Tuesday June 26, 2007

There are some things that you can only do at home. Things such as:

Getting some much needed rest!

Enjoying some of the beautiful flower (and fruit!) arrangements.

Being as cute as possible.

The last couple of days have been really wonderful. Even the simple task of not having to pack up to drive to the hospital is a great blessing. Julia's parents left on Monday, and Julia's sister is coming back tomorrow. We have had a couple of people from church helping Julia while I'm at work or meetings which has been a blessing.

As we, and especially Julia, work through all the has happened in the last couple of weeks, we are so thankful and blessed by the support of family and friends, and the prayers of countless people, many we don't even know. It is very humbling.

I would like to extend a big thank you, on behalf of myself and the family that stayed with me, to the many people that brought over so many meals. We had one basically every other night for almost 4 weeks!

We do ask for continued prayers as Julia does need help around the house and tires pretty quickly. However, she is making great progress and was even able to take a slow walk down the block and back tonight, which is amazing to see compared to what she was like even 2 weeks ago.

Sunday June 24, 2007

Hello All,

We are very pleased to announce that Julia has been home since 10:30 this morning. We have made it past 4 hours, and her temperature is still okay so we are more optimistic with each passing hour. She still has a long slow road to full recovery, but we praise the Lord for how far we have come.




We would like to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and we will continue to post as Julia gets stronger but maybe not every day.

I would like to finish things off with the passage I spoke to Julia just as it was all starting:

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths
of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my
head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Saturday June 23, 2007

Julia was able to get in her CT scan this afternoon. She was told this morning that might be one of her last hurdles before going home. Her MRI didn't show anything abnormal and they decided not to draw any fluid from her since that is always a risk for invection. Her temperature has basically been normal since Friday at 2am (below 38C), so tonight it will be 48 hours. Since she hasn't taken any Tylenol or Advil for a week now, we are pretty sure that is her real temp.

Her doctor is off this weekend, but the gynecologist on call is supposed to check Julia tomorrow morning, review the CT results, give our doctor a call, and then possibly discharge Julia. So maybe, by the time some of you read this, she may be home already :)

Today was another wonderful day. Maria (Julia's mom), Marika and I visited this morning and Julia was able to feed her again and just spend time with her. Here is a little video from today.

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We had a few errands to run this afternoon and Julia had her CT. Earlier this week, my boss had called asking about the hospital food. His wife had an extended stay in the hospital as well and they knew what Julia was experiencing on the dietary front. He told me to go out and get an order in dinner for her on him. This week Julia has been building up her dietary intake to the point where that sounded like a great idea. So Julia got to eat one of her favourite dinners tonight, chicken fettuccine alfredo! Thanks Tom! I also grabbed another movie so we kind of did the whole dinner and a movie thing :)

We are praying that the on call guy shows up tomorrow and we'll keep you posted!

Love,
Matt, Julia & Marika

Friday June 22, 2007

Our midwife Kristen was in the area today and decided that we could do Marika's appointment in Julia's hospital room this morning rather then just Marika and I driving out to their clinic. We all thought this was a wonderful idea so this morning we met there. Marika is doing great and is now 8 lbs 8 oz!

Julia filled us in on the details of that morning when we had arrived. Early this morning her doctor had come in to discuss the gastro intestinal specialist recommendations about drawing some of the fluid from her abdomen area for testing. They were also considering doing a CT scan of her legs to check for any blood clots since that can be a source of infection.

About an hour later, the doctor came back since she had received a call back from the infection control specialist at the larger hospital. He had review Julia's file and had seen all that was attempted and the fact that nothing was found but she was still fighting a fever. He suggests that she might be having a drug fever, and that it might just be a reaction to one of antibiotics. So they took out the IV they had put in last night (since they can cause infection) and she is now just on the once a day oral antibiotic. However, the doctor and the specialist want to make sure she doesn't have an infection so Julia ended up having a MRI this afternoon of the abdomen area and is waiting in line to get a CT scan of her lungs. So she is definitely getting all scanned up.

Unfortunately the MRI required an illumination agent via IV to be inserted, but this time the nurse, after being fully warned by me of the past failures, and with the prospect of 1 Worthers candy for every attempt less then 4, successfully did it in one shot (and walked out with 3 pieces of candy :) )

Her last high temperature was during last night at around 2 am when it was 38.2C. Today it has been very close to the 37 C range and didn't go up during the day. We'll see what happens tonight. Maybe that antibiotic was affecting her!

