Update on J and our current plans

Well, the Lord is certainly good to us and we are so thankful for all of your prayers and support.  J's procedure went perfect and he was out of the hospital in record time.  He had no problems with anesthesia and Dr. Magit was very happy with the way he looked.  He said that J does have a small lower airway but that he should outgrow that.  He told us to watch extra closely for respiratory infections and treat them more aggressively than we would our other children because he could develop complications related to them.  Other than that he was very pleased and had no other concerns.

So, after a very very busy day of flying on Sunday we arrived in Picayune at 4pm.  We spoke at Pinegrove Baptist that night and what a blessing that was! We love that church and are so thankful for the family and friends that we have there.  They truly love and support (and spoil) us!  We are so grateful to them!  But more than that, this church knows missions!  They are begging for opportunities to plug into the ministries that we shared with them.  They want to make sure the Word is preached and needs are met in way that glorifies Christ.  They are on fire and they want to make sure that we are equipped to spread the News in Malawi.  They understand that we are all ONE BODY of Christ and that it takes all of us to achieve HIS work!

One Body, One Gospel, One Savior!!!!!

Thank you Pinegrove for being such an important part of the Body!

We are now in Montgomery one last time to spend a little quality time with Jeremy's family before we head to Clinton.  We arrive in Clinton on Saturday.  God has provided that our church's mission house is available for us to live in for the two weeks that we are there.  This is such a blessing.  This is the last home we lived in before we left Clinton.  It is also the place we will stay next year when we are home on our scheduled furlough.  This is stability for our family.  The last 6 weeks we have been living out of suitcases and our precious SM (5) is constantly asking where we are going to sleep tonight.  It's so hard on the kids (and us).  J isn't sleeping at all.  Pray for a little rest and stability for us as we spend our last few weeks here in our home.  We speak at Morrison Heights, our home church, on Sunday night the 21st.

Currently we are set to leave the USA on November 9th.  We arrive back in Malawi on the 10th.

Bronchoscopy

Jeremy, Jill, and J have been back in San Diego this week for more tests and follow-up procedures from his cleft palate surgery last month.  He saw Dr. Jones, a geneticist, on Wednesday.  She was very impressed with his cognitive and social development.  She said that he appears to be just fine except for a small skeletal build.  We will have a test done next year when we return for a check up.  But for now he is fine and we shouldn't worry.

He also met yesterday with Dr. Gosman who said he was healing perfectly.  She was impressed with his progress and gave us the go ahead to start him on baby foods.  Yay for J and his parents (who are having to get up in the middle of the night again b/c our baby boy is just so hungry)!

Today we ask for prayers for J and Dr. Magit.  Dr. Magit is our fabulous ENT who placed J's tubes at the beginning of his surgery last month.  As a result of J's respiratory problems following his surgery Dr. Magit and Dr. Gosman recommended he receive a bronchoscopy to see what might be going on.  In order to do this J has to be put under anesthesia again which is a bit of a concern.  Ultimately we know that the Lord is in control and that He will be the hands in the operating room.  Please join us in covering Dr. Magit and J (and the anesthesiologist) in prayer at 12:30pm Pacific--2:30pm Central--9:30pm Malawi.  The procedure should only take about 30 minutes.

We will update you later tonight.  To God be the Glory!

Jill

J's surgery- day 1 and 2

J's cleft surgery went very well.  But as he was coming out of anesthesia his breathing problems started.  He was rushed to the PICU and we were brought up after a few minutes.  We had no idea how bad his breathing was until we saw our little guy.  He was retracting down to his spine and his O2 sats were pitiful.  We started praying and talking to him and rubbing his ears.  Within 15 minutes of our getting into the PICU he was noticeably better.  But he was still not out of the woods.  

Within a few hours J's breathing was much better and his O2 mask was able to be removed.  He still needed to keep his "trumpet" in his nose in case his breathing problems returned.  Once it was pulled it would not be able to be reinserted without damaging the cleft repair.  

The first night after surgery was incredibly hard.  Honestly it was one of the hardest nights EVER!  J was coming out of his anesthesia.  His tongue was tied away from his airway and his incision with a stitch.  He had a trumpet in his nose and an IV in his head. Oh, and his mouth had a huge incision with stitches in it.  He was miserable!  He couldn't eat and he was very hungry.  His mouth was dry from the O2.  He was so uncomfortable and just wouldn't settle down and sleep.  Jeremy and I literally just held him for two days!  We would have to stand and bounce him in order to calm him down.  He wasn't sleeping at all.  And neither were we.  He was very mad about his tongue being tied.  I would be too!  Poor guy, he just didn't understand.  

