We're Home!!

After almost a month in the hospital, we're home!! We returned home Sunday afternoon after Isabelle's last morning IV antibiotics. I felt like kissing the ground when we drove in our driveway.

Following are a few of the friends we met while at MUSC:

Rachel and Miss Mary got Isabelle ready to go home!


Conrad Williams, a pediatric resident, made sure all my questions were answered and advocated for Isabelle. He won a place in our hearts!



Adriene and Jenny, two of the nurses on the floor, came into our room for playtime with Isabelle. Izzy loved them both!


Jenny taught Isabelle "Up" and "Down" and showered lots of love on our girl.

Sadly we didn't get a photo with Jen, one of Dr. Bradley's PA's, and another amazing advocate for us. We'll have to get one next time Jen!

I'm grateful for the staff at MUSC and look forward to catching up with them, in a year, when we return for Isabelle's next open-heart surgery.

Although our stay has obviously been much longer than we anticipated, I have to give testimony to the little ways the Lord has used others to minister to us while in the hospital.

Before leaving for Charleston, Phil's school - SouthLake Christian Academy - took up a love offering and gave us a pre-paid Visa for the trip. We've been able to pay for our meals, our lodging at the Ronald McDonald house and our parking with these funds. We didn't know we would need the added funds, for the added days, but the Lord knew and provided before we even asked.

Kifton, RN (one month away from her NP) - found a laptop computer that no one was using and brought it to my room to use. She also just made a recent medical missions trip to Haiti. She shared her photos and contacts with me. Phil and Michaela hope to travel to Haiti this summer for Michaela's first missions trip.

Michael, Phlebotomy - He has drawn blood on Isabelle at least 3 times. He's very well-read and loves China and it's history. After exchanging names of books that we have enjoyed reading, he dropped off a book Mao and Nixon for me to read while in the hospital. What a blessing! I was finished with the one book that I brought (only expecting to be here for a week) and was in desperate need of some diversion.

Adrienne, RN and Jenny, RN - They are wonderful nurses who have fallen in love with Isabelle. They make sure we are well cared for and teach Isabelle new "tricks" like saying up/down when she has to put her arm up for her temperature. They also have "play time" with Isabelle each day. And the best part...they share their chocolate with me!!

Jen, Dr. Bradley's PA - While Torie was in town last week, Jen arranged for her to shadow Jen's husband who is a PA in the ER. Torie is a biology/Spanish double-major and is trying to determine which area of medicine she wants to pursue. The day spent in the ER was a great help.
Jen also helped get a file, of a little girl with a heart defect, reviewed last week. We're praying the information will help the adoption agency place this little girl in her forever home.
Jen is the one I know I can always page if I need help or an answer to a question!!

Dr. Rani Bandisode - She's the physician who performed Isabelle's pre-op cath. She's an expert in the field and is the one who reviewed the file of the heart baby from China. What a blessing she gives of her time so freely to help a child 1/2 way around the world.

Dr. Bill Hammill - Our pediatric cardiologist has been available by phone for all my questions while in the hospital. Thanks Bill!!


The Dr.'s say that if Isabelle is "boring" (medically speaking, of course) for the next 4 days, they will discharge her after the 2:00 p.m. dose of antibiotics on Sunday. Sunday will mark the 45th day I've been out of town or in the hospital since mid-January. Pray for God's continued strength as I count down!

Isabelle - 7 Days of IV Antibiotics

It's Wednesday a.m. and we just received news that the last blood culture is still negative. Praise God!! This means the clock begins ticking from Monday (the day the blood was drawn) for the 7 day IV Antibiotic course. If all goes well, we can go home on Sunday or Monday. Please pray with us that the next 4 days will be "boring" (medically speaking), and that our family will be reunited this weekend.

While Isabelle and I are in the hospital, life continues at home - Full Quiver Farm. Our 47 hens are now in full laying production, and we're servicing 15+ weekly egg customers. We look forward to adding another 50 hens this spring to expand our egg business.