Thanks once again for all your prayers and here are a few pictures from the day:

Thursday June 21, 2007 - PM

Well, even though most of the day was frustrating, Julia and I had a good night tonight. Another specialist (gastro intestinal) saw her tonight, and he will try to get approval to draw some fluid from her stomach tomorrow. Also our primary doctor (the gynacolgist) is now trying to branch out to the larger hospital in town so we'll see where that takes us.

I have been bringing in the blog print offs for the last couple of days for Julia and today I decided to take it a step further and go through her Yahoo mail (which she hasn't seen in ages) and printed off about 25 messages. We had kept saying, oh, she'll see those when she gets back, but we keep saying that, so I finally decide to make use of all the scrap paper I have and went on a printing mission. It gave me something to focus on. I'm glad I did, since it was a nice surprise and it made her smile.

We had a good couple of discussions talking about what has been happening in the last week, and the last month. We are struck again how much life is a gift. If you haven't hugged a friend this day, told a love one you love them, or spoken a kind word to a stranger, then another precious day has passed by with missed opportunities.

Julia was reading a few emails from family and we got to talking about how her cousin Marisa was doing. We had been following that, but have missed a few in the last couple of week. I'll have to print off some their latest entries for Julia tomorrow. Marisa is fighting cancer and is on a bumpy journey as well. We know many people are praying her (many of the same people as for Julia) but more are definately welcome. Here is where you can find their journey: http://marisavanderveen.wordpress.com/

We again are struck by how we are lead to certain passages. Tonight it was from Phil. 4:

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Tonight we did feel His peace, in spite of it all. I don't mean to say that events in the last couple of days haven't been frustrating, nor that we won't be upset and frustrated again (most likely tomorrow or tonight for Julia if they can't get that new IV line in), but that for some reason (the whole transcending understanding bit) we felt at peace. I should still be fuming mad right now, but I just can't be. It is a wonderful passage that applies to every day. We can so easily be anxious about anything, big or small, from life threating illnesses to forgetting the hospital parking pass, but in all things, through prayer with thanksgiving, God promises His peace.

Thursday June 21, 2007 - AM

Well I just got a call from Julia and she is really frustrated. The CT scan didn't show anything abnormal so we are kind of back to square one, not really knowing why she has a fever. We really like the gynecologist doctor that has been tracking her since the original D&C, but she is only part time at the hospital and part time at the clinic and we feel like no one at the hospital with the expertise in dealing with infections is taking charge. Julia feels like she will be at the hospital indefinitely. She is still on the same antibiotics and no one from Internal Medicine as seen her since Sunday even though the gynecologist has tried to get them in. We feel lost in the system. Please pray for our spirits today.

Wednesday June 20 , 2007

It kind of struck me as I started to type in the title above. It keeps track of previous entries and Wednesday June 6, 2007 popped up. In some cases it seems so long ago that this blog was setup, and even longer since all of this started (May 28), but on the other hand, it still seems like only yesterday. It's all starting to blur together. Marika turned 4 weeks old today. 4 weeks!

Well today Julia had her CT scan and she was injected with the stuff to help them see things better. One of the side effects is a bit of nausea and she felt that a little. She still continues to fight the fever but overall she is doing okay. She is going for walks and forcing herself to at least eat something.

In comparison to the quick analysis and action of the ICU, things feel like they have ground to a halt. We feel like we can only ever get one thing done in a day and that's including hearing about the results from the test the previous day! It would be easier if we had a target to focus on. Hopefully tomorrow we will know the results of the CT and it will result in an answer and not more tests.

Julia talked to the doctor again this morning and if there is an infection in that fluid they might have to do a surgery to try and drain it. Also, her new IV line is starting to fail again so they might have to try something different with that and go with a central intravenous line.

Between appointments, medication, naps, and visits, Julia had a pretty full day today which is good since it helps to pass the time. Tonight we read together parts of Roman 8 and it ends with these wonderful verses:

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tuesday June 19, 2007

Well this has been a full day for Julia and kind of an up and down day as well. But before I get into that here are a few Marika pictures:

She is really starting to pick things out and kind of startles herself when she accidentally hits one of the links shown in the picture above.

She also enjoys sitting up and looking around the room

Today Julia had her ultrasound in early afternoon and it ended up taking about 2 hours (sorry Pastor Daryl that she missed your visit). The technician went over a few things, went off to get the previous pictures for comparison and then called in the radiologist as well. This was the same one that saw her when she was first admitted.

