Elijah's Place

ITS BEEN AWHILE!!!!

2010-05-31T22:28:00.002-04:00

Well, It has been a while since we have posted on here. I can't even begin to tell you how great Eli is doing. He is walking, into everything and saying about 75 words. We are working really hard with Physical, Occupational and speech therapy to keep him on track. He is still struggling with gaining weight but we are trying new foods daily and pray we reach 22 lbs. soon so we can say goodbye to the feeding tube. Otherwise, he is on track and being a 2 year old with two older brothers if you get the picture....LOL!!!! We are going to see Andrew graduate from Kindergarten this week, Matthew will be in 4th grade and we are off to the beach on Friday!! I am excited to see his reaction to all the water....which he now loves. Thanks for all your prayers and continued commitment to us and our family as prayer warriors. We are forever grateful. We still talk about this experience often and hope we never forget the mighty hand of GOD and how he has shown himself to us these last couple of years. I will try to post some updated pictures soon. Thanks.

Lots of Firsts!!!

2009-08-24T17:34:00.002-04:00

Today was the first day of school, first day at a new school, first day of K for Andrew, Elijah cruised around the table for the first time...wow!!! Well, it has been a while since I have posted. Sorry Jackie...LOL. We have had a REALLY busy summer. Matthew is playing football, Andrew has been playing soccer, we have been camping (yes I said camping), etc. Now today it all came to an end with a new beginning....school!!! Matthew is in 3rd grade this year and he came home loving it. This is the first time he has EVER really enjoyed school. It was such a blessing since he cried this morning when I left him and then I cried. We have prayed really hard about the change to a new school and felt God leading us to move them and guess what he took care of it....AGAIN!!! Andrew cried as well but came home wanting to go back tonight after dinner....LOL!!! I am so proud of them adn they are growing up soooo fast.

Elijah is doing wonderful!!! I still look at him and am so amazed at where we were just a short year ago. It was a year ago on July 22nd that his esophagus was operated on for the first time. It is amazing how God has worked in all of our lives over the last year. THere are times I still miss MN and would like to take him to see his wonderful nurses and dr.s soon. He is such a happy baby. If he is crying something is wrong. He is able to drink from a sippy cup and from a straw.....YES he did it!!! I can't believe I can write that on this blog. It is just amazing and humbling how awesome our God is. He loves to eat bread, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, ranch dressing, dill pickles (hamburge slices) and get ready for this GUACAMOLE!!!! He loves those high taste foods. I still haven't tried any meat and he may be going to school before I do....I am just so scared of it. His therapists are really impressed with his improvements.
He is able to crawl like crazy, is into everything, has mastered climbing our step into the living room and is starting to cruise (as of today). He can say mama (I waited a long time for that), dadddy, bite bite, and ball. We are going to see a speech therapist soon to work on getting more sounds and words, but I am amazed at what he can do for now. He continues to receive cupational therapy and physical therapy and I am so thankful for them. I am not sure where he would be without their help.

Thanks for keeping up with us. I am trying to figure out how to put more photos on here.

Back to some firsts we just took a camping trip for the first time last weekend. Yes we went tent camping...first and last time. We loved camping but not in a tent...bring on the camper. IF you know us at all Ryan and I are more like Embassy Suite type people so this was a biggy for us. The boys went fishing with Ryan for the first time this summer and Andrew caught two fish. They had lots of fun. We have had lots of fun this summer. I will try to update more frequently now that I have a little more time on my hands.

The Frazier 5

IM ONE!!!!

2009-06-27T23:06:00.002-04:00

Wow!!! Is all I can say. Elijah turns one in about one hour. We had a wonderful party today with family and some close friends. And tommorrow we will be celebrating with our wonderful church family at our church picnic. They have been such a strong rock this past year it wouldn't seem right not to celebrate this MAJOR milestone with them. I can't help but want to cry uncontrollably as I sit here and reflect on what our year as been like. I am so thankful for what God has done for us, it is hard to express. Last year at this time I didn't know what was in store for us, but God did and he had a master plan for it all. From the moment of delivery when Dr. Barton literally saved my life from major blood loss and just the fact that he delivered early. Noone else in the practice wanted to deliver and he woke up at 2 am one year ago today and said he knew something was wrong and needed to deliver. Little did we know my uterus was splitting and already bleeding into my abodmen, my water breaking would have been fatal for Elijah and me. That is only the beginning of the miracles and wonders God has shown us in the last year. I could go on forever, but I won't. My God is SO good and loves us so much. I feel like such a failure that there are days that I don't give him the time he deserves. You know I was in walmart yesterday getting balloons and overheard the cashiers talking about keeping their houses clean vs. spending time with family. God gave me this opportunity to use my experience to let them know that those toys on the floor will be there tomm. and you don't know if you will. When you see your child's life hang in the balance as we have this past year you look at life a little different. I can't tell you how much my attitude about life has changed in teh past year. I am not so uptight when it comes to life. You only get to live it once do it to the best of your ability by praying to God for guidance and go for it.

The party today was awesome. We got to spend it with the people that mean so much to us our family and friends. I was really sad some people could not make it but I know they were thinking of us. Or maybe it was that delicious cake Tom's mom made. Or the pork bbq. or my potato salad....welll anyway I know they wanted to be here. You could tell by today that Elijah is loved so much and his experience has touched others in ways we may never know. You know God not only gave him to us to keep for him, but to share with others to see God in him. I am sure that my baby has a very SPECIAL purpose and pray he will seek it out as God leads in his life. Eli has changed my boys perspective on life, children, what is means to be sick, how precious each day is, and has taught them God REALLLY does answer prayers. If that is all that year was for then it was worth it. That is something my boys will take with them forever.

You know this post could be very long, but I will spare you the rest of what is inside this scary head. Just know that without God life is impossible. Oh yeah, you can live it but it is not full and until you have him in your heart adn life you will never understand his power. He loves us so much that he bled and died for our sins, how can we overlook such a sacrifice. I am amazed at how lightly we take his sacrifice and the joy we can have in his presence in our lives. I can remember many nights crying out to him to make sure I took whatever he was trying to teach me in those trials and use it for his glory. I am sure I have failed in many ways, but I hope I have grasped some of what he wanted me to learn. I try to love more, worry less, pray more and definitely know he will provide. I always knew he loved me but until this year I am not sure I knew how much. He loves us all that much and is ready to accept us at anytime. My reliance on him is amazing and I wouldn't have it any other way. My relationship with Ryan and my children is SO STRONG and I praise God for that. This year could have torn our family apart, believe me at times it was HARD. But God gave us strength, each other, and a stronger bond. Praise HIM!!!!

We have made it to the one year mark and I couldn't be happier. ELijah is eating more solid foods, he is drinking a little from a sippy cup and loves to eat sweets. I never thought I would be writing those things when about nine months ago he was taking formula on a sponge. A very small sponge. He crawled for the first time last night. He is sitting along very well. These are all things that are answered prayers.

He really enjoyed his cake today but didn't quite dig in, but that is all new to him. I will post some pictures later.

I must go to bed. I have to get up early to get to Sunday school. I hope you are going to worship our wonderful Lord and Savior tomm. at corporate worship. Love each of you dearly. Talk to you soonl.

Doing great

2009-06-19T09:29:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing wonderful!!!! It is amazing how he is growing and gettting stronger each day. He will be ONE next Sunday! I can't believe it has been a year. This journey has had its fair share of ups and downs...but look what we have: A beautiful, smiling, miracle from God. We couldn't be more excited to share his birthday with family and friends. His swelling from the surgery is going down everyday. We know it is because you can now see some sutures sticking out from the skin...nasty I know but expected. This will only last about 8 weeks and then back to normal. Eli is trying to scoot backwards when on his belly adn he can sit from that position quite well now. He still hasn't mastered moving his legs with his arms to crawl, but that too shall come. Each day is a new adventure with him.

Our other monkeys are doing great as well. We are off to the pool today to enjoy some sun. Elijah like the water but doesn't want his entire body wet. matthew and andrew could live there. Well I better get packed for the day. Thanks for all the prayers and keeping up with us.

Update....

2009-06-10T10:41:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay. We have been resting the last couple of days and forgot to update. Elijah is doing very well. His swelling is going down each day and he is getting more energy. His incision is healing very well. It actually looks really good, if you can say a cut from ear to ear is good. He is really bouncing back quickly. We truly are blessed!! Thanks to all who have been praying and keeping up with us.

We may post some pictures soon... Still trying to decide if we want to post the worst "swelling" ones... We shall see...

God Bless...

Friday Evening Update

2009-06-05T22:22:00.002-04:00

We are out of the hospital!!!! We got back to the hotel around 6:30 this evening. Elijah is doing very well and is now resting. The swelling has lessened some. We are clear to head home, so we are going to leave sometime in the morning. We aren't sure how far we will make it, basically it depends on how he does. Hopefully, we will be home by Sunday evening.... We will post when we get settled in.

God Bless....

We are at the hotel

2009-06-05T20:14:00.002-04:00

We left the hospital around 6 tonight. Elijah is getting a little more agitated that he can't open his eyes but overall is doing very well. He is napping with his dad right now, while the boys are in the pool. I am suppose to be packing. I will get to it soon enough. He is still swollen but you can see that some of it is going away. Dr. Fearon thinks he should have some slits by tomm. to see from. That would be great. We are planning on heading out tomm. morning since Dr. fearon ok'd it today. We will probably take two days to come home since he doesn't feel so great. It is such a relief to have this over. God defnitely has watched over us so much in the last year it is unbelievable....but really isn't that what he promises if we just believe. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery and safe trip home. thanks to all who have been praying that is our tower.

I would like to personally thank my mother in law for coming with us. It has been such a blessing. Our entire family is so supportive of us at all times. THanks everyone. Also our friends they are always there as well. We love you all.

Be back in Kentucky soon....

Friday Update

2009-06-05T15:06:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing very well today. He was able to have his head shampoo'ed and he did well. He is still swollen, but is getting better. He is supposed to be released this afternoon around 4 or 5. We are hoping to be able to begin our trek back home tomorrow morning. At this point, we aren't sure. We will give an update later today.

God Bless

Evening Update

2009-06-04T21:17:00.002-04:00

Elijah has had a great day. He is doing very well today and has slept through most of it. He is extremely swollen, but hopefully has reached the peak. His eyes are swollen and his eyelids are "bugged" out. His forehead and incision look awesome, and it makes him look almost exactly like Andrew. He is also bruised all over his face. But his blood counts have kinda "bottomed" out it seems, so they feel like they won't have to do a transfusion. The big event for tomorrow is a head shampoo.... If all goes well, he might get out tomorrow afternoon. We shall see.

He has to be the luckiest boy on Earth. He has two wonderful brothers and a mother who gives so much of herself. We are all truly lucky and fortunate to have her. Poor Matthew cried when he saw Elijah this afternoon. It truly is a shock to see him. It really does not look anything like him from the nose up. But Tammy was playing with him this afternoon, and he was smiling. The same Eli we all know and love. God has truly blessed us again. And we are truly thankful.

We would also like to thank my Mom for coming with us and helping out so much. It allows us to all be together, but also allows the boys to enjoy their time in the pool and not at the hospital. We are blessed to have her as well. As well as all of our family!!!!

We will try to post in the morning, hopefully with more details as to the plan of release (hopefully)...

God Bless....

Morning Update

2009-06-04T11:01:00.002-04:00

Elijah had a pretty good night. He slept on and off over the night. He has not been on any strong pain medication since yesterday afternoon. He has been able to rest fairly well. They have not performed another blood gas, as his levels are not alarming. His blood count is holding steady at 7.5. Anything 6 or lower would require a transfusion. He still has the central line, but that will be removed sometime today. He is supposed to be moved to the floor later on today.

His head is very swollen, even to the point of his eyelids flipped out. But he is eating and will be having baby food this morning. At this point, everything is still on schedule. Please keep praying and we will update later on today.

God Bless.......

Another update

2009-06-03T21:22:00.003-04:00

Elijah is resting. He is waking up more now and realizing he can't open his eyes, which makes him really anxious. They are giving him adavan (sp.??) to relax him. His blood work has been a little off this afternoon but is getting better. Dr. Fearon says all is well and he is doing well. They have started feeds and he is doing great with it. he really wants some baby food, but he will have to wait until tomm. It is amazing how God has his hand on Eli and what a witness he has been in his short life. we thank all of you for your prayers and kind words. We love each of you very much. I don't know what we would do in life without our family and friends. I look at Eli's face adn see the hand of God all over it adn thank him for each precious moment of life he gives us with our children. We will update later.

Tammy

Another interesting way God works....

2009-06-03T14:38:00.002-04:00

He is truly amazing. We walked into his room for the first time and we noticed that a nurse that he has is a traveling nurse. The "God" thing is that it is one of the same nurses Elijah had during his stay in Minnesota. She took great care of him there and is doing the same here. Amazing how God works in ALL things....

