Symanzik Family Update

Our foster care social worker, Lorela, came to see Jerard and I today at the hospital. She had some background information to give me on these two precious little guys.

Their mother, upon learning she was pregnant, took 'the day after' pill four different times in the first two months of her pregnancy trying to abort the baby (at that time she didn't know she had twins).
She also went to an 'abortion clinic' of sorts where they try to massage the baby out.

All attempts to abort these two precious lives failed.

At four months pregnancy the mother had an ultrasound and learned she had twins. The ultrasound also showed Jerard had hydrocephalus.

At six months pregnant a repeat ultrasound confirmed the hydrocephalus.

At this point the mother and father decided when the babies were born they would put them up for adoption. This decision was based on two things; economics and neither parent wanting the babies, especially one with health problems.

Words fail me as I think about the awesomeness of God in protecting these two precious boys in their mother's womb from numerous abortion attempts.

I can only wonder at the awesome plans God has for James and Jerard. Already their lives have touched many and helped spread God's word to others.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 33:3 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

All praise be to Jesus Christ alone.

Jerard's appetite is not as strong as the doctors would like to see it and his electrolites are low. They started him on a different IV and we are working at getting him to drink milk. There was blood detected in his stool so they are going to perform XRays today to see if there might be something else wrong, though one of the side-effects of his anti-biotics is blood in the stool, so it is probably just that.

Jerard is not as fussy today which is good and his bowels do not see as distended. He is still on strong anti-biotics and anti-fungal medications.

Yesterday Jerard had a CT scan of his head.

In order to do this they had to give him some anesthesia.
After the CT scan we started noticing he was losing his voice and getting fussy again from his abdominal area hurting.
The doctors had thought it was a temporary reaction to the medication and it would clear up by the end of the day.

It hasn't.

He has had a very fussy day with a hoarse and sometimes voiceless cry.
There is nothing more heart-rending than seeing one so little crying with no sound coming out and seeing his face scrunched up in pain and not being able to do anything to help ease his pain.
We just hold him, rock him, and pray for him.

Please keep praying for our little guy

The neurosurgeon was pleased to see that the visual center of the brain is there on Jerard's CT he had today. There is also more brain showing in other areas of his skull than showed up on the CT prior to surgery for the shunt.

Some areas of brain, though, are not developed at all.

There is no sign of abscess in his brain which is why the CT was done today.

Well.....it's been quite a day.

Jerard had the best night he ever has had last night. He's also just had the best day he ever has had since we got him.

He's sleeping better, his tummy is soft, his head is decreasing in size, he is not fussy all the time.

The antibiotics are working.

But we found out today that one of the infections is meningitis. Which means he will be in the hospital 2 - 3 weeks on strong IV antibiotics.

Another complication of this infection is that since the shunt is in, there is a strong chance the infection could be attaching itself to the tubing, thus rendering it necessary, after the infection is cleared up, that our neurosurgeon will need to replace the shunt tubing.

On top of this, Jerard has a fungal infection and is on anti-fungal medication too. His fungal infection, though, should be cleared up in the next 7 days or so.

Pray for Jerard's continued good response to the medications he's taking.

Pray for wisdom as we, along with the doctors, decide what the best course of treatment is due to the added variable of the shunt and tubing.

Pray for financial resources to help cover the cost of Jerard's hospitalization.