Julia's stomach is still distended and we found out today that she still has 2-3 liters for fluid in her abdomen. What got their attention though is that there was pocket of it between her rectum and uterus that didn't look the same as the rest of the fluid. She is scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow to take a closer look at that. So at little hope that they might be on to something and prayers that it isn't to serious.

I can't remember if I mentioned this yesterday (days and diagnosis are running together) but her chest X-ray came back and that is looking better.

There still is some frustrations by us and our doctor (the gynaecologist) in getting other specialists in to take a look. No one from internal medicine stopped in as expected and Julia's doctor failed to connect with the radiologist since their shifts didn't overlap. This afternoon, when they tried to do her antibiotics, her IV clogged up.

Julia's mom, Marika, and I visited tonight and we had a good visit. It's great to be able to bring Marika in, but it does produce mixed feelings. There are usually tears of joy and sadness at the same time.

Since we had Marika, we headed out at around 9, and Julia still needed to have a new IV put in which she was nervous about since it took them 5 tries last time. Well she called later tonight and it took them 5 tries again. Not much fun. To top it off, the nurses got a call from administration and Julia was being moved to another room which was almost too much for Julia.

I don't know why they decided at 10pm to move her and why she even has to move at all. Between the delivery room, postpartum, 1 ER room, 3 ICU rooms, a surgery recover room (which she all most got moved from the first time) another ER room on the second trip, then the 2nd surgery recovery room she was in tonight, this will be the 10th room she as been in. This doesn't include the OR where she had her D&C or the CT or ultrasound rooms. It doesn't make sense to me that someone who is susceptible infections should keep trying new rooms. I can't even call her now since the phone activation people are only there from noon to 5pm and since she is now in a new room the phone won't work. Anyways, a little bit of frustration to close out the night.

I don't know why I had decided to take a picture of Julia's room tonight but I did. I thought I would give people a little glimpse of where she's at. Well here was the room she was in.

Monday June 18, 2007

Well there isn't much news to report today. Julia's temperature continues to fluctuate and she has our home thermometer with her and is measuring her temp every hour and recording it on a little chart. She comes and goes between 38.5 C and 37.5 C in a nice sinusoidal curve over the course of about a day (though technically with only one days of data, who really knows).

Since she was originally admitted with a uterus infection, her primary caretaker is still the gynecologist. However, she has seen so many specialists it gets a bit confusing. The original gynecologist was gone this weekend and was only supposed to be in clinic today, but came to the hospital to see Julia. We really like the her and she did an internal exam today and is pretty confidant that there isn't an infection in Julia's uterus. She is ordering an ultrasound tomorrow to double check. The chest X-ray that she had on Sunday looks better then the one they took last week which led them to believe she had pneumonia. So what that left us with today is that they still don't know the source of the fever. There is supposed to be an interdisciplinary meeting, but we don't know when that will occur, and there hasn't been any results back from the blood tests and swab tests they did on Saturday and Sunday.

In spite of all this, we are still thankful for the gift of life and praise God for the healing that has occurred already. We are both a little tired, neither having slept fully last night (me because of Marika, Julia because her kidneys are still playing catch up which leads to frequent trips out of bed). We called it quits a little earlier tonight.

Tonight's picture is actually from Saturday when Julia was home, but it's nice to see a picture of Julia and Marika together.

I'll close tonight with a verse from Psalm 19, which Julia and I read tonight:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. - Psalm 19:14

Sunday June 17, 2007

This journey is definitely not a straight path. It is now Monday afternoon and this weekend was an up and down roller coaster ride and I didn't have much time to update this blog so I'm playing a little catch up (and therefore this is kind of long).

Let me back up to Friday night. Julia was feeling pretty good and therefore Laurence and Mary Ann Stassen decided to join us for Games Night at the hospital. Julia had put on some of her own clothing and walked down to the day room. It was nice to distraction and it got her out of her room.

On Saturday morning, since her temperature was still normal, she got the okay to be discharged from the hospital. We made a short visit back to the ICU to thank the nurses there. Next stop was the pharmacy to get all the drugs she would need at home. A little after lunch we made it home.

The home care nurse arrived at around 2pm to administer her main antibiotic (which took about 45 minutes) and then hooked her up to a portable pump which would administer a second antibiotic at various times during the day.

In our discussions with that nurse reviewing everything that happened, we talked about the discharge orders that Julia should continue to monitor her temperature and was supposed to return to the ER if her temp got above 38.5 C (101 F) So everyone on both sides of the border gets a perspective, 37C and 98.6F is normal.