God Bless...

Surgery is Complete...

2009-06-03T14:25:00.003-04:00

The surgery finished up around 1:30 CST. Elijah did great and is resting comfortably now. He looks good and is starting to swell some now. The full extent of his swelling should be realized by tomorrow afternoon. They were able to accomplish all that was needed with minimal blood loss. He really looks different, as his head isn't "pointed" in the front, but more of a flat forehead. Dr. Fearon is really please with the results. The incision looks really good as well. They are hoping to begin feeds through the G-tube this evening.

The anesthesiologist was really impressed with his esophagus. She said if we had not told her, she would not have known he had anything done to it. A true testament to the work of Dr. Hess in Minnesota. We thank God for him and the staff there, as well as the Dr. Fearon and the staff here. Two wonderful institutions God is using to accomplish great work.

We cannot describe how truly blessed we have been throughout this whole ordeal. God has been so patient and merciful to us. We are truly eternally grateful for all He has done. Nothing could have ever been accomplished without him. We truly praise his holy and precious name. He is so good!!!!

Thanks to all who have kept up with us and prayed for us. We are truly thankful..

God Bless....

Another PTL

2009-06-03T13:00:00.002-04:00

Praise the LORD!!! Elijah's surgery went well. He is doing fantastic... He lost a little blood, but nothing major. They will be checking the levels later.... He is having no breathing issues!! They are finishing getting him settled in and then we will be able to see him... In about 20 minutes... The surgery was sucessful and accomplished what they set out to do...

Praise the LORD!!!!!

Update Again...

2009-06-03T11:24:00.002-04:00

All is going well.. The actual head surgery started at 9:30am.. They had to cut his arm to place an arterial line. But he is doing well and we are looking at around 11:30am CST for the surgery to be complete.

Update Again...

2009-06-03T10:48:00.002-04:00

Just spoke with the head nurse in the OR and they have begun and he is doing well. The surgery is going well...

Update....

2009-06-03T10:35:00.002-04:00

It has taken a little over an hour to get him prepped and ready to go. They got underway around 9am. We will be receiving updates about every 30 minutes or so, and we will update accordingly....

Getting Started...

2009-06-03T08:55:00.004-04:00

Elijah's surgery is now underway. They took him to the OR around 7:40am CST. We've been up since 4:30, so we are already tired.... He was fine this morning. He actually fell asleep before he went back. The surgery is expected to last around 4-5 hours, with around 2 hours of actual surgery. With the prep time and closing time, he should be finished before noon.

He was sporting a very fine gown this morning. Hopefully, we can post a picture of that soon. All is well so far. We will be getting an update around 9, and then updates every 30 minutes after... Keep praying..

God bless...

DAY OF DR. APPT.'S

2009-06-02T20:27:00.003-04:00

Well today went well. It was a long day and we are exhausted and tomm. will be another emotionally and physically grueling day. It is a great hospital the staff is great and everyone really put our mind at ease. They make it sound like such a "routine" surgery. But believe me I threw up a little when the neurosurgeon said they would remove Eli's forehead and then put it a back.....WHAT???? That is my baby adn you are going to take his skull out and pull down his skin. I am sure that is not what any mother wants to hear or father for that matter. Then off to the geneticist where we here he may have a syndrom called bbb/opitz g. That makes you want to be sick too. but you know what he is fearfully and wonderfully made if he has 20 syndromes and God DOESN"T make mistakes. Eli is EXACTLY how he was intended to be and we will love him just that way. We don't really even know what the syndrome will even change for him it just explains a lot of what is going on with him. He will be having surgery tomm. morning at 7:30 CT (8:30 there) so please keep him adn the team of dr. in your prayers. We will stay in teh ICU for one night (that is the plan) and then to the floor. Then discharged on Friday if all goes as planned. We will updated tomm. after the surgery. Love you all. Goodnight. 5 a.m. comes really early.

We've Arrived...

2009-05-31T18:30:00.004-04:00

We arrived at the hotel at around 1:00 am CST... It was a long trip, but actually non-eventful... The boys did very well with the trip, and we weren't too tired.. We've spent a day resting and relaxing by the pool.. Our plan is to visit the Ft. Worth Zoo tomorrow, just to wind down a bit.

We have appointments with the doctors all day on Tuesday, and then we will be at the hospital at 6:00 am CST on Wednesday for the surgery. Keep praying all goes well and he recovers quickly.

God bless....

Getting Ready.....

2009-05-29T13:26:00.002-04:00

At this point, we are getting ready to begin our trek to Texas. We are leaving tomorrow morning and will take a couple of days to get there... We plan on some sight-seeing on Monday, and then have appointments all day with doctors on Tuesday. Elijah's surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am CST on Wednesday and is supposed to last less than two hours. Please be in prayer for all aspects of the surgery, travel, and a quick recovery time for him. He is supposed to be very swollen the first 36-48 hours afterwards. The schedule is for him to be in the hospital for a couple of nights and to be released on Friday. Hopefully, we will be able to head out on Saturday to begin our trip back home.

We know God is in control and know this is where He wants us. We have alot of confidence in Dr. Fearon, as this is his specialty. Plus, we know the Great Physician is in control. We pray that all things will go as planned and on schedule and that Elijah does well through it all. Thanks to all who are keeping up with us and praying. We truly appreciate.

We will do our best to keep the blog updated over the course of the surgery....

God Bless...

PTL....

2009-05-07T09:25:00.003-04:00

Another PTL (Praise the Lord) in our ongoing process with Elijah.... For a few months, especially after our trip to Dallas, we have felt that he needed to go there for surgery. We just felt that was the best place and after meeting Dr. Fearon, we were completely comfortable. Actually, we felt the same sense of leading that we felt when we were deciding to go to Minnesota, and we know that was God led. As with this situation, we felt God leading us to go to Dallas.

Fine. Great. Let's go. screeeeech (brakes squealing)... Insurance. It is going to pay for the hospital, OR, room, etc. But isn't going to fully pay for Dr. Fearon and the neurosurgeon. Those two alone amount to over $25,000 before negotiation. And, we would be paying 40% of the negotiated rate, because they are out-of-network. Basically, several thousand dollars, on top of already meeting our out of pocket maximum for this year. Needless to say, that was a concern, but again we felt like that is where God wanted us. So we prayed and left it in God's hands. If he wanted us there, he would find a way for us to pay for it. It may take us 30 years, but He would find a way. We didn't want the money situation to stand in our way, because we trusted that God would provide.

Fast forward to this week. On Monday, Tammy talks to the doctor's office and to our insurance case manager. Basically, it comes down to negotiating a rate. And then we will pay the rest. Still several thousand, but they will work with us to allow us to make payments. It's a concern, but we are moving forward. Everything is in place for his surgery. Near the end of the conversation, the case manager mentions that she is going to file the request for in-network. She feels like it won't get approved, but it's worth a shot (I bet you see where this is going, don't you??).. So Wednesday she calls and guess what. Yeah. In-network. They are paying for everything. Since we have already met our out-of-pocket max, his surgery will be covered 100%. Amazing! Simply amazing! God has taken care of the situation once again. I can't even begin to describe how blessed we are. He continues to answer specific prayers, and we praise Him for that. He is so good!!!!

God Bless....

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

It's been awhile....

2009-04-20T19:01:00.002-04:00

It has been awhile since we last posted. We are safe and sound back in Kentucky. As I type by two big boys are putting their "pet" worms into a jar to live. I can't stand that they are touching those little creatures, but boys will be boys. As for Elijah, he is doing great with his Physical therapy and occupational therapy. He is sitting up great and is rolling all over the place. We caught him this weekend moving from one side of the living room to the entertainment center pulling my berries off. He can't crawl but he will find a way to get where he wants to go. We had a wonderful Easter and the boys got lots of candy, etc. We are planning on leaving for Texas a few days before the surgery so we can do some fun stuff on teh way down and when we get there. I suppose by June it will pretty warm in Texas so we will get a room with a pool. That should occupy my boys while Ryan and I tend to Eli. We are blessed to have my wonderful mother in law going with us. She is so great to help us out whenever we need her. My parents can't go because my dad isn't feeling the best these days. Please pray for him. After this surgery hopefully we will be done until later this year for his undescended testicle, which should be nothing after all he has been through. Looking forward to a nice surgery free summer at the pool. I will have to admit we are definitely nervous about his craniofacial surgery, but know that God has this all in his control. When Eli was first born and in ICU at UK. we prayed to give him completely over to God, good or bad. Man that was the hardest thing I have ever done. We felt like Abraham giving Isaac to God. But you know once we completely surrendered his life to God then there was such a peace. God has been with our angel this entire journey and I know this time will be NO different. Please just pray for all the people involved in his care and that God will guide their every decision. Thanks for all your support and prayers. We love each one of you. I will try to post a picture or two but I am not so computer literate. So we will see. Talk to you all later.

Update....

2009-04-04T22:44:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update on things. We had a great day today at the Ft. Worth stockyards with the boys. It was very hot here today, in the upper 80's, but it beats the cold of Minnesota.

We found out yesterday that Eli is going to need surgery on his head. Not a real big surprise for us as we had already prepared for it. We are going to schedule it for early June, if the schedule works out. We are nervous, but know that he is in God's hands. We truly feel like this is the best place to be, and Dr. Fearon is the best surgeon. He reminds us of Dr. Hess, in his demeanor and bedside manner. He does 80-100 of these surgeries a year and this is the only focus he has. He essentially dedicates all of his time to craniofacial issues. And he has developed a specialized procedure to fix these issues. So we have a peace about being here and know that we are led by the Lord. We begin now, and ask all of you to do the same, to pray for the upcoming surgery. He will have a 2 hour surgery, be in the ICU overnight, be on the floor the next night, and then be released the next day. A very quick turnaround, due to the specialization of Dr. Fearon and his ability to focus and perfect the surgery.

As I type, everyone else is sound asleep, and I will be too. We are heading out bright and early for our 14 hour trip home. Please pray for safety and begin praying for the upcoming surgery. Thanks to all and all you do. God Bless......

We are in Dallas!!!!

2009-04-03T12:08:00.002-04:00

We made it this morning around 3 am. It was a long drive but not that bad. The boys were great and are now in the pool having fun before the dr. appt. We see the surgeon today at 3 p.m. Please pray that Elijah doesn't have to have surgery at all. That would be such a blessing and only something God could do. We know that this is in his hands and pray that his will will be done. I am nervous about the results of the dr. appt. but have prepared myself for surgery just in case. I know we are in a good place according to all of our research. I just pray God will give us the peace only he can provide today when we meet the surgeon and his staff.

Then after the dr. appt. off to some fun stuff in a hurry. We are going to the stockyard station to see some big steer and stuff.....just up my boys alley. I will try to eat some Tex Mex for my friend Melba and then some steak.....ummmm that sounds good. We will travel home on Sunday so Ryan can work on Monday. Please pray for a safe trip. Will keep you updated.

All is well...

2009-03-19T16:26:00.002-04:00

Everything went well Monday with the tubes. No issues. Non-eventful, just as we like it. His hearing was good, a bit delayed, but on course. He recovered very quickly after the surgery. He was back to his smiling self in no time. Elijah continues to do well and is gearing up for our visit to Dallas. We know, if he needs surgery, that it won't happen before he is 10 or 11 months old. Keep lifting that up, praying he doesn't need it at all.

God Bless...

Tubes tommorrow

2009-03-15T20:48:00.004-04:00

Well Elijah is doing great. We go for another surgery, however, this one is minor. He is getting ear tubes tomm. at Central Baptist Hospital. This is a minor surgery for a "normal" child but we all know that is not always the case with Elijah. We are a little nervous about the whole sedation issue but we know that God is in control. The procedure only takes about 15 minutes but they are doing an in depth ear testing which takes about 45 minutes. We are hoping this will help with his ear infections as well as the sinus infections he has been having lately. Dr. O says he will look in his sinus cavity because it could need to "attention" a little later. As for the next step we will see the urologist on the 25th to determine about surgery for his undescended testicle. Then on to Texas (April 2nd) for consultation on his craniostynoses (head surgery). The surgeon sent us an email and indicated he probably would wait until Eli was 10 or 11 months old to do the surgery if needed. However, that will run into his urology surgery so we will just have to see what happens.

He is doing great with Physical therapy and is sitting up much better. Andrew also likes when p.t. comes since she is a pretty blonde and you know our Andrew. Unfortunately he is usually at school. The occupational therapist is working on strengthening his muscles so he can eat better. I gave him some baked potato and he loved it.....I was scared to death. That is the only table food he has had so far. I just can't believe we have come this far. It still amazes me each time I look at him and the work God has done in him. We are so blessed as a family and continue to see his hand at work all the time. Thanks so much for you continued concern and prayers. I see people all the time that want to look at the baby they have prayed for and I am happy to let them get glimpses our little miracle. He loves to laugh at his brothers and giggles out loud especially for Matthew. His smile lights up a room.