Phil's newest endeavor was planting 120 asparagus plants last week. Lord-willing they'll be in full production next spring. We bought 2 year old plants which means they will begin producing in one year.

Below is a photo of the girls and Phil's LONG row of asparagus!



Thanks for your continued prayers and support for our family. It means SO much to us!

Tuesday...Day 20 in the Hospital

We continue our stay in the hospital. Isabelle started antibiotics last Thursday for a suspected blood infection. The blood infection was confirmed on Friday and adjustments were made to the antibiotics. Unfortunately she had 3 positive blood cultures. The good news is at 24 hours the 4th culture is still negative. We have to wait for 48 hours to confirm a negative result, but we're hopeful that the antibiotics are beginning to do their job.

After meeting with the Attending today, the tentative plan is to continue her IV antibiotics for 7 days, post a negative blood culture. Beyond that, she may go home with a PIC line for additional weeks of antibiotics.

The last 48 hours were VERY hard for me. We're on Day 20 in the hospital and time is slowing to a crawl. I've never been particularly good at waiting or sitting. I usually have multiple "To Do" lists in place for homeschool, work, home projects, etc. Just sitting in a hospital is making me a bit stir crazy.

That being said, I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of strength. And Phil also surprised me and is traveling to Charleston, today, with AnnaGrace and Sarah Mei for a 2 day visit.

I know in a month or two this will all be a distant memory, but I pray that I'll be conformed more to the image of Christ through this experience. I see His hand in our lives on a daily basis.

Short Update

Today we found out that Isabelle has an infection that was detected through the blood cultures. By tomorrow, they will be able to determine exactly what antibiotic is needed. We are thankful that the problem has been pinpointed! However, Elaine was told by the Doctors that Isabelle would need to be on IV antibiotics for six or seven days starting today or tomorrow, based on the final findings.

Another week in the hospital:(

While Elaine and I desperately want the family together, under one roof, we thanked the Lord that one more week in the hospital is merely an inconvenience in the big picture. Isabelle is healing and growing stronger by the day. We have much to be thankful for and to praise God for! Thank you for your continued prayers and encouraging comments and notes!

We are taking one day at a time and are continually blessed by God's provision in all things!

Good News/Bad News

We want to thank all of you for following our blog and praying continually for Isabelle and our entire family.

The good news is that Dr. Bradley did take the chest tube out today! Please continue to pray that her body can adjust to the internal fluids and that they are absorbed and do not settle around the heart or lungs.

The bad news is that last night at 3:00am, Isabelle woke up crying and she had a fever of 103. They are running every test possible to determine the cause of the fever with some results taking 24 hours to complete. Right now they are just giving her meds to keep the fever down.

Elaine will try to access a computer tomorrow to give you a more detailed update. She tries to do that when Isabelle is sleeping. Right now, Isabelle wants her by her side 24/7, which is a wonderful blessing. Our loving Father has used this time in the hospital to truly enhance the bonding process, so soon after coming home.

Again, thank you for your faithful prayers to our loving and gracious Heavenly Father.

The picture below was taken last Saturday. Dr. Bradley did both of SarahMei's heart surgeries and Isabelle's.

Torie's Highlight of the Month

This morning we woke up to the announcement that Darius Rucker, the cast from Army Wive's and various football stars from the Falcons team were going to be in the Children's Atrium making purses with the children in the hospital. The celebration was part of Fashion Week in Charleston.

Torie is a huge fan of Darius Rucker (I'm embarrassed to say I had no idea who he was. Keeping me up with the media is one of the benefits of having a 19 year old daughter.) Daris Rucker is the newest country western sensation and was formerly the lead singer for Hootie and the Blowfish.

When we walked in the atrium it was mobbed with literally 100's of children, parents and media. Normally there are about 6-10 people in the entire atrium. Isabelle's eyes just got huge and then Torie's eyes got even bigger when they picked us to go sit with Darius and the editor of Charleston Magazine, Darcy Shankland.