When we tested her she was 38.5. We had tested our home thermometer against the hospitals earlier that day and it was a little bit higher, however I tested it myself and came in at exactly 37.0. The home nurse suggested that we wait 1/2 hour to an hour and retake it to see if it was going up or down. Julia was also getting the chills (something she had experience through out last week) but felt warm to the touch. After getting the other antibiotic in and taking her one oral antibiotic, we took her temp again and it was now 39.1. It was now a little after 4pm, 5 hours after her discharge, and after saying goodbye to Marika, we head back to the hospital.

We got to the ER desk at 4:30, and by 5 she was in a ER observation bed hooked up to all the monitors she was on in the ICU. She spent the next 5 hours in observation and it took about that long for them to track down her files (they in the middle of being filed) and tracking down a doctor (her doctor was off this weekend). She was readmitted at around 10pm and basically put back on the exact same plan as before since the on call doc didn't want to change anything. It was a frustrating experience to go through. The thing that is confusing in all this is that she was allowed to be discharged because she didn't have a temp for 48 hours, but the nurses were giving her 400mg of Ibuprofen every 4 hours which in effect reduces fevers. It seems a little silly now to have a discharge condition be based upon something you are controlling with a drug and it isn't surprising that when you stop talking it, the fever returns.

Sunday I brought in my laptop and Marika, and together we watched the church service from last week. It lifted our spirits and we felt more at peace that Julia was back in the hospital.

As we got the frustrations and disappointments of Saturday behind we were glad that she is in the right place and are praying that they will be able to determine what the cause of the fever is. It's not what we wanted to happen, but is a proper step determining what is going on.

One more piece of the puzzle, when she was in ER, they gave her more Ibuprofen and her fever came down. However, she didn't have a fever all night (Sat) or at all the next morning (Sun), but started to get one (and the chills) at around 1-2pm in the afternoon, similar to the day before. We don't know if there is some sort of cyclic pattern here. Also, an internal medicine doctor came in and asked a bunch of questions and scheduled an interdisciplinary meeting to get a few heads together on this one. That's comforting and scary at the same time. She continues to get more blood worked done, and she had an chest X-ray done. Also, they took some swabs to test for antibiotic resistant bacteria which I guess is standard procedure if some one was discharged after and infection, and returns to the hospital within one year. Julia didn't quite make it to that one year mark.

My mom and Julia's mom did a swap again yesterday (and her dad was her over night dropping her mom off). Julia and I decided to take advantage of our parents and had a date night last night...well as close as you can get in the hospital. I rented a movie, hooked up the speakers to the laptop, and we watched a movie. It was nice to be together even though we were interrupted so Julia could go get her X-ray done.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support. Though at times we are discouraged, your continued prayers are an encouragement to us.

Matt, Julia, & Marika

Saturday June 16, 2007

Julia was discharged from the hospital this morning with a plan for home care to recieve her antibiotics. She ended up being home for 5 hours before heading back to the hospital with a fever. There is some confusion as to whether she had the fever before leaving the hospital, because she was given Ibuprofen before leaving the hospital which can mask a fever. As you can imagine, this has been a difficult day. Right now the fever is under control but the question remains, "What is causing the fever?" This may not be answered quickly. Pray that Matt and Julia have the strength and peace to deal with what feels like a large setback.

Friday June 15, 2007

Well this will be a short post because there is a good chance I will be doing a bigger one tomorrow afternoon. Julia has orders to be discharged tomorrow at 10am assuming her temperature stays normal! What an answer to pray!

She was able to get the home care service so once a day a nurse will come to administor one of 3 antiboitics she is one. One of the other ones she will be able to now take orally, and the last one she needs to wear a fanny-pack pump since needed every 8 hours. That part will be kind of a pain but at least she will be home.

O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago.
Isaiah 25:1

Thursday June 14, 2007

Yup, it was a good day! The isolation has been lifted so Marika could visit tonight!

The doctor visited today and really liked the progress Julia has been making. They decided to remove the catheter so she took a couple of walks down the hall. She has also continued to eat more variety of food. The only downside is that right now the standing orders are for the antibiotics to continue for 7 days and they are administered by IV. The doctor was going to see if the full length of time was needed, and if it was then see what other alternatives exist. Some options listed are to let Julia go home but coming back for the IV, or seeing if there is some home visits possible. If that isn't possible, then she may be in the hospital until next Wednesday.

Thanks you so much for your your continued prayers.