As for our other boys they are doing great and love Elijah so much. Andrew starts soccer this week and Matthew is holding out for football. However, I am not so sure how I feel about that one.

I guess I have rambled long enough and I need to go to bed 4 am comes really early. Love you all.

Praise Report....

2009-03-10T14:56:00.002-04:00

Elijah just finished his last dilatation a few minutes ago. Yes, I said LAST. L-A-S-T.... No more trips to Minnesota for a dilatation!!!! He is done.... Dr. Hess said he looks great. He went ahead and did another one, but said he didn't need it and will not need another one. What a praise report... God is soooo good!!! We know he is in full control and praise Him for his grace and mercy. We weren't expecting this, of course. We were thinking maybe one or two more, but Dr. Hess threw us a curve ball on this one... But we will gladly take it...

Eli will be released from the hospital this afternoon, and then they will begin to head home... It was snowing there, but we are hoping they can make it to Madison, WI tonight.... That should get them far enough south to stay out of the storm.

The next thing is the tubes in his ears next Monday, the 16th. Please pray all goes well with that... After that, we continue to plan for the potential surgery on his head. As of now, we see Dr. Fearon in Dallas on April 3rd. We are continuing, and ask all of you as well, to pray for God's clear direction in this matter. We are feeling that this is the best place for him, given all that we have read, but we are doing our best to surrender this decision to the Lord. We truly want the best in the world to do the operation, and from all indications he is one. One of the "pitfall's" of choosing Dallas, is that the hospital is out of network for our insurance. This means that we could reach our maximum out of pocket for the out of network bucket, which is $11,000. This on top of the $5600 we have already had in network. I don't mention this for a pity party or for money, but as a prayer request. If God wants us to go there, He will have to provide. And we know He will guide us and He WILL provide.

Please keep these things lifted up before the Lord. We truly appreciate it!!! And once again, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

In Minnesota....

2009-03-10T11:21:00.002-04:00

The gang arrived in Minnesota for another dilatation last night. They made it in around 13 hours, so needless to say they were making good time. Apparently, Mario Andretti was behind the wheel... :-)... All is well. Eli is very hungry, of course. His procedure is scheduled for 1pm CST. Pray everything goes well and he can be released this afternoon. Some parts of the state are supposed to be hit with a blizzard tonight, so please pray they can get down the road a bit this evening... I will post this afternoon after the procedure, with an update...

2009-03-02T09:40:00.002-05:00

Well it's going to be a busy spring for the frazier5. Elijah is sick right now with another ear infection, swollen tonsils and a nasty cough. He is feeling some better today, but still has lots of junk in his nose to deal with. We are going back to Minnesota in the next few weeks for another dilation. I think this might be number 13 but I am not sure. Elijah has an appointment with the urologist on the 25th to see about removing the undescended testicle before his first birthday. I think right now our biggest prayer request would be for his head surgery. I know most of you have heard us talk about him possible having craniosyntoses (basically his head sutures closed early leaving less room for the brain to grow). We have been in contact with the largest and best craniofacial center we can find, which is in Dallas Texas. They have looked at his pictures and say he has moderate metopic craniostynoses. We have an appointment there on April 3rd to determine if there is a need for surgery. As you could imagine the thoughts of my son's head being operated on are very concerning. I know that God is in control and can see all he has done so far, but I am only human. Please pray that whatever happens will be God's will from going to the right place/doctor to the surgery. We know that if he needs it is best for him to get it done kjnow rather than later. We don't want there to be any long term effects for him. The last thing is that he will be having tubes put in his ear sometime soon. The ENT will also explore his nasal cavity since it is so small and determine if anything more needs to be done. As I type this I thank GOd for my child and what he means to me and want to do what is best for him, but i also find it all very overwhelming.

On a positive note, he is doing much better sitting up and loves to play with his toys. He weighs 15 lbs. and is growing longer everday it seems. He is very interactive and loves to snuggle with you. I am so proud to have him as my son.

The other boys are growing up way too fast. Matthew was baptized several weeks ago. I can say that is one the greatest feelings ever and the best prayer to be answered. Andrew is just becoming such a little man. And if you have met him you know he \is a comedian. I hope to update again soon. Love you all.

The Frazier 5

Alot to report....Good news

2009-02-09T20:50:00.002-05:00

Well we are home, the power is on and the snow is gone. Elijah's last dilation went very well and Dr. Hess wants to wait 8 weeks between the next two. He is doing remarkable well and loves to eat his baby food. We are still not drinking by mouth at all so that would be a specific prayer request for all of you prayer warriors out there. We had a very good time while we were gone and got to visit with the Beans (our EA cohorts from TN) and I am sad to say that I had to extend my welcome with them after the ice storm stranded me in TN. However, they were very kind and gracious to offer up their home to us and we had a really good time visiting. It is sometimes really strange how much alike we are as families....God works is some mysterious ways. By the way, if I hadn't caught that last flight out of Detroit that day (only 10 minutes to spare) I would have been stuck with a broken suction machine and Elijah having one of his episodes on me. Again God's grace was upon us and the Bean's had a suction machine for us to use......some things you never expect to happen. And the only reason I called the Bean's to stay with them is all the cars in Knoxville were rented out for the day.....IMAGINE THAT.....kinda strange. No not really just another one of those God things. I can't help but cry when I write this because over the last year I have went from crying over almost losing my child and God saving him to God providing me with a simple suction cannister just when I needed it.....I can't get over howmuch he loves us....all. of us and what he will do for his children. I feel so unworthy of his love and hope I never have to suffer what I deserve for all I do on a daily basis.

I see people almost daily that tell me how much Elijah's story has touched their lives and how our faith has given them hope. That is exactly what we set out to do was follow God obediently and pray it blessed someone else and I am so glad that it has adn I hope that it will continue to bring God into peoples lives.

Some of our best friends had their first baby the weekend before I left for MN so we want to congratulate them on a beautiful baby girl, Macey Caroline.

For now that is all I have we will talk to you soon.

Love you all,

The Frazier 5

Home again....

2009-01-30T08:45:00.003-05:00

Tammy and Elijah finally made it home yesterday, after spending a couple of nights with the Bean's in Tennessee. They could not fly back into Lexington on Tuesday because of the ice storm, so they flew into Knoxville. We were without power for a day and a half, but got it back yesterday afternoon. Now we try to thaw out... Hopefully power is restored to all soon. It is really tough not to have, especially heat.

Elijah is continuing to do well. He just keeping changing each day. What a true blessing from God....

God Bless.

Wonderful News!!!!

2009-01-26T16:29:00.002-05:00

Elijah did very well through the dilatation. Everything looked good and he is now at a 13 (still don't know the unit of measure). Dr. Hess feels like he can wait two months, which is very nice!! He continues to progress and get closer to not needing them at all....

1/26 Update

2009-01-26T13:13:00.002-05:00

Elijah has been doing really well since he got out of the hospital. He is back to normal, eating and smiling.... They flew up today for another dilatation this afternoon. It is scheduled for 3pm Central. Pray that all continues to go well, and that they make it back home tomorrow before any bad weather hits. We are supposed to get several inches of snow/ice in Central Ky, so I pray they don't get stuck in an airport somewhere.

Please keep that in mind as you pray...

God Bless...

P.S., another huge blessing... Matthew is getting baptized on Sunday. He was saved during VBS last year, and then we headed north. So now that things have settled down a bit, we are able to see this occur. God is so good...

WE are HOME!!!

2009-01-10T15:24:00.003-05:00

Well we got to come home yesterday. Elijah is looking so much better but still feels bad. He is able to keep his formula down, however, he doesnt seem to want any baby food yet but I am sure his throat is sore. He has been one sick little boy. It was so hard to see him lay there lifeless again after seeing that sweet smile so much the last several months. But God is in control and he took care of it all even the smallest things. I am so glad to be home with him. we are headed to MN again on January 26th for his next dilation. We are really excited since we get to see our friends the Bean's while we are there. Thanks for all your prayers. Today we are all taking it easy watching movies, the UK game and letting Elijah get some much needed R & R. We will keep you updated with things. THanks again. have a great day.

1/8 Update

2009-01-08T14:47:00.002-05:00

Elijah is doing some better today. He has gotten iv meds and fluids overnight and today. He has been able to take a little fluid into his g-tube so far, with no vomiting. A pretty big step since he hasn't been keeping anything down over the past few days. Nothing is moving through his body yet, but they think he was just too dehydrated. Hopefully by tomorrow, we will start seeing some more improvement. Continue to pray that he recovers quickly....

God Bless.

Finally updating.....

2009-01-07T13:44:00.004-05:00

It has been a long time since our last update. We have been extremely busy over the holidays. Plus our home PC is down and almost out. Eli had another dilitation on the 30th of December and everything went well. They were delayed a bit coming home, but nothing major. We had a great Christmas. Matthew and Andrew really loved it!! It was very nice to be home....

Thought I would update and give our prayer warriors a task. Eli was diagnosed with the flu last week and was getting better. However, his temperature spiked back up yesterday. So he went back to the doctor today and he now has pnemonia in his right lung. He is in the hospital at UK getting fluids and antibiotics thru an IV. He has lost two pounds over the last week or so b/c he can't keep anything down. Poor thing is miserable. So, we start this battle. PLEASE pray that the medicine works quickly and he can turn around very shortly. Also, pray for us as we go through another trial.... It's hard to see him sick again, since he has been feeling so well. But God is in control, we know that for a fact.

We will try to do better with our postings.

God Bless to all. And Happy New Year!!!!

What a Day!!!

2008-12-13T20:28:00.001-05:00

Elijah rolled completely over and moved his arm all by himself. Boy I was so excited you would have thought a million dollars came in the mail. I am sorry to say I didn't get it on video......third child syndrome. He is doing great except for the snotty nose and sinus infection we are fighting right now. I can't believe where we have been this year on our journey. It is amazing to think this time last year we thought we have to lose our boy to an ectopic pregnancy......then the story continued until we have our beautiful baby boy home with us. It is amazing how God works in our lives and we don't even know it. I can look back at the last several years and see how he has prepared us for this point in our lives (especially me). I wanted to pass my licensing exam but them I would have had a job that would have been really hard to lay down when my pregnancy became so difficult. Instead he chose the path of part time professor with such a great boss. he found someone to cover for me and I still have a job in the fall. God is good. There are so many other things that I thought were the right path and God chose differently.....and definitely the best. I can see such a change in myself and it is only what God could have done in my life. I am so thankful for all he has done and continues to do for us as a family. I want to give him all the praise and glory for EVERYTHING we go through and what happens in our lives. Well I better quit rambling we have visitors who have just arrived. Well really not visitors it's just Tom and Christina (for those of you who know them) and they are definitely far from visitors....they are part of our family. Just like most of you reading this are. Thanks for all you have done. Talk to you soon

tammy

Wow time flies....

2008-12-11T19:30:00.003-05:00

It has been at least a week since we posted. It is crazy around here getting ready for the holidays. Elijah is adjusting very well to being home and getting in the groove at the Frazier household. He is eating some baby food (amazing) like bananas, pears and applesauce. There was a point that I thought this would be impossible. He loves eating too......it must run in the family!!!!!! He still doesn't want anything to do with the sippy cup so milk is still given through his g tube. I am still trying everyday to introduce the sippy but not luck so far. It will come....when he is ready. We fly out to MN on the 19th of Dec. and return on the 20th. I am sure it is very cold and snowy there, so that will be our taste of winter. Please pray we have a safe and uneventful trip. Also, please pray he can start going only once a month. We see the neurologist on the 16th to look at MRI and catscan results. Please be in pray for good news.....which would mean no surgery. However, God is in control and he knows best so we will go with his plan not ours! Thanks for all your continued prayers and concern. I look at him everyday and thank God for our little miracle. The simplest things that babies do amazes me when I see him do it. It is really strange how thankful you can be for swallowed baby food or him finding his hand. Well all three boys are in bed and I think I will take this chance to chill and then get some sleep too. Elijah has had a sinus infection and we haven't been sleeping very well so we sleep when we can. Talk to you all soon.

Love,

The Frazier 5

It has been a while....

2008-12-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

since our last post. With Thanksgiving being last week, we were extremely busy. So, we didn't have much time to update.....

We received some wonderful news last week. On Wednesday, Elijah had an appointment with a cardiologist. He said that the hole (VSD) in his heart is much smaller than in the past and he felt comfortable saying it would likely close up completely. If not all the way, then he would not need surgery to correct it. This is a huge blessing and another specific prayer request answered. Praise the LORD!!!!! He is so good!!!

Tammy and Eli flew back to Minneapolis today, for another dilatation. Dr. Hess says everything looks great and he feels we can stretch them out to once a month now. Elijah has not been suctioned since the last time he was in Minnesota, about two weeks ago. The esophagus looks great and is maintaining its shape very well.