Darcy helped us pick up a purse and the embellishments to put on it. Then Darius proceeded to glue the decorations on the purse under the watchful eye of Darcy and Isabelle. We spent about 30 minutes with them. They were both SO gracious and down to earth.

Diversions like this are wonderful for the children in MUSC who face extended stays in the hospital (and their big sisters:). We see other families who are facing much greater obstacles than ours...children who are burn victims, cancer patients, etc. The day was a great encouragement to all who attended.

You can see by the photo (below) that Isabelle was just a bit overwhelmed by the entire morning.


Darcy Shankland, Editor of Charleston Magazine, and Darius Rucker, newest sensation on the country-western scene and former lead singer for Hootie and the Blowfish with Torie and Isabelle at MUSC.

On a medical note: Please pray for successful removal of Isabelle's chest tube tomorrow. They will be doing an echo on her heart and an x-ray on her lungs both tomorrow and Friday. If no fluid builds up, we will be released. You have NO idea how thrilled I'll be to hear those words.

And another prayer request: Many of you may remember that we were blessed to help organize a Summer of Hope-Ethiopia visit for 18 Ethiopian orphans last summer. We're thrilled that 10 of them now have waiting adoptive families and 5 of those are in our church family. We got news this week that the first family, Mike and Iris Wallace, will be traveling to pick up Zelalem, their 9 year old son, this weekend. That news absolutely brightened my entire week. Please pray for safe travel and a smooth reunion with their son. And also pray for the other families that are waiting for court dates and travel assignments to pick up their children.

Isabelle Update

Dr. Bradley, Isabelle's surgeon, just made rounds. Isabelle's drainage is staying static in the 40's...the goal was 15-20 mL in 24 hours. However, Thursday will be two weeks since her surgery. Dr. Bradley has decided, if her drainage remains the same or decreases (which so far today it's down a little in volume), he will remove her chest tube on Thursday. I think we'll stay in the hospital for another day after the drain is removed for monitoring.

The risk of removing the tube is that her body will not be able to process all the extra fluids. Please pray that her body compensates for the increased fluid. It's possible that the drainage may be higher due to the irritation of the actual chest tube, in which case, the fluids may decrease with just the removal. Please pray to that end!!

If her body does not handle the extra fluids, it will accumulate either around her lungs or her heart. Her condition will be monitored through echos and chest x-rays. If an increase in fluid is detected, her diuretics will be increased (she's on 3 diuretics right now). Worst case scenario...Isabelle will be readmitted to the hospital and a chest tube will be reinserted. We're praying this won't be a necessity.

Although 13 days is a LONG time in the hospital...we're thankful the Lord is using the stay:

To allow us to advocate for adoption, especially of medical special needs children. Many people have asked me about the process of adoption and seem very interested.

To allow for great bonding/attaching time for Isabelle and I since she has my undivided attention.

To remind us that we must lean on Him for ALL things. Isabelle's health is ultimately in His hands, and we're thankful for the success so far!

11 Days in the Hospital....and Counting

Phil and the girls came to Charleston this weekend. It's wonderful to see Phil, Michaela, AnnaGrace and Sarah Mei. Torie got the weekend "off" from hospital duty and is in Boone, NC attending a RUF retreat. She'll be returning to the hospital this afternoon.

Isabelle is doing GREAT except for her chest drainage. I anticipated being in the hospital for 5-6 days. Surprise, surprise, Isabelle is still draining more than double the volume that is needed to pull her chest tube and today is Day 11 in the hospital.

However, the drainage isn't slowing Isabelle down a bit. She enjoys spending every minute possible in the Children's Atrium. MUSC has a wonderful children's play area that we visit once or twice a day. It's a nice break from the 4 walls of the hospital room.

The staff on 7C (the step-down cardiac floor) are wonderful and are beginning to feel like family; however, I'm still ready to be home with ALL my children under one roof.

Keep praying that the drainage will dry up!

