Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 71

Thank you for your prayers, your calls, and your kind words on facebook and twitter. We can definitely see the mercy of God in the current trial that Samuel is in. If Samuel would not have had his right lung collapse we would have not have known about the silver dollar size hole in his diaphragm.

Samuel's surgery went well yesterday. The doctor took four hours to sew up the hole in the diaphragm and take pictures of the right lung. Thankfully, they were able to go in laproscopically so there are only three small incisions in his chest and one in his belly button. They had to put in a second chest tube so that all the fluid would drain and so the right lung could inflate.

At first I thought that Samuel would be in the hospital for months again but because they were able to fix him without making large incisions he will be home sooner rather than later. He is able to take clear liquids today and later on in the evening they will try to give him soft foods. He is not intubated, he just has a nasal cannula with a .l Liters of oxygen.

Once his chest tubes are finished draining fluid, Samuel will be moved from PICU to a regular room. Please keep praying.

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 70

My 16 month old beautiful baby boy, Samuel had his right lung collapse yesterday. He is currently in the NICU. He just had a CT-Scan which revealed that the hole in his diagram has reopened and his intestine is moving up into the lung cavity. Please pray for our family as we go through what will probably be another long stay for Samuel at Children’s Hospital. As you can imagine, Leyla and I are pretty broken up about it. Samuel was doing so well and now this is quite a set back. It is so severe that Samuel will be having a surgery today to put the intestine back down and sew up the hole.

Please pray.

Also pray for my four year old, Jasmine. She has intestinal flu. I am taking care of her while Leyla is right by Samuel’s side.

God is faithful. He is going to bring us through this trial too.

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 69

Here we go again. From my wife:

I took Samuel to Children's ER yesterday afternoon because he was breathing so heavy and very labored.

The Drs thought that he had a severe asthma attack. They also speculated that he had a virus (i.e. RSV). However, after reviewing the results of the CT scan, the Drs found out that Samuel has a pneumothorax in his right lung ... again! They discontinued the breathing treatments and meds to treat asthma. Right now I am typing this message while the surgeons are in the process of inserting a chest tube to release the pressure in the area. Last time, Samuel had a 5 day stay. I am expecting about the same amount of days this time around.

Pray for Samuel for a speedy recovery. My poor baby has gone through so much ... yet, spontaneous pneumothorax can occur any time, especially in the same area of previous ones. I am hoping and praying that this is the last one.

I request no visitors until Samuel is transferred out of PICU to a regular room.

Keep us in your prayers.

Love,

Leyla

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 68

It has been a while since the last update. Samuel is doing well. He is eating table food, drinking from a straw, crawling, pulling himself up on the coffee table. Samuel is completely off oxygen now. The doctor said that it is a miracle and this boy shouldn't be well. Samuel will have his G-Tube removed in a few weeks.

Samuel has caught up to 50th percentile in fine motor skills. He will begin speech therapy soon. He is quite a bit behind since he was sedated for so long and also because we speak both English and Spanish in our home.

Thank you for your prayers.

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 67

Thank you for your prayers. Mentally I was prepared that Samuel would not be eating normally until spring time 2010. God has exceeded all my expectations. Samuel is having zero spit up (he used to vomit 4 out of 5 feeds). Samuel is eating baby food, crackers, Cheerios, and stars. He is still on Oxygen at night and the G-Tube is giving him formula feeds. He is eating a little better every day with the solid foods. However, he is having a lot of difficulty drinking by mouth. Please pray that Samuel would do well with that.

Latest pictures of Samuel without his ng tube is at:
http://finzerfamily.shutterfly.com/

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 66

Samuel's surgery went very well. The surgeon was able to remove the whole goretex patch and place the G-tube without complications. The G-tube needs to drain any fluid accumulation until tomorrow. After that, they will start feeding him. I am so blessed to have such a great church family. Pastor Gabbard came and prayed for Samuel right before he was taken for surgery, then Gene Belew came to pray for us and with us. I know all of you have been praying ... this morning we got a phone call at 6 AM to let us know that the surgeon had a cancellation and Samuel's surgery was moved up to 8:30 AM! God knows what is best for Samuel and His hand has been orchestrating all the details to make this surgery possible. What an awesome God we serve! Keep praying!

Samuel Kenneth Finzer Update 65

Praise God that my 10 month old baby boy; Samuel Finzer, will have his surgery tomorrow. God is so good. The surgeon is extremely busy and the next slot available was the end of November. The receptionist said that the GI exam and the surgery becoming available in this short of notice never happens. God can do anything.

In the past month and a half, Samuel has dropped weight. He has acid reflux and is gagging on the feeding tube which goes down his throat. Samuel is in pain when he eats. He has been spitting up 4 out of 5 of his feeds. It has been draining on my wife and I. It is a lot to give Samuel multiple baths and change the bed multiple times a day. The surgery will remove all or part of the gortex patch in his abdomen so that a G-Tube can be put in. The G-Tube will go directly into the stomach thereby eliminating the problem with the gagging and reducing the acid reflux.

This is a new beginning for Samuel. Please pray for his surgery.

The surgery is tomorrow; October 6th at 9:10am at Children's Hospital. Samuel will be in the hospital from 3 to 5 days of recovery.