Wednesday June 13 , 2007

Tonight I read to Julia one of her favourite Bible verses from Isaiah 40 and it couldn't be more appropriate for today:

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

We are thankful to the Lord that today, verse 31 rings especially true. Last night during the night Julia's fever broke. She felt much better today, and the doctor visited her this morning and said that once she can get up and walk to the bathroom every 2-3 hours that she would remove Julia's catheter. Well that is all Julia needed to hear and she has been up and walking to the bathroom all day. By the time I got there, she was practically carrying her walker rather then pushing it. She looks so much better!

Tonight we had a chance to relax and chat and we even played a couple hands of King in the Corner together. What fun!

She is still considered in isolation. The sample they took from Julia didn't have enough mucus and was mostly saliva so they can't conclusively say she had pneumonia though there was one little spot in the X-ray. If she did have pneumonia, it wasn't very strong. If she can keep her temperature in the normal range for 48 hours (almost 24 down) then she will be out of isolation and then maybe Marika can come back in for a visit.

We continue to praise Him who gives strength to the weary.

Tuesday June 12, 2007

Well today was a kind of "hangin in there" kind of day. Julia is on different antibiotics in attempts to fight off the pneumonia and to keep any remaining Strep A away. The pharmasits was also concerned that her rash could be a reaction to some of the medication.

Other then her fever, she has felt better today. She continues to "shed" (Strep A caused blisters and rash), and most of her hands are now clear of the dead skin. She/we also continue to receive some conflicting news/opinions. Part of the ICU release protocol is that the ICU follows up on their patience for 3 days after discharge. One of the ICU doctors checked in on her day and doesn't think she has pneumonia because she is breathing fine and her oxygen levels are really good. So, maybe the prayers are working already :) She did look better sitting up tonight and didn't cough at all. She is obviously disappointed that she can't see Marika, but her determination has kicked back in.

Marika and I said good by this morning to Leanne and Maria (Julia's sister and mom) and said hello to my mother. It was wonderful to have Leanne and Oma's help and they will be dearly missed. They have definately been the hands of Christ for me this past week.

Here are some pictures from today:

Monday June 11, 2007

A step back...

Well today wasn't a good day. Julia still had a fever this morning that was a concern to the doctors. In addition Julia started having abdominal pains again, as well as a rash. These are the signs that she had when she was originally admitted and her mind was whirling that she was coming down with Strep A again.

To start off the day, the morning nurse started to administer the wrong antibiotic but caught herself after it had started for a bit. That just kind of set the tone for the day in Julia's mind. Due to Julia's fever, the doctors suspected another infection and removed the central intravenous line. It had been there a while and they wanted to eliminate it as a source of infection. Julia then had a X-ray done of her chest and then an ultrasound of her uterus. Finally this afternoon we found out that she has pneumonia. Thankfully the ultrasound didn't find anything in the uterus. The doctors seemed relieved in finding the cause of the fever and said that having the breathing tube in for so long does open the door for pneumonia so they weren't too surprised. It's really disappointing to Julia though, especially since now we all have to wear masks in the room again and Marika isn't allowed in. To top things off, it took the nurses 5 tries to put in a new IV into her arm. So overall, a pretty crummy day on the Julia front.

Please continue to pray for healing for Julia, but especially pray for peace for her (and throw in some for me too). She was really disappointed in the turn back, and especially not being able to see Marika. Pray that the seeds of doubt will not take root.

Julia's mom and sister do a swap with my mom tomorrow.

On the Marika side, we had a midwife appointment today and things look good. She continues to grow and she gained 7 oz last week which puts her at a whopping 7 lbs 14 oz, up 5 oz from birth. They ran a few more tests and everything looks fine. Here is a picture of her getting weighed in:

Sunday June 10, 2007

I was happy that today I was able to bring Marika to church and share her with that community. What a blessing and support they have been. They have been a faithful part of this journey and we thank the Lord for them.

We are finding that "strengthening and healing" section of this journey is pretty uneventful and painfully slow. There really isn't anything new to relate. Continue to pray for peace for Julia, that her fever may come down, and that she can increase her digestion abilities past apple sauce and jello, she is starting to get sick of them.

Marika was able to visit again today which is always a delight. I was able to capture some more photos, but I got some video as well. This is my first attempt to post video so I hope this works!


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Saturday June 9, 2007

A short post today since we have had a busy day.

We needed to run a few errands this morning, and we had gotten a call from Julia (which in and of itself was pretty cool) to say that they found room out on the normal floor for her.