Here is Isabelle in the child's atrium practicing the skills that are "practiced" on her, every day, by the nurses and Dr.'s.

Quick Update

Elaine and I would like to thank all of you for your continued prayers for Isabelle and our family. Elaine has not been able to get to a computer so this is my attempt to convey our phone conversation this evening! (All of the husbands understand the danger in conveying messages from their wives!)

Isabelle is doing very well. Her color is so much better now that her oxygen levels are in the low 80's...up from 60-62. She is also much more animated and interactive with Elaine, Torie and the nurses. The one negative at this point is that her chest tube has not slowed down...draining...since the surgery. In fact, the drainage increased some today. So, our prayer request is that God would begin to heal her internally so that the chest tube can be removed. Once the tube is out, they can come home! We are all praying to that end.

Again, thank you for all of your prayers and the love expressed through all of the notes and comments on the blog.

Elaine and I have been reminded daily that God is sovereign in ALL things. It is simply our responsibility to be obedient to His call on our lives. Thank you for walking with us!

Phillip, Elaine, Torie, Michaela, AnnaGrace, SarahMei, & Isabelle

Isabelle Is Recovering Well!

Prayers Please

Isabelle is doing well. She had one blood pressure spike last night, which made me nervous, but with pain medicines it came back down. They plan on extubating her this morning which is great news.

The bad news...I had another seizure last night, while sitting next to Isabelle's bed in PCICU. Thankfully Phil was with me; it was short and all is well this morning. After having a seizure I feel pretty sick and weak for 24-36 hours. Please pray for strength for me today.

After returning to the Ronald McDonald House last night, and having a good cry about the events of the day, I had to smile. Why am I surprised when the trials come? This is our opportunity to bring glory to the Lord. He is NOT wringing His hands in heaven. His plans are NOT thwarted. He is sovereign and in control of even these details of our lives!! Pray that we will bring glory to Him and that those around us will see Christ reflected in our lives.

We woke up this morning to the news that AnnaGrace (9) now has the stomach virus that Sarah Mei had last week. Hers is upper (not lower like Sarah Mei's)...ugh!! So sorry Torie & Michaela!! Phil will be leaving the hospital in a few minutes to head back home while Torie hops in the car, in Charlotte, to head down here to Charleston. By this afternoon they will have switched posts. Pray for safety as they both travel today.

And of course...pray for our sweet Isabelle that she'll continue to progress, that her oxygen saturation levels will stay in the 80's and that her chest drainage will continue to slow.

Thanks prayer team!! What an encouragement it is to us to know that we have all of you joining us in prayer!

She's Done!!

Dr. Bradley just met with us and said the surgery went great. There were no surprises and the anatomy of her heart looks good for her next open-heart surgery, the Fontan.

We're praising God for carrying us through this so far. Continue to pray for Isabelle as she wakes up from anesthesia.

In China Isabelle was deemed "inoperable", but praise God, He had other plans for her! We're blessed to be chosen, by Him before the foundation of the earth, to be her parents.

1:25 p.m. Update

We just received an update and Isabelle is off the heart/lung bypass machine. They are hoping to wrap up her surgery within the next hour. Continue to pray that she will remain stable through the balance of the surgery.

Also please pray that they will be able to take out the breathing tube late tonight or in the a.m. She will do better, with her Glenn, once she is extubated. Last week she had a hard time breathing on her own which led to a delay in taking out her breathing tube.

I wanted to post pictures of Torie (19) and Michaela (14) but unfortunately the hospital computer won't let me download photos. The girls are our unsung hero's right now. Due to the flu season and H1N1, MUSC won't allow children under 18 to go into the PCICU. Because of this, Phil and I traveled to Charleston and left Torie and Michaela to hold down the fort at home with AnnaGrace (9) and Sarah Mei (4).

