July 13, 2009

Success.  Zoe came through surgery just fine and is laughing and playing.  It’s amazing how differently we react to things when we don’t know any better.  He really is so strong.  We will be getting together some more pictures and videos as we approach his one year birthday.  Thanks

July 09, 2009

Well it’s almost been a year and Zoe is doing so well.

We are here at Egleston in Atlanta, GA where Zoe is about to go in for a procedure to correct his urethra.  The condition he has is called hyposdias.  This simple procedure will help to correct the problem which is not life threatening.

For months we have heard of people who have heard Zoe’s story and have been encouraged.   Now at 11 months Zoe is being released by many of his doctors.

He is very happy and doing great.  We will post back following the procedure.

Thank You for your prayers.

The Simpsons

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Happy New  Year!!! 3 months late, but it was last year that we posted the last update.  Over the past few months we have been to many doctors’ appointments, and continue to get good reports on little Zoe.  Well, not so little anymore, now 14 pounds and 7 ounces, and over 25 inches long.  He is nearly 7 months old, and doing awesome.  His liver is completely healed, his blood count is completely normal, he sees out of both eyes, per his last visit to the eye doctor when they did a vision test.  His retinas are completely flat against the back of his eyes, and his eyes are no longer filled with blood.  The heart doctor performed an EKG and a sonogram on his heart last week, and it all came back good.  He no longer has the G-tube (removed in November ‘08), and he is eating baby cereal, veggies, and about to experience fruit for the first time tonight!  He takes all his bottles and is a pacie junkie!   The neursurgeon performed another CT scan, and though it is visible that there has been insult to the brain, there are no lingering concerns for the future.  The neurologist evaluated Zoe’s activity and motor skills and he also sees no current delays in Zoe’s developement, nor any concerns for the future.  Today the developemental therapist visited us at the house and her report was the same.  Zoe babbles, goos, laughs (he is very ticklish, just like his big brother and his daddy), and he loves to be around his bubba and sissy while they play.  He cut his first tooth this week, and the second one is not far behind.  I (Carmen) hope to become much more computer savvy in the near future so as not to rely on Jim to have to post new pics and videos.  I do however know how to plug the computer in and turn it on!  Baby steps, I know, but you gotta start somewhere!  We’ll try to have some posted soon, I know many people are wondering how big he’s getting, etc.  Thank you again for your prayers in faith.  Happy March to all!

2:17 PM Friday, December 5 2008

Every day exciting “first things” are happening around our world  and we sometimes fail to realize it.  You know, things like, first time to ride a bike by himself,  first house they bought, first steps for the little one, first kiss…you get the picture.  This week we experienced a “first” that excited us.  Zoe smiled in response to us talking to him, and once to Isaac and Katelyn being silly while they were playing (they got down in the floor and were talking to him and laughing).  He has smiled before, but usually in response to gas in his tummy, or something like that.  I was talking to him face to face the other day, kind of tickling him on the tummy and he smiled back at me.  It’s enough to make your heart swell!  Okay, okay, enough with the mushy stuff.  Now for some updated information…

Since we last posted, he has visited some of his doctors, and here’s what’s going on.  His liver is no longer enlarged, and his bili count is nearly normal (it is supposed to be under “1″ and it is at 1.something and 2.something.  Anyway, the blood test before that showed it at 5.  This means his jaundice is almost completely gone, so that is exciting!  His eye health continues to improve as well.  The blood clots that were there are gone now, and his retinas are completely flat against the back of his eyes.  (Did we mention they WERE detatched?)  I know we did, it’s just amazing to say that again.  We travelled to Savannah for these check-ups and were blessed to stay at the Ronald McDonald house overnight again.  They continue to be a huge blessing to our family, I can’t say that enough.  While we were there we met Bailey’s family.  We talked with her mom and dad, and I want to ask everyone to please pray  for this precious little girl.  She was born mid-October, but was not due until sometime in January.  Obviously, she is a tiny thing (just 2 pounds when we were there) and she needs God’s power to work in her body.  I asked her parents’ permission to post about her and they would love for everyone to agree in prayer for her full recovery.  We give God glory for Holly’s recovery (we met her family at the RMH, and now for Kiersten’s recovery.  

Sometime back I wrote that I wanted my child to not just be breathing, but to experience the wonders and beauty of life.  ”Zoe” literally means “life as God has it” and his middle name, Ezekiel means “strength of God”.  We fully expect not just him to experience that, but our whole family as well.  That we may laugh together and enjoy life.  But also that we would be driven closer to each other in difficult times as well.  The Simpson house does not lack for giggles, noise, and altogether craziness, that’s for sure.  I am thankful, definitely in a way like never before.  Crazy as it sounds, I am even thankful for the indescribable exhaustion from lack of sleep at times.  I’m thankful because of the reasons I’m tired…3 incredible reasons.

