Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Marcus Baby Dedication Weekend



So this post is very late getting up, but here it is anyways! We had Marcus dedicated at our church on April 10th! It was such a special day for us. My (Kelly's) parents came for the weekend to celebrate with us and spend some quality time with their grandson. Of course he was ridiculously spoiled, especially by his Grandma, but I guess that is the job of a grandparent. We are so happy that they were able to be here with us. Here are some pictures from the weekend:


Sitting in his stroller big boy style...we went on lots of walks because the weather was so nice!



Getting ready for church with Dad.

Brad did an awesome job with the dedication. It was so encouraging. Marcus did great too and just smiled the whole time.

Marcus is already the ultimate Ladies Man. Even when he is sleeping the girls flock to him.



Marcus with his grandparents.




Thursday, April 7, 2011

Uganda Update

Thank you all for praying for V!! They are really looking for a doctor to go to the babies home and check on the other children, if you know of any resources please let us know!! Here is an update from Uganda:

I know that everyone is anxiously awaiting news on V. I apologize for the delay in getting this e-mail out to everyone. I have been communicating with Ken and V's family daily but have been out of the office and unable to e-mail.

V has been stable the last two days. She has been able to keep her food down also for the last two days. The nutrients in the food are already showing in her skin and in her health. Ken says she is starting to return to herself and is not so thin or pale. She is responding to the treatment she is receiving and though she is still semi-conscience, she is also responding to touch.

She has had a fever off and on, but the doctors tell Ken that this is normal with meningitis. The doctor's have told Ken that the treatment for meningitis will be 3 weeks long. Because V is so small and the medication doses have had to be very small, the treatment will take a little longer than the normal 2 weeks.

Ken asked me to personally thank all of you for your continued prayers for V. God is answering our prayers. The baby's home has been incurring additional costs as they have been bringing the nannies in shifts to the hospital, as well as Ken, so that someone is with V at all times. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the Ugandan community as well. Ken said that one of his friends has come daily to pray over V. We also had an American woman living in Uganda, who heard about V, visit her in the hospital and give Ken and the nannies money for food.

We do not yet have a final bill regarding medical costs but should have a close estimate very soon. Ken has talked with a couple of doctors about visiting the babies home but has not found anyone yet. There is one doctor that he really likes at the hospital which he has not spoken to yet. If anyone knows of a resource in Uganda who can help with this, please let us know.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your financial donations. We want to be sure to give God all the glory for V's health and continued improvement.

God Bless,
Lisa Prather

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Urgent Ugandan Prayer Request!


Hi Friends,
Here is an e-mail message we got from Lisa at Nightlight about one of the children from the Tender Hearts Baby Home in Kampala. Please be praying for this sweet little girl and her family! When God brought V to the babies home she was severely malnourished and sick. It has been incredible to see her transformation from a child fighting for her life to a child who is loved, cared for, and full of joy. God saved her the first time and can do it again!!

Also, four of the children from the babies home have been matched with families and everyone is just awaiting a court date. Please pray that the date will get set as soon as possible so these families can be united!!
To learn more about Tender Hearts Baby Home in Kampala, Uganda go here: http://www.carolinahopeadoption.org/blog/category/adoption-programs/uganda-adoption/

From Lisa:
Over the weekend, I received an urgent message from Ken and Cathy. V became very ill last week and was admitted to the hospital. On Saturday she was not responding, listless, and her left arm and leg were paralyzed. The doctors had hooked her up to an IV as she was very dehydrated as well. She had been throwing up off and on for a couple of days.

Ken and one of the nannies Maria have been taking turns staying at the hospital night and day to be with V. On Saturday, the doctors began to suspect that V may have meningitis. They had to do a spinal tap to check for this. Although this is incredibly painful, Ken said that V did not even wince when they did this procedure which just shows how weak and unresponsive she was.

The results showed that V has acute bacterial meningitis. The doctors were very optimistic though since this was caught very early. It was such a great thing that Ken took her to the hospital so soon and also that she went to a large hospital with specialists. They began treating V with strong antibiotics Saturday night. They also inserted a feeding tube into her stomach to see if they could get her some nutrients.

I followed up with Ken on Sunday to learn that V was moving around some and kicking her legs. Ken said she was moving her left leg but very little. The doctors were planning to do a CT scan to determine why V is paralyzed on her left side. On Sunday, Ken reported that V had only thrown up once which was a good sign as she was able to keep most of her food down. She was also convulsing when they picked her up to move her from one bed to another for testing. Therefore, they were doing everything they could on the bed so she would not convulse.

According to Ken, V is still very sick and is not responsive. She was looking better on Sunday though and showing some signs of improvement. Naturally, when Ken took V to the hospital, he told the doctors to "Do whatever it takes to save her life." Because of all the testing and the days spent in the hospital, we are not sure what the cost will be. Ken has already spent about $450 and expects the hospital bill to be somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 when all is said and done. He plans to discuss this with the hospital today to try and get more concrete numbers. In Uganda, you are expected to pay the bill when you discharge from the hospital. We are reaching out to everyone for both financial and prayer support for V. Please also pray for Ken, Cathy, and Maria who are very tired and worried about V. In addition, please also pray for V's family. She was recently matched with one of our families, and they have been informed of her condition throughout the weekend. Please pray for them to be renewed in their faith and remain strong. It is incredibly difficult to be half way around the world when your child is so sick. I will send out another update once I am able to get news of V's condition today.

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