He also had an MRI and CT scan of his head, just to follow up on the craniosynotosis. We will get those results and send them onto the neurosurgeon. Please pray that nothing is needed further in this matter.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did and have a ton to be thankful for. Basically, we can sum it up in one word.... Elijah.

God Bless.....

11/21 Update

2008-11-21T08:49:00.002-05:00

I just realized it had been since Monday that we last updated the blog. Sorry for that. This week has been busy. The trip to Minneapolis went well. His dilatation went well also. No complications and everything looks good. They got back Wednesday afternoon. Elijah has gotten the stomach bug, but he is feeling some better. We are looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

God Bless....

11/17 Update

2008-11-17T23:13:00.002-05:00

Tammy and Elijah made it safely to Minneapolis around 9pm, Eastern time. Their boarding in Lexington was eventful, as she was trying to get everything loaded and he was screaming. She had so much baggage and then was trying to calm him down!! Some very nice ladies helped her get everything together and then on-board. Thank God for that Southern Hospitality!!!

His dilatation is at 11:30 (CST) tomorrow. Please pray everything goes well. They will spend the night at the hospital and then leave out from the airport around 11:30 (CST) on Wednesday. Me and the boys are picking them up in Lexington.

Andrew started preschool today. He was very excited, to say the least. He walked right in, got in his group, looked at Tammy and told her she could leave. She was sad, of course. I think she wanted him to cry, at least a little bit. But not Andrew. He's too independent for that.

It is so nice to be home. As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we obviously have so many things to be thankful for. God has truly blessed us with his grace, mercy, and love!!! We are truly in awe of his goodness. We praise Him for all He has done and all he will do. We also praise Him for such a wonderful, loving church family. We are truly blessed to be a part of the fellowship of White Hall Baptist Church!!

I will try to post when I have more information tomorrow. Until then...

God Bless....

WOW! What a night.

2008-11-16T09:06:00.004-05:00

Well, first I want to say a huge THANK YOU to the group Acclaim for a wonderful concert praising the Lord last night. We had our benefit for Elijah and it was amazing. I could feel God's presence and his loving arms wrapped around me as they sang telling me it will all be o.k. I think sometimes we as christians need a little nudge letting us know that God is still there no matter what and he will always have his arms wrapped around us. The group sang a song titled "Somebody's Prayin'" and boy did that hit home. I know that there have been so many prayers lifted up for our child and family it's too many to count. As I heard the song last night I realized without the mighty power of prayer I am not sure where we would be right now in our journey. There were times in Minnesota I could feel the prayers being lifted up for us. That is not something you can explain, but when you are lonely and scared God just lets you know his people are on their knees. Thank you for those prayers. There are not enough words and room on a page to let all of you know how much you mean to us as a family. To our church family, you have definitely shown what is meant by a new testament church. I have never lost sight of the fact you are praying for us and love us dearly. I can't even express the feeelings of love we have felt from our family, friends and brothers/sisters in Christ. I wish there were some way we could repay you for your love and support but that would be impossible. Please just know that we love you andpraise God each one of you were placed in our lives.

I can truly say this experience has given me a fresh new outlook on life and how God intends for us to live it. FOR HIM!!!!!! I have seen so many lives touch by our precious child in his short 4 months of life. I pray that each of will take something from his struggle and learn that life will bring you rain and you just need to dance and play in the puddles while you praise God.

Again, I would like to extend my deepest thank you's to ACCLAIM and their extreme generosity. They definitely have a passion for sharing God's love through music and do an excellent job might I add.

Please be in pray as Elijah and I fly to Minnesota tommorrow for another dialation. He is doing great considering it has been 10 days since his last one and that is a record. We have several upcoming dr. appts. so please be in prayer for those. We have an in depth hearing screen on Dec. 5th to check for hearing loss and to check the status of his sinus cavity. His MRI and CAT scan are scheduled for Jan. 28th to determine what is caused the closure of his frontal fontanel and what needs to be done about it. Please pray that is a minor issue and there will be absolutely no need for surgery. However, if there is a need that all will go well.

In closing, I would ask that you pray Melissa (she is sister to a dear friend of mine). She has been going through chemo for several months and the tumor just doesn't want to give in. Her faith in the Lord is amazing. You can catch up on her story at danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com

Thanks and we love you,

The Frazier 5

WOW! What a night.

2008-11-16T09:06:00.001-05:00

11/13 Update

2008-11-13T16:08:00.002-05:00

Several things to update, so I will get right to it... Tammy's procedure went well. Diagnosis: Hiatal (sp?) hernia. The doctor changed her medicine.

Saw the neurosurgeon yesterday at Kosair. Basically, the front fontanel (sp?) is closed, but the top, back, and sides look good. Likely, the closure is caused by his late start on things (eating, stimulation, etc). No immediate surgery, if at all. We will have follow up CT & MRI's in the next few months to stay on top of it. Also, we will follow up the neurologist at Kosair.

Have another dilatation next week in Minnesota, and then possibly will have future ones in Knoxville. Tammy and Eli fly up late Monday for the procedure next Tuesday. They will fly back on Tuesday afternoon.

So a big PRAISE THE LORD for the no surgery news. That is wonderful!!!! Please pray for their trip next week and then for the benefit this weekend. We pray that God is glorified, magnified, and exalted during this celebration.

God Bless......

11/7 Update

2008-11-07T10:07:00.001-05:00

The crew made it back about 12:30 last night. Everything went well. Pretty much a non-eventful trip.

A few things have changed regarding appointments next week. First of all, the plan is to try to wait a couple of weeks before another dilatation. We pray that will happen. We go to Kosair in Louisville next Wednesday for the cranium issues. We pray for God's guidance and direction regarding possible surgery. If Elijah needs it, we pray for direction as to which institution to have surgery. We visit the ENT on Tuesday for the high arching palate. UofM thought it was related to prolonged intubation. We shall see. The visit to UK is tenatively scheduled for Thursday, depending on our desire for a second opinion.

Tammy has a scope on Tuesday to check on the ulcer/bleeding issues she had while we were in Minnesota. Please pray everything is okay with that.

Please remember the benefit concert next Saturday the 15th. See the top of the page for more information.

God Bless....

11/5 Update

2008-11-05T21:56:00.001-05:00

They all made it to Minnesota around noon today. He had his dilatation this afternoon and everything went well. Dr. Hess said he was due and was a little disappointed he couldn't have waited another week. The plan is to try for two weeks this time.

They are leaving out bright and early tomorrow morning and are going to try to make it the whole way. Please pray for their safety.

We see Dr. Pittman at UK next Wednesday. Please pray for the visit and the accompanying tests. Also, please pray that we would have a clear direction either way.

God Bless...

On the road again.....

2008-11-04T13:19:00.002-05:00

Tammy and Elijah left this afternoon for Minnesota. Due to a scheduling conflict next week, Dr. Hess could not do the dilitation, so we went ahead and scheduled it for tomorrow afternoon. It will occur around 3pm. They should be able to leave on Thursday and are going to try and drive straight through.

The 'big' thing at this point is from the visit to the pediatrician yesterday. Everything looks good, except she is concerned he has craniostenosis, which is the sutures in the skull closing up prematurely. If that is the case, then he will have to have another, major surgery to open them up to allow his head and brain to grow. There is an excellent pediatric neurosurgeon that we are scheduled to see next Wednesday. He will likely get a CT scan and then we will see him after that. At this point, we would ask everyone to pray specifically that he does not have it and that he does not need surgery, especially this major one. We know he is in God's hands and we know God hears the pleas and petitions of His people. So please, over the next week, offer up a prayer to God that his head is okay and that he will not have to have surgery.

He is doing very well at home. We are so excited to be here and are glad things are settling down, somewhat. He is managing his secretions better and is eating better by mouth. God is blessing us and we know we are in His care. Until next time....

God Bless....

Honey, We're Home

2008-11-01T23:10:00.002-04:00

After our doctor appointment on Thursday, we finally finished packing and let Minneapolis around 12:30pm on Thursday. The trip was pretty uneventful. We had to stop several times for the kids for bathroom breaks, diaper changes, and hunger. It turned out to be a long day as we drove straight through. I did all the driving and we thought it was better to go ahead and go the whole way, especially after the kids went to sleep. I was struggling the last 100 miles or so, but we finally pulled into our driveway at 4am on Friday. Home sweet home!!! It was a wonderful feeling to be back and sleep in our own house. We had several friends and family members greeting us throughout the day on Friday. It was wonderful to see everyone. We have rested pretty much all day today, just settling in. Elijah is doing great and has had a nice time adjusting to life at home. It's just so nice to be here!!! We thank God for a successful trip and are blessed to be back home. We see Dr. Waddles, the boys pediatrician on Monday so she can take a look at Eli and get up to speed. We have a big day planned at church tomorrow and are very excited to get back there. We have truly missed being at our home church. We can't wait for the hugs and fellowship!!

We will update this week with the plans for another dilitation. At this point, we still feel strongly about returning to Minneapolis, but we are waiting on the Lord. We aren't 100% sure at this point. Pray for the Bean's on Monday as they will be traveling back home. We pray they have a safe, non-eventful trip.

God Bless.....

Final Day!!!!

2008-10-30T00:20:00.003-04:00

Well, as I type, we are finishing our packing and cleaning up here at the RMH. We have another appointment with Dr. Hess at 8am and then we will come back, finish a few things, and then head out for the lovely "Bluegrass State". We will drive as long as we can and stop if needed. We will be home Friday, either driving straight through, or stopping for a few hours. It depends on how the boys do.

We had the opportunity to go out to eat, our favorite past time, with our dear friends from Tennessee, the Bean's. We had a nice time at the Mall of America. God has truly given us wonderful friends in them. We have been blessed to be able to be here, along with them, and share a similar adventure. They are getting released on Monday and will come home then.

Tammy and I were discussing this evening, as we were coming home, how truly blessed we have been to be here. Honestly, it is kinda bittersweet to have the opportunity to come home. We have made such wonderful friends here. We have met such wonderful people and the boys have made some wonderful friends. This has been our home for the past 3 1/2 months. Our lives in Kentucky stopped and we redirected to Minnesota. It has truly been a remarkable experience and God has taught us so many wonderful things. We truly believe our faith has been tested and refined in the fire through this. We know God has a great master plan and we truly are humbled that he has chosen to use this opportunity to draw us to Himself. We have learned a life's worth of lessons in this short time and we truly desire that we are changed forever. We know that brokenness is a blessing, and we have been stripped of everything we know, so that He could take our self sufficiency and self centeredness away. Our perspective on life has changed so much. We take time to smell the roses, as the saying goes. We realize how fragile life truly is. We know that God answers prayers and we know that He delights in our time with Him. We also know that He is more interested in making us holy, righteous, and more Christ-like than he is in us being comfortable. He desires our obedience and total dependence on Him. And He truly loves to bless us, but we must be ready to receive it. Holiness and obedience are truly a requirement. Not that we are super-spiritual and super-holy, but He desires a willing heart and a humble attitude. We pray that we will always remain broken to His will, His presence, His desires, and His commands.

We pray that we are not changed for the moment, but that we are changed for a lifetime. That is truly our prayer.

May God bless each and every one of you and may you truly be a blessing to Him. The next time we post, we will be back in Kentucky. Thank you to all of you who have been keeping up with us and praying for us. You will never know how much you truly mean to our family.

God Bless.....

Hectic Week

2008-10-29T09:21:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the late post. This week has been very hectic. Monday consisted of appointments all day and Tuesday was the dilitation. Whew! Elijah is doing wonderfully. The best he's ever looked. We should see Dr. Hess tomorrow and be released. After that, we are heading out! We have agreed as a family that we want to come home, so we will leave as soon as we can. We cannot wait to get there!!!

It's looking like we might come back here for dilitations in the future. There are just so many variables and so many things that can go wrong, we honestly are scared to take Elijah somewhere else besides here with Dr. Hess and the staff. They have done such a wonderful job and we don't want anything messed up. It will be somewhat of a inconvenience, but Elijah is worth it!! We are still praying for God's direction, but if we don't get a clear, undivided direction we are coming back here. We had a long talk with Dr. Hess yesterday when we were in the ER. By the way, Eli's g-tube got pulled out, so we had to have Dr. Hess put it back in. Not a major thing. But anyway, we chatted with him for a long time while we were waiting. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a Christian. He is of the Lutheran faith and is very conservative in his beliefs. He actually teared up when we were discussing the state of the nation and how it was on the wrong path in regards to excluding God from everything. This confirms in our heart even more that we were in the right place, under the right care. You know, you want your surgeon to be a praying person and a man of God. We believe that is the case.

It's just amazing how God has blessed us through this. And how we have crossed paths with such wonderful people. Of course, we have made lifelong friends with the Bean's from Tennessee. They are such wonderful people and we have so much in common. Again, we believe God brought us here to be support for one another. He is so good!!