She was eventually transferred out of the ICU. The move left us a little more emotionally confused then we had anticipated. On one hand it is the next step and there is something significant about leaving the ICU, but on the other hand, you get one on one care and all the nurses knew and loved Julia on the ICU. She was some what of a rarity and therefore was really special in their eyes.

Julia continues to struggle with her digestive system and is still just on liquids, jello, and apple sauce. She had tried some stuff like toast, but most foods leave her with an upset stomach, so prayers on that front. She also is still fighting a persistent cough and they have her doing breathing exercises to try to get her to breath deeper.

In the business of the move, I didn't get any new pictures today, so I thought I would post this one from earlier in the week of Marika in her favourite (favorite - for my split Canadian/US personality) position :)

Friday June 8, 2007

Well today was another good day for Julia and she is continuing to get stronger. There really isn't any large medical update since there really isn't much left to do! The doctors still think it will take about a week before she can come home. She needs time to build up her strength.

Today, Julia was sitting up in bed, took a short walk with a walker and the PT, and even got wheeled to a take a shower, something she was very grateful for! Julia is remaining in the ICU for at least one tonight. They had only one private room open out on the normal floor, and they have enough space in the ICU for the time being. Beside, the nurses keep saying that they want to keep Julia around because we keep bring in Marika :)

Maria, Leanne, Marika and I got to spend a couple of hours today with her. We also worked on some birth announcements under Julia's close supervision :)

We continue to feel the blessings of your prayers and thank the Lord for the progress that has been made. I've had a number of people mention to me something along the lines of "I can't believe this happened to you guys, of all people". Julia and I discussed it last night and we both kind of felt that the reply would "well, why not us?". The effects of sin in our world is very non-discriminatory. Just because we are "good" people doesn't exempt us. However, we can praise the Lord that no matter the path, our Lord and Saviour has walked it before. He knows our pain and cries with us. We also have our eyes focused on the goal ahead, no matter how bumpy the road. Even though we both wonder a little bit why this happened, we don't say WHY did this happen (if that make any sense to anybody). If anything, it makes us more thankful for the wonderful 7 years we had before Marika, and extremely grateful that the Lord has granted us more.

Anyway, I thought I would close out the night with a few more pictures:

Thursday June 7, 2007

Are you my mother?

It seems that Marika is always asking me that question and occasionally gives me the look above whenever I feed her. Some things in life are just not meant to be separated, like peanut butter and jelly, fish and water, and mothers and babies.

We praise the Lord that today we get to post a picture showing how it should be!

I keep getting stuck saying each day: "Wow, it is amazing the progress Julia is making." I'm knocked off my socks when the next day is even better!

Last night (Wednesday, June 6) when we had left the hospital they were thinking that maybe by the end of the day on Thursday (today) or maybe Friday they could remove the breathing tube. I got a call from the nurse this morning that said that Julia had done so well in the night that they were most likely do it in the morning and that I should come in (Julia's mom and sister were originally going to do the morning shift).

When I arrived she was fully awake and was more the ready to have that tube out! Since they were doing rounds, we were left kind of in a sit and wait mode until the right people showed up. Julia was getting a little fidgety, and if they hadn't come when they did, I'm sure she would have pulled it out herself ;) Finally, at around 11, the tube was removed. There was some blockage at the end of the tube, so when it came out, she actually breathed better with it out! She definitely could cough better, and it was amazing to hear her talk! What a gift; something so simple that we so often take for granted! The ability to have a normal conversation!

The ICU was receiving some new patients that needed Julia's room (this is one of those case where you are thankful you aren't priority number 1 anymore) so they actually moved Julia down to the far end of the ICU . Since we were the last room, the doctor felt that we could come in the back way, and therefore reduce any exposure to Marika and he gave approval for her to come. So I gave Leanne and Maria a call and they brought her over and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch time together.

By the end of the day, almost all of Julia's IV lines are out, and she was even eating food within 1 hour of the tube coming out. She even had some toast tonight as a bedtime snack. She is now no longer listed in critical condition.

Thank you all SOOO much for all the prayers through out the last couple of weeks. Julia is some what of a celebrity at the hospital since what she had was so rare and they don't get many young mothers in the ICU (thankfully). As she has gotten better, they tell us more and more how serious things were, and how amazed they are at her speedy recovery. I just smile and say that she had a lot of people praying for her :) They tell me that the one thing she really had going for her is that she was young and healthy. And for those that know Julia, a little determination doesn't hurt either.