God is Blessing

Hope you enjoyed the pics from yesterday.  Zoe is doing good.  The hole where his G-Tube was is healing nicely right now.  Hopefully it will completely close of quickly and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.  Everyone has been so kind to us the last few months and God has blessed us.  I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has prayed and believed.  Please share in this blessing, God has heard the prayers of His people and as much as this is our blessing I believe that everyone who stood with us has been blessed.  There are a couple of events coming up in which people are wanting to help us financially.  One is a benifit concert this Saturday at Hazlehurst Church of God with “Fire From The Heart.”  These guys do a “homecoming” every year and this year wanted to use that time to help us.  The second is a benefit concert in Birmingham, Al at Parkway Christian Fellowship where three bands are coming together to raise money to help our family.  I am very honored that people find value in our family and desire to help. 

Some people have made some comments about giving so I want to be very clear.  As of right now our understanding is that Zoe’s hospital bills are taken care of 100% by insurance.  We have nothing in hand to indicate differently.  Hazlehurst Church of God where I am employed paid me every week I was gone.  My pastor, Alan Kea, has given every day off that I have asked for to help take care of Zoe.  We have in no way hurt in taking care of our normal bills.  The only financial strain that we have felt is the expense of travel.  We travel most weeks at least once to Savannah and back.  This is a two hour drive.  We go as a family and it is expensive.  These trips have very quickly dwendled what money we had set aside.  However we have never felt a real strain, because God has provided.  We do not know what the future holds for, what he may need and what it might cost.  We still believe he will only need what every other child needs.  We will be making trips for months to Savannah and will continue to have that cost.  I am not asking anyone to give anything to us.  I trust God to supply.  If someone feels lead to give or help raise money then we will count it as a blessing.  Any money above and beyong our extra expenses will be set aside to help Zoe in the future. 

I do not want anything to be said that pulls the attention away from Jesus.  It is by His hand that we are sustained and I stand now to tell you that He healed Zoe.  To God be all the glory, all the praise, all the recognition.

Here is a great article written a few weeks back about Zoe.  I hope you enjoy it.  It was a great blessing.

 

No More G-Tube

Yesterday morning Carmen and I went to vote then drove the family to Savannah for Zoe’s most recent doctors appointment.  While there the doctor removed Zoe’s feeding tube, which by the way he had not used even once since coming home.  It is amazing at what all God is doing in Zoe’s life. 

Many of you have been waiting patiently for pictures and so here they are… Hope you enjoy.

2:07 PM Wednesday October 22

We were in Savannah Monday and Tuesday, we crashed at the Ronald McDonald House for a night where we saw some families that we knew during our stay there.  We saw Holly’s mom (the baby we requested prayer for earlier) and things are going great for Holly.  For those who don’t know, the week we were getting ready to leave the hospital with Zoe, Holly’s family was called in because following a surgery she had, she got septic shock and was not expected to make it.  It took her a while to recover from that, but she is now over 4 pounds, and they expect her to go home soon.  Her due date was Thanksgiving and she was a tiny thing, born a week after Zoe.  When we left RMH Holly was only 2 pounds.  God has brought healing to her body and now she will be able to be home with her family for the holidays, she is doing very well now.  Thank you for your continued prayers for her and her family. 

We have prayed in faith, believing God’s word for the continued and complete healing for our son, Zoe.  So when we continue to get good reports, a word that comes to my mind immediately is ”UNBELIEVABLE”!  But that is just an expression, seeing as how we are BELIEVING what God’s word says, and waiting to see how His plan unfolds.  So, here is the “unbelievable” good news that we have been believing for…