Thanks to all, and hopefully we will be home soon.

God Bless....

Wonderful Weekend

2008-10-26T20:32:00.003-04:00

We have had a wonderful weekend, with Elijah out of the hospital! We went out to eat together last night and spent some time at the Mall of America. He slept through most of it. He has been sleeping fairly well the last couple of nights. He has needed some suctioning. He has a pretty bad diaper rash. We think he is having some withdrawls from the medicine he was on in the hospital. All in all, he is doing very well. As are Mom and Dad. It is nice to have everyone together again. Such a blessing to make it to this point. We see Dr. Hess at 9am tomorrow, so we should have a more detailed plan for the rest of the week. He will have a dilitation on Tuesday at 1pm, and spend the night in the hospital. We expect him to get out on Wednesday. We shall see what the rest of the plans are.

God Bless..

100th Day Celebration

2008-10-24T18:09:00.002-04:00

Elijah celebrates his 100th day in Minnesota by being able to be released from the hospital!!! Praise the Lord! He is doing very well. We have a ton of equipment for him, but we can handle it. God has been so good and has carried us to this point. He will have another dilitation on Tuesday and stay in the hospital overnight. Dr. Hess feels we will be ready to leave by the end of the week. We will likely stay on Friday, because of the party they are having here. But, if all goes well, we will be leaving early Saturday morning for the wonderful Bluegrass State!

God Bless...

10/23 Update

2008-10-23T13:55:00.005-04:00

Another great day in the Twin Cities. Elijah is doing very well. His g-tube leak that he had last night stopped today. As far as we know right now, everything is getting setup for him to be released tomorrow. We will stay here at the RMH for about a week and as long as everything goes well, we will get to come H-O-M-E!!!!!!! That is exciting to just think about. I don't have much more information, but will share it as it becomes available.

God Bless......

10/22 Update

2008-10-22T15:03:00.003-04:00

Another good day for Elijah. He is doing well and is moving back to the floor from PICU today. He stayed there as a precaution last night. We are gearing up for him to be moved out of the hospital on Friday. Hopefully, that will occur. We have not gotten the green light as of yet, but he is very close on the things he needed to do for that to happen. It is a cold, rainy day here today. We noticed this morning that it was snowing in Kansas. Somewhere in the range of 5"-10" of the white stuff. Guess what, we are pretty close to Kansas. And it is cold here. We could see some white stuff before we leave!!

But we don't care. Elijah is doing well and that is really all that matters right now. Praise God!!

Please notice the 'Attitude' poem by Chuck Swindoll to the right. It is hanging up in the RMH and has affected our daily perspective. I encourage you to take the time to read it. We will post later more details as they arrive.

God Bless....

10/21 Update

2008-10-21T22:43:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing very well today. He is feeling much better and has less pain. The dilitation went well today, and he was able to be stretched to 12mm. He did very well with the procedure and recovered fairly quickly. A little sore throat, but not much more. He is resting this evening. There has been a rumor floating around the hospital, that if he continues to do as well as he is, he will get released to the Ronald McDonald house on Friday. We hope and pray that is the case. Friday will be 100 days, so that would be a great way to celebrate our 100th day. We shall see if that is the case. He will stay here for about a week or so, and then we begin our trek to the Bluegrass State. We cannot wait until that day!! Please pray all continues to go well.

God Bless......

10/20 Update

2008-10-20T10:44:00.002-04:00

Elijah had a good, restful Sunday. He slept almost all day. He is having some withdrawls from the morphine, but is doing fairly well today. He will have another dilitation tomorrow and then hopefully get out of the hospital. Maybe? Hate to say for sure. But we are praying. Keep us in your prayers, especially that everything goes well tomorrow and he recovers quickly.

God Bless...

Saturday News

2008-10-18T10:04:00.002-04:00

Well today seems to be a better day so far. Elijah has not had anymore problems with his secretions as of lately. He is still in lots of pain post operatively and is getting pain meds as needed. We think we might move out of PICU today but it is too soon to say. I will let you know when we hear something from the dr.'s this morning. I agree with Ryan that we are being stripped of it all to look to our Lord for everything, however, I am hoping unlike Moses this will not take 40 years. I think this has been the most difficult time in my life so far. When you have serious thoughts that you will lose your child before your eyes.....well I can't even explain that feeling. I know that your reliance on the Lord is all you have at that point. Thank the Lord that our new friends from TN (the bean's) were in the room with me at the time it happened. God has definitely placed them in our lives for a reason. She prayed with me and held me during this experience and I praise God for her prayers to save my baby. It is amazing how God uses different methods to help us in our time of need.

Please continue to pray for his recovery and that he will stop these little episodes. It has been such a blessing to have my parents here this week since lots has been going on with the kids sick, ryan sick and me gone all the time. God definitely provides in ways we least expect. Thanks for all your prayers. We love you guys.

The Frazier 5

Late Update

2008-10-17T21:48:00.002-04:00

First, let me say sorry for the late update. Tammy has been at the hospital constantly and I feel victim to the stomach bug Andrew had last week. I was in the bed all day yesterday, unable to move my head from the pillow. However, I am much better today!! Yesterday's surgery went well, and everything was completed to satisfaction. Last night, well, that is a much different story.

About 10pm, Elijah had another 'episode', as we so fondly call them. However, this time, it was the worst one yet. Tammy had just put him on his bed, and he began to turn blue. A few moments later, they had to push the code button, yet again, as he was not responding. At all. He was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were fixed. She said she felt he might not make it... Boy, that is hard to type!!! They had to bag him and do chest compressions, as he had no pulse. Thank God, he came out of it fairly quickly, and did not have to be intubated. He was moved to the PICU unit overnight for observation and remains there. If we have a good evening, he will likely move back to the floor tomorrow.

He is doing much better today. Praise the Lord!! We feel like he was in a bunch of pain last night, and he could not manage his secretions, which caused him to begin choking. They had a hard time getting the suction going, so he basically stopped breathing. Unfortunately, with him, seconds are all it takes for him to shut down. We are truly thankful that God was, yet again, watching over Elijah. Again, we know he truly has a special plan for him. Honestly though, we are getting kinda tired of seeing these 'episodes'!!! God is in control, but it is extremely tough to see this happen. Honestly, the toughest thing we have ever been through. But, we know he is in the Master's hand. No doubts.

Please, lift us up as we are undoubtedly shaken by this. However, we are truly grateful that God has, once again, saved our child. Our miracle child. Dr. Hess continues to reassure us that he will grow out of this stuff. We believe that, but boy does it seem like it will take forever. Honestly, not much of this whole experience would I want to give up, but I could do with less of the blue spells. Alas, we believe now more than ever that God has a great, master plan, and we are doing our best to find where we need to respond in obedience.

I read an awesome devotional the other day regarding Moses. It was basically saying that he had everything. The nicest of things, due to him being royalty in Egypt. That all changed when he killed the Egyptian for beating the Hebrew. Moses literally ran for his life, because Pharoah had found out about his actions. He fled to Midian where he literally was emptied of every selfish desire he had left. That took 40 years of his life. Basically, the devotion said, sometimes we have to be stripped of everything that we have and are to get to the place God wants us to be. Honestly, I feel we have been. We now realize that things do not matter. Of course, that is a lesson we have been learning very well over the last year or so, but we now see it more than ever. I truly believe obedience to God is our most important task as a Christian. If we truly obey His every Word, deed, command.... Then things just seem to fall where they need to. Or where He so desires. Look at Moses. He had the ability to become a great ruler of Egypt. He had tremendous power, even the power to one day free the Hebrew slaves. But God choose him to wander in Midian for 40 years of his life. Why? Because, no doubt, if Moses had freed the slaves as a Egyptian ruler, he no doubt would have done it his way. Or, at the very least, taken the credit. But because he was stripped of everything, completely broken, with nothing of himself left, he was available and pliable in the hand of God. God could use Moses as He had planned, because Moses was broken, his selfishness and self centeredness was ripped out.

By no means would I say we are Moses. Sometimes I do feel like we have been wandering for 40 years as "strangers in a foreign land". I do know the people here talk funny!! But, I do feel we are having our selfishness and self-centeredness stripped from us. One trying episode at a time. And I truly pray that once we get to the other side, we will be pliable and usable in the hands of an Almighty God, who truly has a plan and a purpose for our lives.

May God bless your day. And may you be a blessing to Him! That is what really matters.

10/14 - Post Procedure Update

2008-10-14T16:33:00.002-04:00

Elijah did well today and we got some promising things to report. His scar tissue, where the connection was made, is softening up. This means that it will be more flexible and have the ability to be streched more. It also should allow the dilations to be more successful. Also, there is a good bit of esophagus near the top of the stomach, which will allow the Nissen to be added easier. All in all, good news and he did very well.

The MRI was today and everything with it went well. We won't get the results from that for a couple of days.

I just spoke with Tammy as I was typing, and he had another, small episode. Basically, he was sedated very well, and got some secretions in the back of his throat. He started turning a little blue, but they were able to bag him and he came right out of it. No harm, no foul. But he will be staying overnight in the PICU as a precaution. He should be back on the floor tomorrow.

God bless....

10/14 Update

2008-10-14T00:33:00.002-04:00

Elijah is continuing to do well. His dilation is around 11:30am today (tomorrow here in Minneapolis) and his MRI is around 8am. He took 10ml of formula from the sponge today and had a bit of reflux. Things are going well for him and he is progressing very well. Thursday is still on at this point, so please continuing to pray for that.

Andrew and Matthew are both feeling better. Tammy is too. I will update later today with more information regarding the dilation.

God Bless...

10/11 - Good News!!!

2008-10-11T19:13:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing very well today. He is continuing to make progress in the feeding area, eating formula from a spoon. He is having more reflux, which confirms the fact he needs a Nissen. Tammy was able to chat with Dr. Hess this morning, and he had some wonderful news. He had said Elijah will have his next dilation and an MRI on Tuesday. He will also have his Nissen on Thursday, as opposed to the following week. If all goes well, with no complications, as soon as he recovers he will get to LEAVE the hospital and come here to the RMH for a while. At this point, we are probably looking at around 2 weeks of staying here. But that is completely acceptable, as long as we are all back together. Please pray for this week as several things will be happening with him, and specifically that all goes well and he does recover quickly. Dr. Hess is working on finding us a place nearby (i.e. Cincy or Knoxville) where Eli can have more dilations. He will likely need them around every two weeks, so he wants us to be closer to home and not have to travel to Minnesota for a dilation. Any major stuff, we would come back here. Of course, we are beside ourselves and can't really believe we are talking about the end of this part of the journey. We are cautiously optimistic that things will continue to go well. We continue to pray for God's hand to be upon us and that he will guide and direct each step. We know that He is in control.

We may actually be home for the benefit concert, which would be wonderful. We are anticipating an exciting time of celebration and worship as we praise God for all He has done. We truly invite each and every one to come and join in. With God's help, we will be there as well. The information regarding the benefit is at the top of the page. We know it will be a special time.

Thanks to all.... God bless...

10/10 Update

2008-10-10T17:39:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing well today. He moved to the floor, hopefully this time for good. He tried eating milk from a spoon today, and did well with that. They tried some bolus feeds through his g-tube, and it seems he had a little reflux. He didn't like that too much. He will have another dilation on Tuesday, along with an MRI of his head. We still want to make sure there are no neurological issues. The week after that, the week of October 20th, he will have a Nissen to help control reflux. Hopefully, after that, he may actually be ready to be out of the hospital. We will stay here at the RMH for a couple of weeks, and if all goes well, we may actually get to come home. Continue to pray for that and that everything continues to happen according to God's timetable. He truly has blessed us, tremendously.

Andrew is feeling some better and Matthew's stomach is better. Tammy also feels a little better. We are kinda nervous, just being back out on the floor. But God is in control of all things.

God Bless.....

10/9 Update

2008-10-09T13:00:00.002-04:00

Things are continuing to go okay. Elijah is doing some better. He woke up this morning screaming and crying and was very inconsolable. He is doing better this afternoon. We are looking at an MRI next week, when he has his next dilation, to rule out or confirm any neurological issues. He is still having some secretions, and is handling them some better. Every now and then he has some thicker, larger amounts that have to be suctioned out. He has been doing well with his Speech Therapy. His therapist said he was doing well, but that he may never take a pacifier. He may go straight to sippy-cup fed formula. They want to focus on the swallowing more than the sucking reflex.

Andrew has been sick with the stomach bug. Matthew wrecked on a bike outside and scratched his stomach up. Tammy hasn't been feeling well. And my stomach has been kinda quesy. All in all, we are pretty good.... Continue to pray for us, that we can all get better, especially Eli. We are more than ready to come home. That will happen soon enough, in God's timing. We pray for patience to wait for Him.

God Bless to all....

