Josh Hatcher's Blog
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Update on Isaiah...
Well, it's been a long couple days.. and they're not over yet.
Isaiah got sick last Thursday with a high fever, and gradually several other mysterious symptoms arose, including swollen lymph nodes, cracked lips, red eyes, and several other things.
Dr. Pradhan diagnosed it Monday as Kawasaki Disease. (click on the word Kawasaki to read an article about it) The disease is very serious, and attacks the heart if left untreated.
They offered to treat it in Bradford, but gave us the option of traveling to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Based on advice from several close friends, some personal experiences with BRMC, and a really uneasy feeling in my spirit, we opted to go to Pittsburgh.
By the way, when we went into the doctor Tuesday, Isaiah's symptoms were notably easing up a little, which made him much more comfortable than he had been for the trip... thanks to all who prayed!
So we arrived last night around quarter to 5, in the big city.. but got lost three times... meanwhile, Isaiah is burning up with an extremely high fever, and all of the directions that we got from people only succeeded in getting us lost further. We prayed, and called 911, and a very sweet operator (with 21 grandkids) directed us to the hospital and stayed on the phone with us till we got here, after 6pm.
They started the treatment late last night, which is high doeses of asprin, and introvenous Gammaglobulin.. which is a purified antigen that comes from blood plasma.. it is often administered to AIDS patients and used to treat other immune deficient diseases..
He had a fever throughout the night, but by morning, his fever had dropped, and his temperature is normal.
The IVG treatment is done, but he's still taking aspirin...
and he has to stay in for a couple more days for observation... unless the symptoms come back up again, and then he'll have to go through the IVG treatment again, and then another couple days.
How to pray for us?
1. Pills. Isaiah is really wrestling with taking the chewable aspirin...he's used to liquid tylenol, and chewing up the pills for him is a VERY big deal.. those who know Isaiah well know how some things become bigger deals than others... Pray that he can give in to chewing the pills, and that the doctors can help come up with a more creative solution for him.
2. Sleep. there's not room for us both to sleep, and I really don't want to leave the hospital.. so I'm kind of sleeping whenever and wherever I can... which is tough for a fat guy in a little chair. :) More importantly, Isaiah's sleep is priceless to him, and he's gotten a little angry with the nurses for waking him up... so pray that the sleep he gets is enough to sustain him. And that he's patient with the treatment.
3. Healing. Pray that all traces of Kawasaki diseases are erased and that there is NO heart damage... Many kids walk away from this with no problems ever again. He's going to be going down for his Ecko-cardiagram in a little bit to find out for sure. He'll have to have another one done around Christmastime for a follow-up. If there is damage spotted, he will have to follow up with a cardiologist.
We love you all...
Josh + Zoe
Isaiah got sick last Thursday with a high fever, and gradually several other mysterious symptoms arose, including swollen lymph nodes, cracked lips, red eyes, and several other things.
Dr. Pradhan diagnosed it Monday as Kawasaki Disease. (click on the word Kawasaki to read an article about it) The disease is very serious, and attacks the heart if left untreated.
They offered to treat it in Bradford, but gave us the option of traveling to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Based on advice from several close friends, some personal experiences with BRMC, and a really uneasy feeling in my spirit, we opted to go to Pittsburgh.
By the way, when we went into the doctor Tuesday, Isaiah's symptoms were notably easing up a little, which made him much more comfortable than he had been for the trip... thanks to all who prayed!
So we arrived last night around quarter to 5, in the big city.. but got lost three times... meanwhile, Isaiah is burning up with an extremely high fever, and all of the directions that we got from people only succeeded in getting us lost further. We prayed, and called 911, and a very sweet operator (with 21 grandkids) directed us to the hospital and stayed on the phone with us till we got here, after 6pm.
They started the treatment late last night, which is high doeses of asprin, and introvenous Gammaglobulin.. which is a purified antigen that comes from blood plasma.. it is often administered to AIDS patients and used to treat other immune deficient diseases..
He had a fever throughout the night, but by morning, his fever had dropped, and his temperature is normal.
The IVG treatment is done, but he's still taking aspirin...
and he has to stay in for a couple more days for observation... unless the symptoms come back up again, and then he'll have to go through the IVG treatment again, and then another couple days.
How to pray for us?
1. Pills. Isaiah is really wrestling with taking the chewable aspirin...he's used to liquid tylenol, and chewing up the pills for him is a VERY big deal.. those who know Isaiah well know how some things become bigger deals than others... Pray that he can give in to chewing the pills, and that the doctors can help come up with a more creative solution for him.
2. Sleep. there's not room for us both to sleep, and I really don't want to leave the hospital.. so I'm kind of sleeping whenever and wherever I can... which is tough for a fat guy in a little chair. :) More importantly, Isaiah's sleep is priceless to him, and he's gotten a little angry with the nurses for waking him up... so pray that the sleep he gets is enough to sustain him. And that he's patient with the treatment.
3. Healing. Pray that all traces of Kawasaki diseases are erased and that there is NO heart damage... Many kids walk away from this with no problems ever again. He's going to be going down for his Ecko-cardiagram in a little bit to find out for sure. He'll have to have another one done around Christmastime for a follow-up. If there is damage spotted, he will have to follow up with a cardiologist.
We love you all...
Josh + Zoe
:: posted by joshhatcher, 8:06 AM
1 Comments:
Josh and Zoe, I feel God led me to you site today. I haven't written or read since April. I will pray for you and pass it along to my Bible study and family. We love you guys! I will pray for a quick and full recovery!
