story.  We have requested specific prayer before, and I would like to take a minute to share this…we prayed specifically for the hydrops to be resolved, and within days the swelling was completely gone.  After that the issue was hydrocephalis (the swelling in his head) and bleed on the brain.  We prayed specifically, and the swelling went away and he did NOT need a shunt or resevoire put in.  We’ve prayed specifically for his platelet count and seen that number rise on it’s own…we need him to keep a high count now, following today’s transfusion and G-tube surgery.  We’ve also prayed specifically for his eyes, and we’ve seen healing and the last doctor’s report was that there was “NO DETATCHMENTS!”  (I quote him because I saw what he wrote in Zoe’s file…exclamation point and all).  The doctor told us that our son would not see after one of his eye exams.  This was in the midst of other reports we were hearing about life-threatening issues for Zoe.  The blindness was not a threat to his life, yet God went ahead and healed that part of his body anyway, that’s what amazes me.  It is truly humbling to see first hand what God can do.  Let me not neglect to say that we highly esteem the doctors and nurses who have dealt first-hand with Zoe.  They have all done an outstanding job and been so kind to our family.  The team in the neonatal unit here has our full confidence, and they offer all they can.  What medicine can’t do, I know my God can do, and he is faithful.

11:10 AM Monday Day 43

Six weeks have come and gone.  I am sorry that we didn’t post yesterday, but the Internet where we are staying has been having some problems and I can’t always get a stable connection.  Saying that here’s the update…

Zoe is having an upper GI done right now to make sure he re fluxes correctly.  They have no reason to presume he doesn’t, but once they are sure he is scheduled for a G Tube on Wednesday.  If all goes well with the surgery we may be looking at going home a week later.  That’s right HOME.  

The idea of home is more than just the obvious.  It’s more than just our own beds, which I must admit we are all ready for.  More than having say over what’s on the TV.  It’s not just because we get to have privacy.  The idea of home is exciting because of who will be in it.  The thought of having my wife and three kids under one roof is overwhelming.  The concept of home for Carmen and I is not so much tied to four walls, we’ve seen lots of those homes in our lives already.  When we talk about home we are talking about a place where we connect with our kids, learn and grow together, where we come to after our mistakes and failures, and where we return after our triumphs.  To have little Zoe there will be yet another miracle on the long list of miracles God has already performed.  

Not long ago Carmen and I heard of a man in the ministry who had cancer.  Still young with several kids he was facing what seemed to us as a giant mountain.  I have always been extremely sensitive when it comes to family and life and the thought of any family facing those obstacles troubles me.  I was lying in bed that night tossing and turning as I often do and I asked Carmen, “Would you want people praying if that was me or one of our children?”  Of course her response was yes.  That prompted me to begin praying and I began having our teens at our church pray, taking time out of activities to lift him before the Lord.  I share this because today as I was getting some exercise I was thinking of all the people praying for Zoe and I remembered that night with Carmen.  

I may have mentioned this previously, but my father-in-law recently preached a message, “I Don’t Believe in the Power of Prayer.”  His point was that lots of people pray, people from all religions, the power is in the faith of the person praying.  I am thankful that we have had so many people praying and so many who have prayed with faith.  

So many people have turned away from the power of God because of the pompous and prideful religious ways that some leaders have presented their authority on God’s behalf.  Unfortunately we now have a movement of seeker sensitive churches who don’t want the power of God to be a discussion.  This situation finds me in the middle.  I have not once felt the right or audacity to stand in front of anyone and demand Zoe’s healing.  I also have not been willing to simply be so naive to think that if I don’t discuss God’s power, say to heal, that I wouldn’t have to think about it.  Instead I have found myself in “conversation” with God.  Calling on Him and asking for healing.  It’s not “let’s make a deal”, instead it’s a son coming to his father and asking for life saving aide.  I am thankful God not only heard me, but responded.  Zoe hasn’t experienced healing by my might, power, or authority.  Instead the God of the universe, who had to send His Son to hold my shame upon his shoulders unto the point of death, has heard my cry and the cries of so many others.

I continue to pray for that minister and his family, I continue to pray for John Paul (the young man I spoke of in earlier posts), I continue to pray for Zoe.  I know the scriptures and I know my God.  As for our future I know God has plans for His children, not to harm them, but to prosper them giving them a hope and a future.  But I submit my life and the lives of my family to His greater will.  To what will advance His Kingdom until He returns.