October 7th

2008-10-07T14:40:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing well from his second dilation today. They were able to stretch the esophagus to 10mm, up from 8mm last week. He is resting comfortably. The Speech Therapists were impressed with him yesterday, as he continues to do well and move along. Dr. Hess mentioned this morning he is still working on the end of the month to get us out of here. We are saying by Thanksgiving, just to be safe. And if we are earlier than that, it is gravy. If all goes well overnight, he will probably move to the floor tomorrow. It is good news, but it kinda splits us up again. Please pray for that as it will be hard on us, especially the boys, as Tammy will be spending most of the time with Elijah. But hopefully, it won't last too long. We are missing the 'Bluegrass State' and hope it won't be long before we return.

God Bless..

October 6th

2008-10-06T15:07:00.003-04:00

Elijah has had a great weekend and is doing wonderfully. He gets choked some on his saliva, but nothing like he did before. His next dilation will be tomorrow, but we are not sure of the time. This should help him keep his throat clear and allow the saliva to go to his stomach. We haven't made much progress on him eating by mouth, but we expect this week to reach some milestones. We will likely be moved back to the floor this week and should do well this time. The breathing issues are all but fully resolved. Maybe a few more dilations and working on the eating by mouth and then we can blow this popsicle stand. Or maybe make like a tree and leave. Possibly make like a banana and split.

Okay, enough with the bad puns. However, we are inching closer to Kentucky.

Another way God has blessed us. First, we got to attend church as a family this weekend. We went to Bethlehem Baptist on Saturday evening, which is John Piper's church. Some of you have probably heard of him. He is a prolific writer of Christian themes. A very in depth study of the Word, specifically John 1 regarding the life found in Christ.

Another thing we found out this weekend. After a concert Tammy's Mom and Dad attended, by a Southern Gospel group Acclaim Quartet, we found out that they want to do a benefit concert for Elijah. Well, to say the least, we are speechless. We truly don't deserve that, but God is so good. I don't have all the finalized details yet, but we do know it will be at our church, White Hall Baptist, sometime in November or December. More than likely November. We will post more information as it becomes available. We are continually amazed at what God does through his people. Thanks to all who are involved in this. It is truly a blessing.

God Bless...

Praise the Lord!!!

2008-10-03T19:43:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to add my two cents for what that is worth. I have been at the hospital for the last several days with Eli and it has bee rough to say the least. He has had some hard breathing, lots of crying, retractions and lots of choking. I really thought we were going backwards, but now I believe we are on the march forward. It all happened yesterday after he was taken off his high flow oxygen. I suppose this was pushing a lot of water down his nose making lots more secretions as if he needed that. Then they became thick, couldn't be swallowed all the way because of the strictured esophagus.....and the vicious cycle begins. He is a completely different child today. I can look at him and see a happier child....it is a miracle. I am like Ryan in his other post we are not so quick to become overly excited because this is a roller coaster. However, we know that our creator Jesus is in control and has this entire situation in his hand. We are doing better with physical therapy, occupational therapy since we are happier. We are having another dialation on Monday since we are stricturing down again. this is something that will be normal for us. it is hard to describe the change in him overnight.....I guess all I can say tis that I now know what a small miracle from our Lord looks like. I am so thankful I can say that Jesus loved us all enough to die for us and knows every tear we cry. He is here for us through goood and bad no matter if we act like we need him or not. I just pray that through all of this the Frazier 5 never forget who is carrying us through this situation......our gracious Father. Thank you for all your prayers.

Also I want to say how happy we are to be here in Minnesota at the hospital that is caring for our Elijah. We have grown so close to all our nurses, doctors and other staff they feel like family. Yeah, we really miss KY. but they make it a little easier to be here. They are definately the consistent in the situation along with our friends at the RMH. The nurses here are great and Elijah really knows how to flirt with them. He has his own little group of girlfriends for sure. If it were for our nurses where would we be.

talk to you soon.
the frazier5

October 3rd

2008-10-03T10:13:00.003-04:00

After a rough couple of days, Elijah was taken off the high flow oxygen last night. He had a great night and looked better than he had in a few days. He is managing secretions well so far, taking his pacifier, and resting comfortably. He continues to baffle everyone, including his parents!! We are cautiously optimistic right now, and are just enjoying the current success. Neurology is going to get involved at a greater level for the arching and sensitivity. It also seems he is going to need another dilation, which is very common for EA kids. The speech therapist is supposed to come this afternoon, so we are anticipating his success. He took a little water from a cotton swab yesterday and seemed to enjoy it. Baby steps, but steps indeed!

The rest of us are doing well. Matthew loves his teacher, Mrs. Britain. He is still apprehensive each morning about going, but is okay once he gets there. He is going to be fine, we just have to convince him of that. Andrew is doing well too. He wishes he could be in school. Go figure! Anyway, the boys are excited about the Halloween party at the end of the month here a the 'house'. Apparently, it is a blast. They are looking forward to being here, and I don't imagine that will be an issue. A nurse yesterday mentioned the 'c' word, as in being here for Christmas. I don't know and honestly am giving up speculating. We will be home when we're home. And I won't believe until we cross the state line. But I might stop and kiss the good ole' Kentucky ground. This ain't Kentucky!! But it's home for now. And we are blessed, more than we can fathom.

Keep up the prayers, they are working and we do appreciate them.

God Bless...

October 1st

2008-10-01T15:28:00.003-04:00

Elijah had another 'blue' spell last night after getting choked on his secretions. They were able to suction him and he recovered very quickly. He is doing well today and resting. A pulmonologist came by for a consult today and he wants to try a couple of medications that will control his secretions, breaking them up and thinning them out. They are also going to do the BD treatments again to try to work them out. He said his lungs look good, with no disease. They are a little overinflated because of the high flow he is on, so he wants to try him off the high flow, during the days when everyone is there. At nights they will put him back on until he can be weened off completely. The speech therapist is supposed to come by today and begin working slowly with him eating. Maybe some milk or water on his pacifier to start with. We know this will be a slow process, so pray for us to have patience.

It is beginning to get cold up here. It is in the 50's, maybe a high of 60 today with strong gusts. I fully expect the flakes to fly anytime. We are blessed to be here and the team is wonderful. Just pray for some progress in the eating area, so we can move past these breathing issues. Hopefully, we will see the fruit soon.

God Bless....

End of September!!!

2008-09-30T12:05:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that we are already at the end of September. As they say, times flies when you're having fun. I guess so... All is well today. Eli had his dilitation yesterday and all went well. He recovered very quickly and rested well last night. He is seeing the speech therapist today and they will begin working on him eating by mouth. Another monumentous occasion!! It's hard to believe we are at this point. It seems like we have been here forever, but then again, it seems like it has flown by. We are excited that he will begin and it seems he should pick it up pretty quickly. He is taking his pacifier extremely well, and that aversion is usually the hardest part. We will see how fast things progress. We do feel like he is doing much, much better and we are on the right track. Even if things move slowly, we are glad things are going in the right direction.

God Bless....

Getting Better!!!!

2008-09-27T14:19:00.003-04:00

Happy Saturday to all. Elijah is doing some better today. He is still having some junk issues in his airway, however, he is giving us much better coughs. The chest tube was removed yesterday, which helped relieve some of the pain. He is doing much better today than yesterday in all aspects. The upcoming plans are to do a dilation of his esophagus (if needed after bronchoscopy) on Monday. Then we will begin speech again to help with swallowing and maybe getting some food sometime soon. Elijah has shown us some hypersensitivity when touched. He gets really mad fast after being over stimulated. Therefore, if the current relaxation medication doesn't work we are going to try some type of neurological med. to help with sensitivity. We are hoping after this post op recovery we can get moving closer to home. Ryan counted and we have officially been here 75 days. If we stay until the end of Oct. it will be 102 days. You see we have that homesick feeling and the weekends are the worst. This is usually when we see our friends the most and it makes it kinda' rough up here.

We are so thankfully to be here as a family of 5 again. I think that was a good decision on our part after a lot of prayers. Matthew and Andrew seem much better satisfied being together, even though we still have some fights.....that's what brothers are for right!!!!!!!!
We will be adding some pictures today so check them out if you get a chance. He is growing and doing more "baby" things. talk to you soon.

The frazier 5

Bump in The Road

2008-09-25T17:26:00.002-04:00

Elijah has been breathing a little harder today and has some more junk in his airway. He has not been able to get rid of it by coughing or swallowing it. Therefore, this afternoon around 1 p.m. he had such a big glob of junk he just couldn't handle it anymore. The nurse poked her head out to get the dr. and while she was getting him he began to turn blue around the mouth. I sent my grandmother out for help and I began screaming but the outcome was for me to push the blue code button. That is still another one of those firsts that i could have lived without. It really tore my grandmother apart. She has never seen him in this situation and believe me it is really hard. Dr. Hess says this is another bump in the road.....so we will wait. They are hoping that when he begins to work with speech and learns how to swallow better it will help. They say he has received the optimized care for all areas at this time. The aortopexy has removed the aorta/innominate off, yet we still have the tracheomalacia (soft trachea). This will only get better with time and growth. The esophagus seems to be healing fine. Everything else is just making sure we get it right and fix it. Please pray we can find out what is for sure going on with the secretions and manage them.

This is for God's plan for us right now and we know he is in control. I will have to admit I am having a hard day today. It keeps getting harder to see your child turn blue and have a gazillion dr.'s run to his rescue. However, thank God they are there to help him. They definately are on top of things here. With each passing day we know this is where God would have us to be. I think maybe a good cry wouldn't be too bad. I know that God will take bad situations and turn them into good but you know sometimes it is a little rocky through the bad.....Praise God we can rely on him. You know sometimes that is easier said than done. I think at times we can put a wall around ourselves as christians to somehow disguise our discouragement. I have down days where I feel like giving up and going to bed for a day or two.....maybe three. I also can feel a heaviness on my heart when things like today happen. And I struggle with being discouraged and feeling beat down. But, guess what the only difference in how we face trials and life in general as believers is that we have Jesus Christ to rely on. Praise HIM!!!! I can not imagine trying to face this day to day without knowing all I have to do is call upon my savior to give me strength. And believe me I have needed it and continue to need it daily.

Thanks for all your prayers. We continue to give God the glory even in this bump in the road. Because you know you what he knows exactly how we are going to get over it. We praise him for all he has done so far and will continue to do for our children adn us. Thanks.

We love you
The Frazier 5

Speechless!!

2008-09-24T17:30:00.002-04:00

That is the one word to describe our current feelings. Overwhelmed maybe. Humbled. God is so good and we can only praise his name. We are just totally overwhelmed at what He has done. Elijah has had a great day and his pain is being managed very well. He continues to do well off the vent. He was laughing and playing today. He does well on his back, much better than before. We are just totally overwhelmed at what God has done. It is just so exciting to see him this way, acting normal for his age.

We thank God for all the prayers, support, and encouragement we have gotten over the last few months. It truly means the world to us.

God Bless....

We are ETT free!!!!!

2008-09-23T22:37:00.002-04:00

Well, Elijah has been extubated and it doing great. It is the FIRST time we have watched him breath without retractions (his chest sinking in ) and he breathing at a slower rate. We can only give GOD the praise and glory for this. We just wanted to update on he his doing right now. Please continue to pray for recovery and for feeding soon. This has been a BIG day for us, especially Elijah. He can now hopefully breath without so much work. I can't even express how awesome it is to see him breath so normally...just another one of those things you take for granted. Well good night. talk to you soon.

the frazier5

Another 'Praise the Lord'!!!!

2008-09-23T14:33:00.002-04:00

Well Elijah is out of surgery and everything went as planned. We want to "praise the Lord" first and foremost. Dr. Hess was able to pull up his innominate artery and the aorta so the trachea was collasped like before. They are stitched to the sternum and will remain this way through his lifetime. We are confident that this was God's plan for Elijah. We can only continue to pray that he will be able to breathe better now and on his own. For some time now Ryan and I have felt this was what he needed, but we were waiting on God's sovereign plan to be revealed in his time. Please pray that this is his last surgery at least for awhile so he can concentrate on eating and getting those everday "baby" skills mastered. Dr. Hess says recovery for this surgery is normally 3-5 days and then we will move to the next step. However, I think Elijah has something in common with mom and there is a bump to hit we will hit it.

It is amazing how God has used Eli even before he was able to talk or see even half the people he has touched. Ryan and I have always felt that Elijah will be used for a greater purpose for God's glory. We have been through so many touchy moments in the pregnancy and now during his life and know that God continues to show us miracles each day. We just want him to be what God intends for his life no matter how we get there. Thanks for all your prayers. We also want to ask you to pray for Eli Bean. He is here with Elijah and has the same diagnosis and guess what he is from the south. Isn't that weird. They are only a week apart too. Please pray for his recovery and that feedings go well for him. We have become special friends with his parents and family. They are such wonderful people and God has definately sent them here for a purpose. I can selfishly say I think it was for us and man did we need some people to relate with. I know he also sent them here for their son, but I said I was going to be selfish for a minute.

