Special prayers needed tomorrow

Kanyon has had another good day - they upped his feedings to 7cc and he is tolerating that well. A full feeding is 15cc, so he's nearly half-way there! Tomorrow they are going to take him off the ventilator to see if he can breathe on his own. They will put a CPAP in his nose, which pushes a continuous flow of air through his lungs to make sure all the little airways stay open, but it does not actually inititate breathing for him. He will be breathing pretty much on his own. His doctor says that it may tire him out and they may have to put him back on the ventilator after a few hours, but they'll just have to wait and see how he does. The doctors and nurses keep stressing that it is a big day for Kanyon, and it's making Jaymie nervous. So pray that Kanyon has the strength and energy to breathe on his own, and pray for peace for Jaymie and Kory so they won't be so worried.

Prayer partners around the world

I mentioned in a previous post that Jaymie and Kory have a map where they have marked states and countries where they know people are praying for them. It has been such an encouragement to them to find out how many people are praying all over the country and the world. Jaymie's cousin, Susan, sent me a link to a website where you can create your own state and world map and color in just the selected areas. It is actually intended to show which states or countries you have visited, but it works perfect for this. So here is a US map and a world map showing where they know people are praying. If we have missed a state or country, please let us know by responding to this post. Thanks again for all your prayers!



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.




create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Note: after posting, I noticed that the maps are cut off to fit in the left pane of the blog, so I also placed them at the bottom of the page where they will not be cropped. Rather than putting an updated map on a new post, I will probably just go back and update the maps on the bottom of the page if we find out about more states or countries.

Another great report

I just got off the phone with Jaymie, and Kanyon got another great report. He is still digesting Jaymie's milk well, or "tolerating his feeds" as the nurses say. They are going to up his feedings to 6cc today. The more milk he takes, the less and less nutrition they have to give him through his IV. Also, he now weighs 1 lb. 13.5 oz. - getting close to 2 lbs.! He had lost a few ounces at first which is normal, then has steadily gained since then. They don't want him to gain weight fast, just slow and steady. His head scan came back good - better than the last one, so that's a blessing. The biggest thing Jaymie and Kory are worried about is that they are going to try to take him off his ventilator in the next couple of days. They will put a CPAP in, which helps him breathe through his nose, but they will take the ventilator out of his trachea and he will have to initiate breathing on his own, which can tire him out more easily. It's great that the doctor feels like he is ready for this, but just pray that it all goes well. The doctor says that he is happy with Kanyon's progress and that he is a tough little boy.

Sweet family photos

Jaymie got to hold Kanyon for the first time this afternoon, and it was so good for both of them. Kanyon didn't say anything, but we think he enjoyed it. Kory and both grandmothers were there, and they took plenty of pictures. They used the kangaroo method where they let Jaymie put him inside her shirt against her skin so he would stay warm and close.

This picture below is from yesterday, and it was titled "cool guy". When they put him under the lights he has to wear shades to protect his eyes.

Exciting news

Well, I just got off the phone with Jaymie, and she had some great news - she may get to hold Kanyon today! One of the nurses mentioned that this morning when she was in the NICU visiting him, and Jaymie is so excited.

-

Also, he is up to 5cc of milk now - what a big eater he is! And they are going to reduce some of the medicine that he is taking to see if that will help him to breathe better. They'll try it for a couple of days, and if it works, they will be able to take him off the ventilator and just keep the tubes in his nose. They haven't gotten the results back from his head scan, but I'll let you know when they do.

He's eating, pooping, and breathing well!

Sweet little Kanyon is doing good today. I just got off the phone with Jaymie and she had some updates. He is up to 4cc of milk per feeding, and he also pooped, both of which show that his little digestive system is working well. They are also trying to decrease the amount of pressure that his ventilator is providing. I don't understand exactly how it all works or how they measure it, but I know he is on regular air, not oxygen, which is great, but they are still having to use a ventilator to help his lungs work. It has been set on 20, which measures the amount of pressure it is pumping into his lungs, and they tried decreasing that pressure yesterday and today. I know yesterday he didn't seem to respond very well, so they had to turn it back up. Today they turned it down to 15 for a while, then had to bump it up to 16. They say it will probably have to go down and back up for a while as his lungs get stronger. I don't know how much detail I really need to give on that, but the goal is obviously to get him off the ventilator eventually, and it helps to measure the progress when they are able to use it less and less. I hope I'm getting all the details right on that. He is going to have a routine head scan today, so we can pray that it shows no problems.

-

Jaymie is healing well - she got her staples out today, or her zipper, as her brother Clint likes to call it. She and Kory slept at home last night for the first time, which is a good sign that they felt comfortable enough to leave him for that long.

-

Jaymie asked for continued prayers for his digestive system, the head scan, and for them to have peace about everything.

Kanyon is still doing well

Kanyon is still holding steady - thanks for all your continued prayers for him.

-

Jaymie and Kory traveled to Paris today for the memorial service, and of course it was very difficult, but it was also beautiful. Both of them mentioned how it really gave them a lot of peace and comfort, more than they expected. During the service, I believe it was Kory's brother Clint that read 1 Thessalonians 4:13, which talks about how we should not grieve like men who have no hope. Clint mentioned that Kory and Jaymie do not grieve like people who have no hope, but like people who still have work to do, and I completely agree with him. Of course they are grieving, but they are so strong and faithful and they know they must continue to stay strong for little Kanyon. It is so hard to watch them go through this, but they have been such an example to me and to others of how a Christian should handle difficult times like this. On a side note, thanks to all of you that have shared scriptures in your comments - we read many of them during the service today.

-

Please continue to pray for Kanyon. If you would like to sign up for a specific time, please visit the prayer chain website. http://www.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=kanyonandjayde There are lots of times available in the coming week. Also pray for Kory's family as most of them are traveling back to Montana tomorrow.