Matt

Wednesday June 6, 2007

The last week has been such a blur. On one hand it feels like just yesterday that Julia, Marika and I came home from the hospital the first time, but on the other hand it seems like a life time ago. There is a reason we are called to not let the sun set with out resolving our anger. Life can come at you so unexpectedly. If you haven't hugged a love one yet today, take the time to do so.
Its amazing what one week can do. This morning Julia was wide awake and responsive again. I had brought in a DVD video of Marika (about 1 hour) which we have been recording with the gang here to make sure that Julia didn't miss anything. We repeated the process tonight so we are almost caught up with all our video. It was the most fun we have had all week :)

Julia has had her breathing machine adjusted a few times today and is now down to 28% and the amount of assistance has been reduced. The respiratory therapist feels that if Julia continues to improve at this rate then the breathing tube could be removed tomorrow. The feeding tube was adjusted to from the small intestine to the stomach and she was feed pretty good today.

Just a quick comment that there was some confusion last week about what Julia had, Strep A or B. She really had Strep A. When I get a chance I will put out a new post explaining what I do know (which is limited) about what she really had. The blog some what reflects the confusion we had in the early days.

Lastly, what has also been missed in this is the fact that we are still proud parents and I can't resist posting a picture :)

Tuesday June 5, 2007

Hello All,

Today has been a pretty good day for Julia. This morning we received a package from my sister Jodi's grade 3 (or 3rd grade) class. Julia knew about them this morning but wasn't wake enough to get through them. However, this evening when Julia's sister Leanne and I visited Julia to say good night, she was very much awake and had her eyes open for about 1 hour. We went through all the cards and they were such an encouragement for all of us. One reoccurring scripture passage the kids used was the Joshua 1:9 verse listed at the top of this blog. Indeed the Lord will be with us, where ever we go.

In regards to the baby steps taken today in Julia's health: the biggest answer to prayer has been the reduced dependence on oxygen. Currently she is on about 30%, which puts her pretty close to the normal oxygen levels (22% I believe they said). They hope to leave her on at this setting over night and see how it goes, and if things look the same in the morning, they will adjust the breathing machine to allow Julia to take more of her own breaths. If that goes well, they will look towards removing the tube. On the down side, they had attempted to start feeding her again into the stomach and decided later on in the day to run a new feeding tube to the small intestine. This tube has since gotten stuck and they have tried a few tricks to clear it (Ginger Ale and Coke!). We were unsure of the status of that when Leanne and I left. Julia had mentioned that she was hungry (a good sign) and that a popsicle sounded good! So getting the feeding tube working would be good, getting the breathing tube out would be better!

We were extremely grateful for Julia's interaction tonight. Julia, Leanne and I were catching up, asking lots of questions, and even joking around. It was a blessing for me to see Julia being Julia. Leanne and I were desperately trying to read her lips (since she has a breathing tube down past the vocal chords she can't speak) and when that failed, we were trying to read her hand writing :) That was mostly successful but resulted in a few laughs and some rolled eye balls on Julia's part as Leanne and I would try to guess what she was saying.

On behalf of Julia and I and all our family we would like to say thank you to all the people out there that are praying. We are overwhelmed by the stories we hear about the number of people that have Julia on their prayer list. Friends of friends of friends; all brothers and sisters in Christ. We can praise the Lord together in saying that he is faithful in hearing your prayers. I was struck by a small passage in Psalm 50 this morning that I shared with Julia: "call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me". I think that sums it up pretty well. It is my continued prayer that through trouble and deliverance, that God will be glorified and honored. Praise be to Him!

Monday June 4, 2007

Today Julia had the chest tube remove that was draining fluid from her chest cavity. The doctors were please with the amount of fluid that was removed and did not want to leave the tube in any longer as it might become a risk for infection.

Julia started to be fed today by a tube into her stomach instead of I.V., another positive step. She is sedated somewhat to ease the pain. Julia's major problem at this point is coughing. The coughing is painful and difficult because of the tube in her throat. She still has fluid in her lungs and chest.

She tires very easily and can only keep her eyes open for about 30 seconds at a time. She is receiving physio already to assist in recovery. She will remain in ICU for at least another week if all goes well.

Please pray that the fluids that have built up in her lungs and chest may drain away quickly and that Julia may regain strength.

Background

On Monday May 28, 2007 Julia was taken by ambulance to the hospital because she was in a lot of pain and no longer seeing well. She was recovering at home after the birth of Marika the previous Wednesday. Below are the emails which have been sent to our church congregation regarding her progress over the week.