Matthew is doing well in school. He likes it. His teacher is great and is trying really hard to make sure the transition goes well. The material used here is the same as Madison Co. so this helps as well. And you know Andrew he is just happy no matter where he is. He is much better with Matthew here with him. Thanks for your prayers.

Love,

The Frazier 5

Surgery Today

2008-09-23T09:50:00.002-04:00

Elijah is undergoing surgery as I type. He went back around 8:30 am CST and it is expected to take a couple of hours. Please pray all goes well, with no complications. Also, please pray this resolves the breathing issues.

We will update when we have more information.

God Bless....

9/22 Afternoon Update

2008-09-22T17:41:00.001-04:00

Quick update.... Dr. Hess decided to wait until tomorrow to replace the leaking g-tube. He will do this along with the other procedure...

Keep praying.....

Monday Morning

2008-09-22T11:04:00.003-04:00

Another Monday morning..... All is well.... Elijah is continuing to do well. He is having a g-tube replacement today because the current one is cracked and leaking. It is supposed to occur sometime this afternoon.

We are still on schedule for his surgery tomorrow morning at 8am. Please keep praying everything goes well and it is successful in opening his airway. We feel that if the airway issue is resolved, then we can move forward with eating and such. Hopefully, we are on the down side of things!!!

Matthew started his first day of school here today. He was a little nervous, but his teacher is great and we believe he will do fine. It will just take some time for him to adjust. Most of the material he uses at school is the same material they are used to here. So, there should not be an adjustment in that area.

We just keep being amazed at God's divine plan and intervention. He is fully in control, we just have to keep asking 'what next God?'. We know He has our best interest in mind and he has a hope and a future for all of us. When we search for Him with all our heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:11-13). We pray He will continue to be glorified. It is truly amazing the attention Elijah is grabbing. He is a very special child and we believe God has a great master plan for Him. Only He knows what the long term plan is, but we are only required to be obedient day by day and fully trust He is in control.

We continue to be thankful we are here, specifically in this hospital. We know God planned this out long before we could have ever imagined. We are homesick and can't wait until we get to come home, but we continue to be amazed at each miracle He continues to bless us with. It is amazing how many time we have heard that we are an inspiration and many people tell us they don't see how we do it. We let me tell you, it is only through His grace and mercy and His strength that we are able to make it each day. I assure you, there is nothing in us that inherently wants to be here or enjoys this, but only because of Him are we able to lift our heads high, knowing we are fully in His protection and care. None of this is a surprise to Him, not only breath, and we have faith He is fully in control. We may never understand the full impact of this situation, but we trust He will use it to glorify Himself. We pray that it will glorify his holy name!

Thanks to all who are keeping up and we pray that in some way, this blog and our story blesses you and draws you closer to Him. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I would invite you to click on the link to the right and explore what He has in store for your life.

God Bless....

Saturday update

2008-09-20T19:36:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Elijah is continuing to do well on his tummy. Today he had to have some contrast placed in his stomach. They noticed some feeds coming back throught his g tube (connected to his stomach) and they don't want anything in his stomach right now. THey are not sure why it is leaking in this area but they are slowing starting his feeds again. He has lost a little weight over the last few days since he hasn't been getting all his feeds. Please continue to pray for the surgery on Tuesday that all things will be in line with God's will and it will go accordingly. Mom is really nervous.....but still knows that God is in control. Sometimes it seems a little more difficult than others to let it all go to him. Ryan and I are having a hard time at this end stretch of being away from home. We are so ready to return to home and get back to what is going to be 'normal' for our family. You know normal is so relative and we are learning everyday to not question 'why God" but just "ok. God what is my part in this plan"? Also please pray for us as a family as we adjust to all the changes that have been and will continue to take place in our family. We know that God continues to show is mercy and grace to us each day. And we need to remember his grace is sufficient....AMEN!!!!!

For those of you that know us and the rest of our family you know our Matthew. He is a strong willed child to say the least. He has a heart of gold and really loves people. He just has some behavior things that work their way out sometimes and make family things hard at times. Please pray that Ryan and I can discipline the appropriate way (God's way) and a way that will help Matthew cope better with his anger. This is a very hard situation for all of us and he deals with things so differently and we want to make sure we are giving him the best environment possible.

God has blessed us with three beautiful boys that all have such different personalities. Each one shines in their own special way and has a special way at making me smile. I can't imagine them being any different.....you know God doesn't make mistakes. I just want to make sure I am the mom that God called me to be to them everyday.

Thanks for all your prayers. we love each one of you.

The frazier 5

Friday 9/19 Update

2008-09-19T12:28:00.002-04:00

Elijah is doing well. He is resting very well on his stomach, which is a really good position for him. That is apparently keeping the vessel off his trachea and allowing him to breathe better. We are still waiting for Tuesday's surgery.

Matthew was able to come up on Wednesday evening. It is much better to have everyone back together. He was so excited, you could not wipe the smile off his face. Mom, Dad, and Andrew were excited as well. It has been very nice to have him back with us. He will start school on Monday here at the Ronald McDonald house. He seems to be excited about it.

Please keep praying for the upcoming surgery. Pray that all goes well, he recovers quickly, and it solves the breathing issues. We feel God has brought everything together for this specific time, so we just wait on His perfect timing and rejoice that He is in control.

God Bless...

Surgery is scheduled

2008-09-17T16:13:00.003-04:00

Elijah's pexy surgery is scheduled for 8am Tuesday morning. Please pray that all goes well and that this truly fixes his breathing issues. He has been resting well on his stomach, and Dr. Hess said this is a good indicator that the surgery will help him.

God Bless...

News from the Bronchoscopy

2008-09-16T16:27:00.003-04:00

Well Elijah underwent a bronchoscopy this morning to determine if his tracheomalacia was better or worse. He still has the compression at the surgery site and one on the front where the aorta pushes on it. They have said the only way to fix this will be surgery...an aortopexy. This is they will go between his ribs and stitch the aorta (one of the vessels) to his chest wall away from the soft area of the trachea. This will more than likely stop him from having these "episodes". We thought this was the case but all the docs wanted to cover all their bases before we go the next surgery route. He is having an atypical presentation of tracheomalacia, which had the dr.'s stumped for a couple of days. But to tell you the truth it didn't stump mom or dad. Just remember you know your child better than anyone and you are their voice in life.
Please pray that when the surgery happens that it will go smoothly and it will be successful. We pray that it is the correct surgical staff, correct dr., etc. in the room the day of the surgery. We want it to be all in God's plan. Thank you for you r prayers that have brought us this far and will continue to get us to the end of our journey. This is a food for thought verse for any of you who may be experiencing a trial or just need a pick me up:
Romans 5: 3-5
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that sufffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disapoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Praise God that our sufferings are not in vain, just like his suffering for us was not in vain. I pray that when you face a trial in your life you stare God in the face on your knees instead on focusing on the situation, which can only bring heartache and disappointment. We will keep you updated when surgery is scheduled.

Thanks.
Frazier 5

2008-09-15T10:09:00.002-04:00

Good Monday morning!!! We are waiting for Dr. Hess and the PICU team to devise a plan for this week. They are really a loss at what is the most emergent and needs to be done next at this point. Elijah is still having troubling breathing with retractions, getting some thick mucous stuck in the back of his throat and then we have the arching. It is such a combination that we need to break it down and make sure address each thing and get it right. They are thinking a bronchoscopy, MRI and a hood to thin secretions. Please pray that their plan will coincide with God's plan. On a positive note in physical therapy he is doing great. He can hold his head up on his own for at least 5 seconds. There is a picture at the bottom of his physical therapy session. I will post what we find out later this afternoon. Have a great day everyone. Oh by the way it is getting cold up here in the North......no snowflakes YET!!!!!

Love,
the frazier 5

Well Here we are on our Roller Coaster

2008-09-11T23:11:00.002-04:00

Well boy we have another roller coaster week. Elijah was put on the regular floor on Friday and did pretty good. After several days he began to have more problems breathing regularly, which caused some more concern. On Tuesday night we were moved back to the PICU. Elijah did well at first, and was weaned from his high flow oxygen at a very fast pace. This was not a good thing. As of yesterday morning he started having troubling keeping his respiratory rate down and was extremely cranky. He has been crying a lot without being able to be consoled at all. He arches and stiffens his body and can't even be straightened out by Ryan (and he's pretty strong). So as of today we are still in PICU. He is still very irritable we think due to his tracheomalacia (floppy trachea). Plans for the next few days include another bronchoscopy to look at his trachea to check for any improvement. To increase his reflux medicine since we are pretty sure he is having some acid reflux (stomach ph is low...not good). If there has not been any improvement in his trachea then we are going to need to readdress an aortopexy (stitching his aorta to his sternum). Ryan and I don't want him to have surgery, however if this is the best for him we will be on board. We praise God for the hours that Eli was able breath on minimal oxygen. And we also praise him for the trouble he is having, which lets us know what we need to do next. One thing is for sure you learn that you have to always look to God not just in the good but also in the bad. It is just like Job said that we need to praise God in the good and bad times. You know what they all will ultimately glorify God if we allow it to. When he was doing good we were very quick to question whether it would last and what would happen next, but then we realized we needed to praise God for the moment and pray about the next moment.
While I have been here all the verses and bible study I have done has lead me to things that tell me to cast all my anxiety on him, wait on him, be strong in him, give him glory in all things. I think in life we sometimes take our eyes off God and look at our situation and think how could this get better, but he has a plan if we let him work it out.
I can say this has been a definate emotional roller coaster but holding on to God's promise never to leave us or slumber has been so reassuring for both of us. Please continue to pray that Elijah would be healed according to God's plan and his timing and not ours. We have given Elijah to God and know that he holds this situation in the palm of his hand. He loves him much more than we do and will do what is best for him.

Also, please pray for Matthew as he is away from us. And for us as we are away from him. We really miss him. This is just another part of the journey we are on having our family separated by hundreds of miles. Boy, I never dreamed this would be part of my future. But you know what God did and I thank him for the trial in order to refine me during the process. I pray that if GOd would chose for us to bring Matthew back to us in MN he would let us know. We may be here for at least another month, especially if we have another surgery. That is way too long to be separated in our minds, but we want to do what is best for Matthew.

Thanks for all your prayers and storming the gates of heaven for our family. Please remember a family we met here. They are the Roth's and they lost their son today after a long battle. Please keep them in your prayers. Their son was born on the same day as our Eli and was his roomie when we got here.

Talk to you soon,
The Frazier 5

Two Days on the Floor !!!

2008-09-07T14:16:00.002-04:00

Well we have been out of PICU for two days now and it has definitely been a change. Ryan and I are doing the changing of the guards I get the night and he takes the afternoon. Since there is not a nurse at the bed all the time one of is there at all times. We do a lot of the care ourselves but a nurse is there every hour to give meds and check on us. They are still great to us but we were very attached to our PICU nurses. Elijah is continuing to do better each day by God's grace and your prayers. Please pray for us as we are having an extremely hard time being away from matthew. We have never been so far away for so long and it literally is breaking our hearts. Adn we don't know what would be a way to fix it. So please pray we have some peace for the remainder of our stay. I would also ask that you pray Eli is able to begin to drink more and more so we can get closer to coming to Kentucky. Right now that is our next step to home. We will keep you posted on any new developments. Love ya'll.

The Frazier 5

Another Great Day!!!

2008-09-05T16:42:00.002-04:00

Another great day here in the Twin Cities.... We have been truly blessed this week and are excited how God is moving in our situation. Eli is continuing to do well and is making great strides. He officially has no lines, as his central line was removed today. He is now on 3 liters of oxygen and is managing it well. He is moving to the floor, off the PICU this afternoon. This is another big step forward and we continue to pray that things get even better. He has begun work with the Speech Therapist and is taking to his pacifier very well. He is managing his secretions very well and is coughing and keeping his lungs clear. All in all, things are going very well. Mom and Dad are a little nervous about him moving to the floor, but we know he is in God's hands. It is in His hands how much longer we remain here. We are hoping we will be gone by the end of the month, but that is just our estimation. Nothing has been set in stone.

God Bless...