This was what we did for over 24 hours....Just hold him and try to keep him calm.

Day 2 one of the Dr's decided to increase his sedation.  This enabled him to sleep very well that day and it gave mom and dad a chance to take turns taking a couple of naps. That night however his breathing started to become labored again.  He was breathing very hard and his retractions were getting worse.  It was all upper respiratory because his lungs were clear and his sats were normal.  But he sounded horrible.  After a push from mom to get something done NOW they decided to try to suction the trumpet.  The respiratory therapist was unable to get the tube down the trumpet which made them think it may be occluded.  The risk now- do we pull the trumpet and risk having to reinsert it if his breathing worsens....or do we leave it when it's possibly the main problem with his breathing.  The decision was made to pull it.  And yes, it was occluded and was doing absolutely no good.  The second the trumpet was pulled J's breathing improved 500%.  He was completely back to normal and went right to sleep.  

Here is J after his trumpet was pulled. He was resting so peacefully for the first time in two days!

To be continued....

J's Surgery- PreOp

Our trip to San Diego for J's cleft palate surgery is nothing more than a miracle from God!  All of the pieces were in place in only a way that God could have orchestrated.  Gidgi's heart attack and previous medical issues from our parents led us to feel the need to come home for a few weeks to check on (and love on) our family.  Less than 24 hours after we landed we received an email from J's plastic surgeon in San Diego asking if we were interested in coming to CA for his surgery while we were home.  Two days later we got the word that we needed to be in San Diego by Thursday morning (it was Monday) and we jumped on a plane!  The Lord provided a surgeon, an organization that provides free surgeries on their surgery weekends, a surgery weekend that just "happened" to be the very weekend that we arrived in America, plane tickets, a car to use while we were here, and the Ronald McDonald house to stay in.  EVERY detail was taken care of!  

Here we are at the Ronald McDonald house at Rady Children's Hospital.  Rady's is one of the best children's hospitals in the country.  And the Ronald McDonald house is so very very nice!!!  

The day before the surgery we headed to Coronado Island to let J see the Pacific for the first time.  

Here is a view of Rady's and the Ronald McDonald house from the freeway.

Surgery morning!  Saturday morning very early we walked across the street for J's surgery.

All ready and waiting on the Dr's!

Surgery time.  

To be continued.....

Baby J!

Baby J is now 4 months old!  Wow!  He is doing very well considering his rough start to life. He's just a perfect little boy!  As you can tell from the pictures below he fits right in with this crazy family.  Here are just a few pics in the life of baby J!

Reading time with Mamma and Sissy.  You're never too young for Dora and Boots!

Wait, what are these kiddos doing in MOMMY AND DADDY'S bed??  Must be Saturday morning!

CJ reading aloud to his baby brother!

Agnes getting baby J used to traveling Malawian style!

Isn't he a cutie!?

SM showing her brother a game

Wii time with Daddy

And now it's time to color...stay in the lines baby J!

SM put all of her houses in a semi circle around her "bru-boo" so that he could watch her play.

He kept smiling at me yet right when I would take a pic he'd stop.  Silly boy!

Um...I seriously wonder whether too many kisses can hurt a child. J's big sister is constantly kissing on "her baby"!

Our Malawian Baby!

A rite of passage as a Malawian baby is being put into a chitinge for the very first time.  At 7 weeks old it was time for J to take his place as a true Malawian!  Agnes wanted him to go onto AJ's back first because her back was smaller.  She showed us how to properly tie him up and secure him.  We still need for him to gain a little more head control before I'm comfortable carrying him around on my back.  But what an exciting time we had learning to tie the chitinge and exactly how to get him safe and snug!  What would we do without Agnes???  

As with most Malawian babies, J went right to sleep on AJ's back!  Agnes said it's important to start him out this early to get him used to being on the back.  I think he likes it!  

Update on Baby J

Praise God!  We took J to the clinic to weigh him on Saturday.  He has gained half of the weight back that he lost from birth.  At birth he weighed 3.9 kgs.  After week one he'd gotten down to 3.6 kgs.  Week two he stayed the same (3.6 kgs).  Then this past Tuesday he weighed 3.3 kgs.  In other words, at birth he weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and he got down to 7 lbs 5 oz.  On Saturday he was back up to 3.6 kgs after only 4 days with his feeding tube.  He was taking all of his food by his bottle at this point as well.  The pediatrician said that he just needed to get his strength back and that then he'd be able to suck the bottle well enough to remove the NG tube.  He was right.  He's been eating like a champ!  I think he's making up for lost time!  Praise God that NG tube is out and he's continuing to eat well.  We will weigh him again on Friday and I'll update the blog on his progress.