All further updates will be added to this blog. Thank you for your continued prayer for Matt, Julia and Marika.

May 29, 2007
This morning we heard that Julia remains in ICU and the next 24 hours are critical. She is heavily sedated and unconscious in an induced coma. The surgery removed infection in her uterus and now we are waiting to see that she takes to the medication and hope that it will kill whatever bacteria entered her bloodstream. Prayers are urgently needed today. Keep Matt in your prayers as he is worried and tired. Please pray for Julia's healing. Thank you.

May 30, 2007
The doctors now know that the bacteria that Julia is fighting is Strep B (This was misinformation at the time of this email. Julia actually had Strep A pyogenes). Last night her kidneys were having difficulty functioning.

They did not want to start dialysis last night as that would clean out a lot of the medication out of her system but she will be undergoing dialysis this morning. Julia is still in critical condition and remains in ICU. Please continue in prayer for Julia that God may give her strength and healing. Pray for Matt as he has been at the hospital to be with Julia since Monday and is need of comfort and strength.

1PM
Julia remains in critical condition in an induced coma. This morning there have been small but positive signs that Julia is fighting back. Her temperature is down a slight bit, her blood pressure has gone up slightly (it was extremely low and she is on meds to boost her pressure) and they are holding off on dialysis for her kidneys as the kidneys show signs of beginning to function slightly on their own.

May 31, 2007
Julia remains in her induced coma in critical condition. She remains in Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. This evening her temperature was back to normal so they removed that monitor from her body (Yay, one gone!). The oxygen she is on was lowered down to 30% (10% lower than this morning). Her kidneys have increased in flow from yesterday and she did not have the dialysis process they were talking about. Continue to pray that her kidneys will function more, as they are putting in more fluids than she is getting out and therefore she is very bloated and puffy. Her blood pressure was also improving slightly. These tiny positive steps give us hope that she is fighting this infection. Please continue to pray for healing.

Matt is looking and sounding better after some sleep and more family support that came on the scene overnight. Marika is at home tonight, being cared for by Dad and Aunt Leanne (Julia's sister). She gained 4 oz in the last couple of days and is doing well.

9:03PM
We are cautiously excited with the Verbrugges that it was a positive day. This morning concern regarding Marika grew as questions were asked about herrisk of having the same bacteria as Julia. She was tested at CHEO and theinitial test came back negative meaning she can be home again. She is on aprecautionary anti-biotic for 10 days but the signs look positive for her.Julia has begun to turn the corner for the better but is still in criticalcondition and has a long recovery and many obstacles ahead. They havestopped the blood pressure medication and she is doing fine with that.Today over the course of the day they have withdrawn the sedatives fromJulia. She is not yet responsive at all but they anticipate she will beginto regain consciousness. As this occurs we ask prayers for both Matt and Julia.

June 02, 2007
Friday again was another cautiously exciting day that brought many positive changes and many more prayer requests. Julia continued to show signs of coming out of sedation. She was calmed by both Matt and Leanne (her sister's) voice. She also showed reaction to doctors doing procedures on her. We continue to pray that she comes completely out the the coma/sedation.We are thankful that her kidneys continue to function at a level which has allowed her to begin loosing some of the fluid she has gained in the past week. The doctors have put her on a diuretic to help reduce the swelling. Julia's blood pressure is also being maintained today without any medication. We keep praying that her kidney's continue working and allowing her body to heal. Finally, on Friday, they removed the breathing tube. Julia was struggling to breath so she continues to be assisted by BiPAP. We keep praying that her lungs get strong enough that she can breath without any assistance.There are many prayers required as Julia continues to battle throughrecovery.

Prayers that Julia can remain calm as she becomes aware of the situation around her. And prayers for Matt and the family around her as the after effects of the medication can alter Julia's personality for a number of days. Julia's kidneys are also showing positive signs and continue to improve although there is a long way to go before they can begin to remove some of the excess fluid that Julia has retained in the last few days.

June 3, 2007
This morning Julia began to wake up. She can't talk due to the pipe down her throat assist with breathing and keeping her lungs clear, however, she was able to answer yes or no questions and knows why she is in the hospital which is a very good sign. She was wanting information about Marika.

She had to have chest tube inserted yesterday to drain fluid from her chest cavity.

Her kidneys continue to improve in functioning.

Baby Marika continues to do well. She is eating well and in good health.

Matt and all of Julia's family are thankful for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for Julia as she still has quite a way to go on her road to recovery.