Continuing to do Better

2008-09-03T21:28:00.003-04:00

Well another good day. I got to hold him today with a little hesitation, but was thrilled. He is doing better each day with his breathing. He continues to be on his own (without the ventilator) doing well on his back, sides and belly. The occupational therapist came by today and will be working on moving his arms to strengthen his muscles and movement. She also wants to work on his eye movement and following. Then she will move to weight bearing excercises for strength. This will be a slow process as well. She said then when we are read we will begin to work on sucking and swallowing such a little thing that we take for granted. Boy this experience has been such a big dose of humble pie. If I could say one thing to everyone that looks at this blog just remember life only throughs us trials to learn how to strengthen our realationship with God not get bitter at someone. There are so many things are complained about that are petty, families that are taken for granted, friends that are forgotten over little disagreements and I think is that what God would want from his children? You know in the grand scheme of life does it really matter when you take up offering during in church or if what kind of music we sing? No, the question is Did everything that I did today give glory and praise to my heavenly father? This experience has definitely taught me that life is precious and God has only allowed us a certain amount of time to be here and we should cherish every minute of it and live every second of it for him. Ryan and I know that God has taught us many lessons already during this journey and continues to show us things on a daily basis. we are here to use this in any way that would give God glory. You know when you see your child's life hang in the balance before your eyes you begin to see life a lot differently and maybe a little more like God would like us too. I look at Matthew, Andrew and Elijah and see God's power, love and thank him for his gift to us for however long he chooses. Please continue to pray for us as a family and that we can be home by th end of September.
Now I will get off my soap box. Love ya'll. It is 60 degrees here and very fall like. I know it is hot there.... I am sorry! Also, would you pray for a special family we have met here. There names are Amanda and Harold Bean (son named Eli with e/a like our Elijah) his surgery his tomm. for reconnection of his esophagus.

Phillipians 4:6
Do not be anxious in anything but bring all your petitions to the Lord in prayer.

Love you,

The Frazier 5

9/2 Update

2008-09-02T18:49:00.003-04:00

Elijah is doing very well today. He began 2 hour stints on his back and is tolerating them very well. He has been awake a good portion of the day and enjoys his mobile. The plan at this point is to continue to give him time to grow and respond to being off the vent. He is coughing and swallowing better than he was yesterday and we seem to be moving in the right direction. No surgery until he has a chance to do this on his own. As long as he continues to do well, we will give him a chance to grow. We spoke w/ the cardiologist today and there are no plans to do anything at this point. They are fairly sure he will eventually have to have surgery, but we are looking at months down the road. He has an inlet VSD that will likely not close on its own, so he will have to be repaired. But we will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we continue to give him time to get stronger. Eventually we will begin oral feeding and more work in that area. For now, continue to pray he grows stronger and his esophagus cartilage gets stronger and stronger.

God Bless...

9/1 - Labor Day

2008-09-01T22:14:00.002-04:00

Happy Labor Day!! We celebrate with another day that Elijah is doing well. He has graduated from his stomach to switching between both sides. He continues to do well and is coughing and swallowing more. That is exciting as this is something new for EA babies. He is keeping his lungs clear and doing very well breathing. We are not sure about the surgery this week. Not sure any time or date because we have not spoken with Dr. Hess. We will chat with him tomorrow. But for now, we enjoy what we have gotten so far. He was bright eyed and bushy tailed today, just looking around and smiling. We are truly blessed and are extremely thankful.

We will post more as information becomes available.

God Bless...

8/31 Update

2008-08-31T14:36:00.003-04:00

Elijah is continuing to do well of the ventilator. He is breathing best on his stomach, but he is having a little issue with secretions. Because he hasn't been able to swallow, he doesn't really know how. He is having to learn as he goes. Also, no doubt, his throat is sore from the intubation. I (Ryan) was able to hold him up for about thirty minutes today and let him breath and cough. He had a couple of good coughs and was doing well. I even got a smile out of him!! That's enough to make Dad's day. (Of course, he likes me better anyway. :-)).

Tammy spoke with Dr. Hess this morning and the plan is to do an aortapexy later this week. They feel pretty confident, especially with him doing the best on his stomach, that the vessel is collapsing his already soft trachea at that spot. Basically, they will stich up the vessel to the chest wall, which will keep it from laying on the trachea. That should help his airway stay open and eventually grow strong. At this point, we are unsure of a day or time, but will post with more details later.

By the way, he had an episode yesterday after intubation where he stopped breathing. They had to bag him, but he came right out of it. That is why he is mainly on his stomach and doing well. Continue to pray for him as he goes through this process. Pray he doesn't need to be re-intubated, at least until the surgery is needed (as he will be then) and pray that the surgery goes well and it helps his airway stay open. Thanks to all who are praying for us. We truly appreciate it!!

God Bless....
The Frazier's

Sunday News

2008-08-31T11:22:00.002-04:00

Well here is our new information today. We had another code experience yesterday except this time he was in my arms even more devestating than just seeing one happen. He has been placed on his stomach and he breathing o.k. but when you put him his back he drops his saturation and turns some odd shades of blue. This is pure symptoms of severe tracheomalacia and the aorta laying on the trachea. Dr. Hess came to see him this morning and indicated he would more than likely need an aortapexy this week. This is a surgery where they stitch the aorta to the chest wall in order to relieve the pressure off the trachea. This is another bump in the road for us but it is fixable. We still continue to give God the glory for sending us here because we feel the results would have been disastrous if we would have stayed in Kentucky. Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to lift us up to the Lord as we continue this journey. We love you very much.

The Frazier 5

Extubation Today!!!

2008-08-30T12:58:00.002-04:00

Elijah was extubated today around 10:30. So far so good. He has his repogle removed from his nose and his chest tube removed. I can finally put clothes on him and make him look like my sweet little Elijah. He sounds really junky in his lungs but that is because he has not learned to cough yet so hopefully that will come soon. He also need to learn that suck/swallow reflex so we are introducing the pacifier slowly. We are hoping he will continue to do well and the aortapexy surgery will not be necessary. We praise God for his answered prayers during this journey. We will keep you posted as things arise. We love you guys.

The Frazier 5

Great News!!!

2008-08-29T14:38:00.002-04:00

We found out today that there are no leaks in Elijah's esophagus!! Praise the Lord!!! They will now begin the process of extubating him, so we pray that it will go well. There is some concern that his trachea is too soft and is collapsing, but they want to try the extubation before they consider another surgery. Hopefully, that will occur sometime this weekend. However, I am not sure of the plan as of yet. But thankfully there are no leaks and we can move forward.

Please pray he can remain extubated and that his trachea is strong enough to withstand the vessel and scar tissue that are pressing in on it. Thanks to all....

God Bless,
The Frazier's

8/28 Update

2008-08-28T12:57:00.003-04:00

Eli's study this morning went well. No unexpected information. The tube in his nose (NG tube) is pressing on his septum and closing off his left nostril. This of course is restricting the airway. Also, he has some tracheomalcia at the same level as the esophagus connection. The scar tissue from the esophagus is pressing in on his trachea and the aorta is pressing in on it on the other side. This is causing some closure of his trachea. Dr. Hess wants to do the study on his esophagus to check for leaks tomorrow and if all is well, remove the NG tube. He thinks this may allow him to breathe freely through his nose and just might solve the problem. If not, we may have to discuss a aortapexy, which sutures the aorta to the chest wall, allowing it to be off of the trachea. We shall see. They will likely extubate him soon after the NG tube is removed, so we pray that there are no leaks. And then, we pray that that solves the problem. Please keep this constantly before the Lord. It would be really great NOT to have to undergo another surgery.

God Bless.....

Please Pray

2008-08-28T12:03:00.003-04:00

Hey! Today Elijah had his bronchoscopy and here is what we found out: essentially he has a bulge in the back of his esophagus near the connection sight and one in front from his aorta pressing on his trachea. Therefore, there is something pressing on both his front and back portion of his trachea when he tries to breath on his own, which leads to failed extubation. Now the ENT and Dr. Hess will talk and decide a plan for him. The two options that have been presented to us are a tracheostomy or aortapexy (stitching his aorta to his sternum away from trachea). Please pray that we can seek God's guidance in making the best decision for him and what will glorify God. That is our goal in this entire situation to praise our heavenly father no matter what happens. We will find out tommorrow if there is a leak in his esophagus so continue to pray it has closed off. This has definately been emotionally and a test of our faith. I can see how God has used this to strenghten our faith in him and I praise him for that everyday. We give him praise that we have an answer and it is something related to his EA and not something brand new. Thanks for your prayers. We love you all.

The Frazier 5

8/27 Update

2008-08-27T15:56:00.002-04:00

Elijah is continuing to do well. He is having a study tomorrow to see if anything can be found in his trachea/throat areas. This will hopefully determine if anything there is causing his failed extubation attempts. There could be several things that are found, so we pray for God's direction and guidance as this is performed. We would love to know why this is happening, so just pray that He will reveal something that will allow us to move forward with extubation.

He is also having another esophagus study on Friday to check for leaks. It has been about 1 1/2 weeks since the last, so we pray there are none. Then he can have the chest tube and NG tube removed. That would be very nice and an answered prayer.

Just continue to pray for God's will to be done and that He will continue to guide and protect this whole process. We are thankful He is in control and are truly blessed.... I will post when we find out something tomorrow.

God Bless,
The Frazier's

Monday 8/25

2008-08-25T22:07:00.002-04:00

Another day in the big city.... Elijah is doing well and is still on the ventilator. At this time, they are planning to do a scope on his nose, throat, and trachea on Wednesday (not sure the time) to find out what is going on. Hopefully, that will show if there are any anatomical issues. He does well when he is on the vent, but struggles when he is off. We pray, and ask you to do the same, for a clear answer as to why he is having these issues and clear direction as to how to fix them. Dr. Hess stopped by today and reassured us everything was going to be okay. That is comforting, as we place alot of trust in him. We shall wait and see what the next step is. God has given us rest over the past few days, and Eli as well. That is good, as we didn't get much before then. Tammy's aunt and uncle came up from Kentucky for a few days. It is good to see familiar faces that speak the same language as we do!! These Minne-SOH-Tan's all talk funny. We will do our best to post when we find out some more information. Until then....

God Bless,

The Frazier's

A Very Difficult night!!!!

2008-08-23T14:18:00.002-04:00

Wow!! The last 36 hours have been an adventure and not one I would like to repeat. eli was doing fairly well off the vent with the help of a cpap (a little extra oxygen). However, we had trouble getting the mask to not have leaks, but that was only a small problem. his oxygen levels were staying in the mid 80's and he had begun to rest a little. The dr.'s were trying really hard not to re-intubate. They were giving him nebulizer treatments, bd's (percussion on his back) and they were helping a tiny bit each time. Last night around 12 p.m. he was getting his bd's and I took a bathroom break. When I returned I found his heartrate at 47 and his o2 sats at 30% then the nurse pushed the code blue button. Of course, another thing you never want to experience with your child. He was a light blue color and needed heart compression but only for about a minute, which seemed like an eternity. Once his oxygen levels were back to the 90's he started to raise his heartrate some but required re-intubation. This is a set back for him and really concerns us about his ability to remain off the ventilator. He is more stable now since he is intubated but this is ultimately not the best thing for him, obviously. He will receive an ENT consult today since they are concerned about not being able to pass anything in his right nostril. Of course, they say his anatomy is different....boy we have heard that several times.

I felt like my heart was begin ripped out when I saw him laying on that bed and everyone around him working hard to keep him alive. A code blue is the scariest thing i have ever seen and it multiplies by a million when it is your child. last night was the first night I let myself break down in the last several weeks, but i really needed a good crying out to the Lord. I can assure that is the only thing that can make you feel the least bit better in this situation. Ryan and I know for sure that God is in control and has an ultimate plan just getting there is very very difficult. Please pray that we continue to have strength to get through each new day. We gave Elijah completely over to the Lord no matter what will happen good or bad. So we pray for strength to let him work in our lives the way he sees fit and not on our plan or schedule. And we all know that can be hard at times since we sometimes think our schedule is better and it is definately not. We still ask that you pray for a speedy recovery, which definately includes having him off the ventilator. Thanks for all your prayers and during this big bump in the road we really need it.

Ryan just called from the hospital and said that he will see an ENT on Monday. He also will have a few more antibiotics started since he had some infection show in his lungs from a culture this morning. Please pray this is just a minor infection and does not lead to pneumonia.

We love you all,

The Frazier 5

Doing well

2008-08-22T12:42:00.002-04:00

Eli is doing well off the vent. He had a collapsed left lung last night, but with some effort, they were able to get it inflated. Now, his right lung is collapsed. They are working to get it re-inflated. He is on a bi-pap to help him breathe and get the lung inflated. So far, he is resting well and all his blood gases are coming back with good readings. Please pray that lung reinflates so they will not have to reintubate him. We surely do not want that to happen.

He was on his stomach last night and raised his head up and looked around. He is our strong fighter!!

On another note, Tammy went to the ER last night because she had been having some heart "flutters". She is doing okay, but they did put a monitor on her and she will follow up with a cardiologist next week. They think it is just stress and lack of sleep. Imagine that!! Don't know how anyone could be stressed around here ;-).

We praise God our provider who is continually watching over us and keeping us in His hands. He truly has blessed us with more than we could ever imagine. Please continue to pray that Eli does well and that his lung re-inflates and he does not have to be re-intubated.

Thanks and God Bless,
The Frazier's

Off the vent.....

2008-08-21T15:53:00.003-04:00

Eli is off the vent again. He came off about 2 CST. Let's pray he is able to stay off this time. Everything else is going well and he is continuing to improve. We are extremely pleased and truly thankful!!!