We have been so very blessed with Dr's and nurses who have been faithful to give their advice on J's cleft palate.  We have a Dr. who is actually coming in August to do a medical mission trip specifically to repair cleft palates.  We will be skyping with her and her nurse tonight so that they can "meet" J and see him.  We'll be able to find out more info and ask them some questions. We are so thankful that we're able to be assisted in this way.  What a blessing they are to us!  We will relay info as we receive it.

For now, please continue to pray for J's strength and his feedings.  Pray that he continues to gain weight and that he's able to continue learning how to eat from the bottle.  Our friend is bringing special bottles back from the States next week that will aid in his feedings.  How thankful we are that Sam happened to be in the States at this time and he's able to bring us supplies needed to help baby Joshua.  I hope you see, as we do, God's hand guiding every step!!!!  He is in control!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Prayers for Baby J

I wanted to take a minute to update you on baby J and ask for prayers on his behalf.  J was born at 8lbs 11 oz and right after birth we noticed that he had a poor suck.  He wasn't able to nurse well and therefore wasn't eating much.  After a couple of days of not improving I made the decision to pump and give him his milk through a bottle so that I could see how much he was taking. Over the next couple of weeks his weight continued to decline and this past Tuesday he was down to 7 lbs 5 oz.  At 3 weeks old he should be at least back up to his birth weight by now (if not well past it).  We called a local pediatrician who only works pediatrics one day a week at Partners in Hope....the day we called "happened" to be the day he worked. Of course I don't believe in luck or coincidences.  God was showing me immediately that HE was all over this!

We took J to see the pediatrician and we found out that he has a partial cleft palate.  No wonder he was having a hard time eating and learning to suck.  The first and most immediate concern is to get his weight back up and his eating under control.  We inserted an NG tube and went to work!  After 3 days of ample nourishment he looks and acts like a new baby.  He takes his bottle on his own now and can finish a bottle in 15 minutes (as opposed to 2 hours previously).  Poor baby just needed to gain his strength back.  We will check his weight this weekend and if he's still eating on his own and gaining weight we can pull the NG tube.  Yay!

As for the cleft palate, the instant that the Dr. mentioned the words my friend and nurse, Becky, who went with us to the Dr. said that we have a plastic surgeon visiting in August from So. Cal and she's coming primarily to do cleft palate repairs.  J needs to be at least 6 months old before we can have anything done to correct his cleft palate.  In August he'll be 8 months.  Do you see God all over this?? We are still full of questions and have little answers but that's ok because we trust fully in the Lord and we know that He has got everything all planned out.  God is good all the time!!!  I will keep you posted on baby J's progress and prayer needs. Thank you for your support and prayers and encouragement.

The Kyser Family

Welcome baby J!

On January 18th the Kyser family welcomed a new addition to our family.  Baby J was born at the African Bible Colleges Clinic at 5:14pm in Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa.  Here are some pictures to guide you through the day.

Our happy family all excited as we wait for baby Joshua to be born!  We arrived at the clinic at around 2:30 pm.  

I was measuring about 5-6 cm so we decided to take a walk around campus to try to speed up the delivery.  I think it worked!  

At 4:35pm Dr. Sonja broke my water.  Baby J was born less than 45 minutes later.  Mom was very thankful for the fast delivery since this was a natural birth (no pain meds or epidural).  Mom and baby did great!

Nurse Becky is the best!  J weighed in at 3.96 kgs or 8lbs 11 oz.  He is our biggest baby by far!  

J's brother and sisters couldn't wait to meet him!!!  They love their baby brother!

Aunt LeAnne was a huge help during the delivery!  As were Gidgi and Daddy!  Mommy couldn't have done it without them!  

AJ loving on her baby!!!  She's such a great Mamma Jane!

Best part of delivering in Africa?  I get my baby all to myself immediately after birth.  No 4 hour wait during transition, no nurses whisking him away to mess with him, no security bands and electronic monitoring devices, he's just ours!  

Proud Daddy!  I must admit, I said quite a few times during the labor that I couldn't do it anymore.  This amazing man made sure I knew I could!!! I couldn't have done it without him!  He's the best husband and Daddy in the world!  I'm so very blessed!

These are the two ladies who brought baby J into the world.  We are so thankful for Dr. Sonja and Becky!  I love them both so!!!!  They are an amazing team!

My sweet baby boy!

Proud proud Gidgi and her 4th grandbaby!!!  She has been in Africa for 4 months waiting for this very minute!!!! It was all worth it!

Dr. Jack and Mrs. Nell Chinchen holding baby J.  They are the founders of African Bible Colleges.  What an amazing story they have!  It's such a blessing to be serving the Lord with them!

Our beautiful new family!!!