Zoe was very awake and alert for both appointments, one with the neurologist and one with the neurosurgeon.  (He is not going to have surgery, this was just a check up since he was seen by the neurosurgeon in the hospital).  The neurologist was pleased with how alert he was and noticed that Zoe has good movement in his arms and legs, using both sides of his body.  He said there was nothing he was concerned about, so we don’t need to visit him again until JFebruary.  The neurologist did a CT scan, and found that where there had been blood in his brain, it is now gone but there are deposits of calcium and iron, a result of the blood having been there.  That is not a concern.  He also commented on what good control Zoe has of his arms and legs.  Zoe has good reflexes with his eyes, blinking and all that.  Those are the things they look for as indications for the brain function and nervouse system.  He was pleased with what he saw, and we don’t have to visit him until January.  We talked about how Zoe’s sickness that he went through is all such a mystery, and he said that he can’t really make any predictions because of that.  We understand, and don’t expect him to attempt at predicting anything for the future of our son.  One scan they did on Zoe’s brain when he was critically sick showed that his cerebellum looked completely dead, no blood flow through it, so it was not supposed to function.  This scan showed that there is working tissue in the cerebellum, so we will wait as Zoe grows and watch how he developes.  That brings me to the visit we had today from the developemental therapists who came to our home.  The things they look for are like how he moves his hands, placement of his thumbs and fingers, use of arms and legs, and how he follows objects with his eyes.  She was happy with how Zoe did and said that he does everything normally.  That is amazing to me, because we have medical documentation that shows that his brain would not be able to tell his body to do the things he is doing–breathing, swollowing, moving his arms and legs normally, etc.  I am in awe of it all, and excited beyond description.  Zoe is doing well, and adorable as can be.  I haven’t forgotten about posting recent pics, I just don’t know how to, I will ask Jim or BB to do so soon as they can.  Since today is Wed, Jim is consumed with getting ready for youth group tonight, so it may be tomorrow. 

Once again, thanks for checking the updates, and thanks to those who labor in prayer for Zoe.  We’ll type more later, until then, may God bless you and your family!

1:38 PM Sunday October 19

Friday’s appointments in Savannah were very encouraging, and we got good reports all around.  First we saw his Liver Doctor, who said that Zoe’s liver is continuing to return to normal size; it is only minimally swollen as of Friday.  His color looks better over all, and the whites of his eyes look better than ever.  He ordered some more blood work to check bili count and platelets again, we should know the results by Monday, hopefully.  The doctor was very pleased with how Zoe was looking, etc.  Next we visited the eye doctor.  He commented something to the effect was that Zoe’s eyes have done such unusual things, some he has never seen, and some he had not seen in 20 years.  Friday was the first time he could see past the blood clots that had been there, so they seem to be disolving.  His optic nerves appear to be smaller than normal, but that does not seem to be too much of a concern.  We will know more about that after future check ups.   His eye health continues to improve, and we see that doctor again in apx. 6 weeks.  It was a rough day for Zoe, getting pricked in the foot for blood, and having his eyelids “pinned” open for the eye exam.  He handled it well, and made up for it on Saturday with some good nap time.  We head back to Savannah tomorrow (Monday) and will stay overnight for more check ups.  We will post the results following those appointments.

Since Zoe’s birth, I have felt emotions that I have never known before.  Jim and I have been moved beyond ourselves, to grasp for something real, a deep trust that God’s ways and plans are far greater than ours.  Though we don’t understand, and wish to have some answers, we may never fully know the “why” to the complications that our son has faced.  With that in mind, we continue to trust God for the future of our family, and will forever seek Him as we trust in His ways.

May you and your family have a wonderful Sunday afternoon!

3:25 PM Wednesday October 15

Our little man is growing into a big guy, a whopping 5 pounds, 13 ounces, 18.5 inches long big guy.  His visit with the doctor was very exciting yesterday.  Everything looks good, she said she was, and I quote, “amazed” at how well he is doing.  We follow up this Friday with some more doctors, and we expect more good results.  Zoe is doing good on his schedule of eating and sleeping.  He is having several hours of awake time in the morning and afternoon.  He is gaining good strength in his neck and he is able to move his head back and forth a bit.  We are still not having to use the G-tube, and we expect to have it taken out in just a few weeks, according to one of his doctors.  There is just not a whole lot to say, except that he is doing so well, and as he gains strength and gets a few more immunizations we will then be able to take him to church.  We are not impatient, we will let him continue to grow and do well, and that will come in time.  Again, thank you to all who have helped out.  Many have cooked dinner for us, brought goodies, helped clean our house prior to our return, kept up our yard, sent cards and gifts, and we are so incredibly grateful for it all.  We are surroundeld with wonderful people who trully care.  Thank you.

8:43 AM Tuesday October 14

Round the clock bottle feeds, changing diapers, playing princess dress-up with Katelyn, phonics and math worksheets for Isaac, leaving sidewalk chalk messages on the drive way for daddy…such are the activities that consume the daily schedule at the Simpson house these days.  We are blessed to have such activity, and it is a good kind of tired that lingers because of being up at night.  Zoe is doing so tremendous, he is now taking 70 cc’s, always in a bottle.  He does not need to use the G-tube for feeding, he is strong and able and willing to drink his bottle every 3 hours.  This morning he has a check up with his pediatrician, we will post the good results later today.  I say “good results” because we expect nothing less, you would not believe how good he looks and how good he is doing.  We praise God and give Him all honor for who He is, and what He IS doing in our family.  More later….until then, have an awesome day.