I shared all of this because it is what is on my heart lately.  Please continue to pray for Zoe with faith believing that he will be totally healed.

9:17 pm Saturday Day 41

Zoe is doing tremendous.  He is down to 30 percent on his oxygen.  To put that in perspective, you and I breath 21 percent, which is room air.    His billirubin count is down, praise God for that, and we are expecting it to keep coming down to a normal count.  His platelet count is down, but is not low enough to transfuse.  That brings me to the topic of him having surgery to have a G-tube inserted into his little belly so he can receive nourishment.  Sometime this week he will have the surgery, a minor one from what we understand, and with a G-tube he will be sure to receive the volume of milk his body needs to grow and gain weight.  He is doing very well with his bottle feeds, averaging apx. 20 cc’s each bottle, twice a day.  That is how much he drinks, then the remainder is administered through his feeding tube.  Sometimes he manages to take his full bottle (apx. 40 cc’s), but they have to stop him after 20 minutes of trying or  he will burn more calories than he consumes.  (Could you imagine if we as grown ups burned more calories the more we ate?)  Anyway, Zoe having the G-tube will be a good thing because it will be for his benefit, plus we will still be able to bottle feed him and watch him improve with time.  The platelet count plays into the surgery because of clotting factor, so if his platelet count is still low, they will transfuse prior to surgery.  Following the surgery they will want to monitor him several days, then we will know more about being discharged.  (Jim just came in from feeding him and said he took his whole bottle tonight!  Also, he spoke with a doctor and had the Do Not Resusitate order removed because he is so stable).  For those of you just coming into Zoe’s story, the reason for the DNR is because we were told that our son’s brain activity would not be able to sustain life.  Now, he has come so far and God has blessed us so much, allowing him to grow healthier and stronger.

Having been in this situation, and literally in this place, at this time has brought us into contact with people we would have never connected with before our current circumstances.  Jim and I have experienced a whole new world of emotions these past 6 weeks that open my understanding now of what many others face in this life.  Last Sunday at the church we visited the pastor spoke of an elderly couple who both are facing cancer.  Immediately I could connect with what they must feel as they daily wrestle with questions that they may never have a chance to find an answer to.  I envisioned the countless trips to the hospital, conversations with doctors, and how they will hold life more precious than before.  We’ve also had opportunity to get to know other families here at the Ronald McDonald House and hear their stories, all of which are so interesting.  I found myself actually grateful for this experience in our lives, which may sound crazy to some.  It is the difficulties we face that sometimes make life so beautiful.  Jim mentioned to me just today that he views this as just another part of our story as a family.  I couldn’t agree more.  We have been drawn closer together through this, and I’m not just talking about our immediate family.  I’m thankful for a wonderful husband who loves me and the kids unconditionally, and walks it out every day.  I’m thankful for kids who love me and their daddy…if only they could obey unconditionally    They are really great, and one day soon we will all be home together!

All The Media Links Under One Roof

So I know you all are tired of me posting but I wanted to post all the media related links on one post… I won’t erase the previous posts relating to this because of the comments and all but hopefully this will help you find all the stories and help support spreading the word. The more you click on these links and share them with your friends/family/strangers than the more this story will be covered and even more people will hear about the miracle that has taken place. So here are the links…

TheCoastalSource.com story

WTOC News 11 Story

WSAV News 3 Story

Updated List of K-Love Stations for 9/29 radio broadcast

Updated List of Air1 Stations for 9/29 radio broadcast

If you know of any other media outlets that we can share this story with get in touch. Thanks!

9:00 PM Thursday Day 39

Woooo…. What a day.  Today we did an interview with WTOC and WSAV here in Savannah.  We feel compelled to tell people what God is doing and the doors for that just keep opening.  We haven’t seen the piece from WSAV yet, however the piece from WTOC was great.  I have said this many times, but I want to say it again…. God has done so much in Zoe’s life, so much healing.  We cannot wait to take him home.  He took his entire bottle this morning and remains strong and stable.  His liver is still recovering and every test shows small improvements.  I was asked by one of the reporters if I was surprised by what’s happening.  I told her I don’t pretend to know God’s will in this situation.  “His ways are not like our ways.  His thoughts are not like our thoughts.”  This is not a surprise, I have prayed believing God would heal Zoe, but willing to accept it if He didn’t.

Here’s the video, let us know what you think.