Joseph’s Journey

Dear Family & Friends,

Praise be to God for His incredible faithfulness! We are all doing GREAT! As you know Joseph was admitted to U.W. Hospital Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon he had an MRV scan, ear tube surgery and brain shunt surgery. The scan was normal and the surgeries were without complication! Thank You Lord! Joseph was taken off of the morphine Saturday morning and by the afternoon was becoming more and more like himself. The hospital has a child life program with various activities in which children can participate. On Saturday “Pet Pals” brought two dogs up to the pediatrics floor. Joseph loved petting the golden retriever, Kodee; it was one of the first times Joseph smiled after surgery on Friday. Also, he audibly said, “Doggie!” (Joseph has not said any new syllables or words since he was 9 months old…)

This morning at 4 AM the nurse cam in to check Joseph’s vital signs, and he greeted her by saying, “Hi-ya!” So cool!

Joseph’s balance has improved a lot, although he is still adjusting to the different pressure in his brain so he gets dizzy and teeter-totters once in a while (very normal after shunt surgery).

After a great day yesterday and morning today in the hospital, we came home this afternoon. If feels so good to be home! This Thursday we will revisit Dr. Iskandar, and he will examine Joseph and take the dressing off his head. The greatest risk of infection comes in the first 6 months after receiving a shunt, so we will continue to trust God’s protection over Joseph. The life expectancy of a hunt is 5 years, thus, surgery will be a part of Joseph’s life…but God has all of that planned too.

We can’t thank you enough for your love, support and prayers!!! We have seen the awesome power and experienced the presence of God each step of this faith journey. Originally we weren’t eve scheduled to see Dr. Iskandar until November 3^rd. By November 3^rd, it will be two weeks after his surgery! Only God could have worked all that out in His perfect timing. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We may never understand why the Lord chose this path for our son, but we choose to trust Him still. We love you all!

Love,

Chris, Angela and Joseph

Things have progressed in such a way that there is concern with waiting two weeks until Joseph’s originally scheduled surgery. We spoke with Dr. Iskandar today and he wants Joseph admitted this afternoon with brain surgery planned early tomorrow morning. Joseph will get an MRV this afternoon for which he needs to be sedated. Please continue to pray for us, and especially for Joseph, as the next few days will be very tough.

God is in control, and none of this surprises Him! “We know Whom we have believed, and are convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him for that day!” (Tim. 1:12)

We love you all,

Chris, Angela and Joseph

Dear Family & Friends,

 Today we drove to Madison to get a second opinion for Joseph at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.  There, Dr. Iskandar, a neurosurgeon who specializes in hydrocephalus, confirmed to us that Joseph indeed has hydrocephalus and needs surgery [a shunt] SOON.  Unlike the first neurosurgeon, Dr. Iskandar did not recommend a spinal tap to determine if surgery is necessary.  He said the outcome of a spinal tap is not reliable data to determine the need for surgery.

Dr. Iskandar’s demeanor and credentials instilled confidence in us, so we have scheduled surgery with him for October 29^th at UW hospital.  The root cause of Joseph’s hydrocephalus is still unknown; however, Dr. Iskandar plans one more test just prior to surgery (as in minutes before…)   If this test is positive, surgery would not be done.  Dr. Iskandar said it is very unlikely that Joseph has “venous thrombosis,” but we need to find out anyway.

As you can imagine, this is all becoming very real to us, and emotions are getting intense!  We know that God has entrusted this faith journey to us…to our family…to you.  Thank you for continuing to support us through your prayers, phone calls, notes and love.  Life is so precious…so is our wonderful little boy!

We love you all and will keep you updated as we progress,

Chris, Angela and Joseph

Dear Family & Friends,

We covet your continued prayers for Joseph!

Last Friday Joseph had an MRI and MRA. Today the results were conveyed to us by the neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital. Although the arteries and general blood flow in Joseph’s head are terrific, the scans did reveal ‘mild’ hydrocephalus (a condition that left untreated could potentially result in blindness, developmental problems and learning disabilities). According to this neurosurgeon, in cases like Joseph’s, shunt surgery is the recommended treatment. (A shunt is a tube that drains excess spinal fluid from the brain’s ventricles to the abdomen.) Since having a shunt is a life-long commitment and has a high failure rate, we want to be sure this is absolutely necessary. The neurosurgeon recommended Joseph get a spinal tap to measure the pressure on his spinal fluid. The pressure of the fluid in his spine is reflective of the pressure of that same fluid in his brain. If this pressure is higher than normal, the Joseph will need shunt surgery.

We’ve decided to postpone the spinal tap until after we see a second neurosurgeon in Madison. Miraculously, the Madison neurosurgeon (who came highly recommended to us) just ‘opened a new clinic’ which will allow him to see Joseph as soon as next week Monday, Oct. 13^th. Thank You Lord! We’ll have more to report in a week. Meanwhile, Joseph is running around the house unhindered and is a good natured as ever; it’s hard to believe this is all actually happening!

Please pray for us to have wisdom in deciding which surgeon is best for Joseph. We also ask you to pray that Joseph’s sweep spirit and tender heart are not hurt through all that he is facing.

Love, Chris, Angela and Joseph