Torie works full-time at Tractor Supply. She took this semester off of college. It wasn't by choice. Our China trip took her out of the 1st 3 weeks of classes this semester. She petitioned her professors to make up the work, but the majority of them said they'd fail her for missing so many classes (despite the fact that she was in China picking up her new little sister!). As disappointing as it was to miss those hours of classes, the Lord had a better plan. In April she will be traveling to Austria to attend a Torchbearers Bible School session. She'll return to the states at the end of June and resume her classes at UNCC. We're so thankful that she'll have this opportunity for intense Bible study and international travel! In the meantime she arranged her work schedule, while we're in Charleston, to work in the late afternoons/evenings and take care of the girls during the day.

Michaela is continuing her on-line homeschool classes while we are away. I'm amazed at her ability to juggle her school work, take care of the horses and 47 chickens, and still find energy to do crafts, baking and reading with the little girls in the evenings.

I know I'm bragging, but Phil and I are SO proud of how Torie and Michaela have stepped up to the plate in this time of "crisis." They are going to be amazing Keepers at Home one day! Please pray for their continued strength until Phil returns home tomorrow.

Also pray for AnnaGrace and Sarah Mei. They are used to being with me 24/7. First I was in China for 2 full weeks, then out of town last week and now again this week. It's beginning to take a toll on them both to be seperated from me and out of our daily routine.

Hopefully the next time I update, it will be to say Isabelle is in the PCICU.

(We just got word that one of my favorite nurses, Heather, is going to be Isabelle's nurse again today in PCICU!! Whoohoo!! God takes care of even the little details.)

10:55 a.m. Update

Isabelle is now on the heart/lung bypass machine and remains stable. I'm amazed at medical technology and what is possible!!

During surgery, in addition to doing the bi-directional Glenn, Dr. Bradley will also be patching one of Isabelle's pulmonary arteries which is too small to allow enough blood flow to her right lung. He will use cadaver pericardium to make the patch. It won't grow with Isabelle but her own artery will continue to grow and the patch will have enough "play" (I have no idea what the correct medical term for that is???) to accommodate her growth.

In the bi-directional Glenn they will connect her Superior Vena Cava to her pulmonary arteries. Blood which is pumped into her head and shoulders will go, by gravity, into the SVC and into her lungs. The rest of her blood will be pumped through the lower chamber of her heart. There will be less red/blue blood mixing than there is currently. This will improve her oxygen saturation levels to the
80's and will allow time for her body to grow and develop to prepare for the final operation - the Fontan.

We'll keep updating throughout the day.

"My soul finds rest in You alone, Oh Lord."

1st Update

At MUSC they give the parents a pager and the PA texts updates during surgery. We just received an update from Jennifer, one of Dr. Bradley's PA's, and she said "Surgery is underway. They are just getting into the chest. Sweet little Isabelle is doing very well and remains stable."

We love Jennifer and are thrilled she's in with Isabelle during surgery. That's one of the many things I love about MUSC; you feel like family by the time you leave. Everyone is so attentive to the children here and truly take a personal interest in their care.

Thanks for your continued prayers. We are resting in His arms.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace." Romans 15:13...we can truly say, He has!!

Isabelle is in Surgery-

Phil, Isabelle and I arrived in Charleston Tuesday evening. Yesterday Izzy had the normal all day pre-op appointments...blood draw, x-rays, meeting with the anesthesiologist and cardio-throacic surgeon. We had a relaxing evening at the hotel and were back at the hospital this morning at 7 a.m.

The two hardest parts of the surgery for me are "handing off" our daughter to the OR team and then seeing her intubated (which will come this afternoon). They gave Isabelle some Versed,before taking her to the OR, which made her happy and sleepy. She was just fine when they wheeled her away.

Surgery start time is 9:00 a.m. Please pray for the anesthesia team, the nursing team and of course Dr. Bradley and his PA's Kathy and Jennifer. They are a wonderful team. We have full confidence in them and know the Lord is guiding the hands of the surgeon.

We are SO blessed to have such prayer support from all you!! We'll keep you updated throughout the day and let you know how the surgery is progressing. It will take about 4-5 hours.