I have a post up on my family blog explaining the situation. There are also some cute pictures!
Showing posts with label Katelyn Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Katelyn Grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Much To Be Thankful For
Katelyn Grace was seizure-free today for the first time in well over a month!
To give you an idea of what an improvement this is, her worse day was last Wednesday, the 5th. She had seizures at 2:20am, 4:20am, 6:20am, 8:20am, and then randomly throughout the rest of the day, making a total of about seven or eight.
The Improvement
We saw an osteopath in Atlanta later that day, and things have gotten better since then. At that time, we also started a few other remedies, so it is hard to pinpoint exactly what single thing or combination helped the seizures. We just want to get rid of them! For the next week, she had two seizures a day: one soon after waking in the morning, and another around 6:00pm. Then, she started missing either her morning or evening seizure. Today, she didn't have one single seizure! We don't know what will happen tomorrow; she could have more, she may not have any at all.
The Seizures
Each seizure - or set of seizures - lasts about three or four minutes and consists of between ten and thirty individual absence and salaam seizures. She gets a glassy look in her eyes and doesn't respond to her name or to visual stimulation (absence seizure). Then her head goes back and there is an involuntary sudden contraction of her arms, legs, and head towards her middle (salaam seizure). She'll go back to normal and fuss for a few seconds, then she'll get that glassy look in her eyes and her head will go back again.... The first few are rather mild, but they grow more violent towards the middle and then slack off towards the end.
The Medical Opinions
The doctors say that these seizures are not enough to cause permanent brain damage at this time, but while she is having seizures, and while her brain is "spiking" abnormally in between, every two to three seconds, that area of her brain (which is quite small) cannot do what it needs to be doing. Also, it is not good for her to develop a pattern of seizures.
Thank the Lord!
We are so thankful that she is developing well in spite of everything. Many special needs children are unable to move at all for the first years of their lives. Others spend days, months, even years in the hospital. Yes, we have much to be thankful for!
Her Development
When she turned six months (she is now seven-and-a-half months!), we took her to the Down syndrome clinic at MUSC to check her development. They asked Mom countless questions about how she responds to this and that, tested Katelyn Grace's tracking abilities, and had her grab various objects. In so many areas, she was ahead of even "normal" babies! Her muscle tone was at 4-1/2 months, which is still ahead of most Down syndrome six-month-olds.
We believe that the hours and hours we are putting into her therapies are paying off!
Katelyn Grace is such a happy, contented baby, and is only fussy after her seizures or when her allergies (which we're still trying to figure out) are bothering her. She recently discovered that she has an extremely loud voice, and has been putting every ounce of her strength into ear-splitting yells and shouts. She loves "talking" to us! One of her favorite things is for one of us to take her into a quiet room, lie on the floor beside her, and just talk quietly to her as we play with her hands and tickle her feet. She watches and listens to us intently.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your prayers for Katelyn Grace. It is such an encouragement to Mom, especially, to know that people all over the country - all over the world! - are praying for our precious little baby.
Please continue to pray daily that she would continue to progress and for wisdom for Mom and Dad. Thank you all!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Urgent Prayer Request for Katelyn Grace
For those of you who don't know, Katelyn Grace is my precious 7-month-old baby sister who has Down syndrome. This post was originally posted on my family's blog, The Name Fitz.
I wish I had time to go into both the long and short of everything now, but the short of it all will have to do for the present.
After having an EEG (electroencephalogram) a couple of weeks ago, Katelyn Grace was diagnosed with partial seizure disorder, and is having seizures several times a day.
We have several very specific prayer requests:
1. That the Lord would completely take away Katelyn Grace's seizures, either miraculously or through the doctors we're working with.
2. That the Lord would give Mom and Dad wisdom as they're making major decisions about Katelyn Grace's medical treatments.
3. That the Lord would strengthen Mom, especially, as she's struggling with having to watch Katelyn Grace suffer through these seizures.
4. That the Lord would lead us to the right doctors.
5. That the Lord would work through the unsaved doctors we're seeing.
6. That the Lord would grant special wisdom to the Christian doctors who are helping Katleyn Grace.
Please copy this post and post it on your own blog, or just publish a link to this post. Please share this prayer request with your family, friends, and church. We are trying to get as many people praying for Katelyn Grace as possible.
Please, please commit to pray for Katelyn Grace every day. If you can do this, please let us know by leaving a comment. Mom would be greatly encouraged to know how many people are praying for Katelyn Grace.
Thank you so much everyone!
Blessings,
Lauren for the whole family
Matthew 18:19 - Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
John 14:13 - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
A Gift From God
Click over to our family blog to see the new gift that God has given us in the person of a little down syndrome baby girl!
Friday, February 2, 2007
The Baby's Coming!
There's some exciting activity right now on our family blog, The Name Fitz! We're pretty sure Mom's going into "real" labor, but she's had several false alarms so far. Check our family blog for live updates!!!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Children: Blessing or Burden?
The other night, in our family devotions, after discussing various other subjects, we arrived on the subject of children. We were originally talking about how easily unbiblical and ungodly ideas and standards infiltrate the church, many times without it being readily apparent.
After my parents were married, they waited five years to have children. Their reasons?
1. They wanted to wait until they were financially stable.
2. They wanted to have some time with just the two of them before children entered the scene.
These both seemed to them - at the time - to be fairly valid reasons. However, my mother doubted at times whether this was right or not, and for years sought counsel from different Christian women in various churches. The response was always the same. "That is entirely up to you and your husband; it is a personal choice."
Today, society's idea that "too many" children - or even any children at all! - are a burden has become increasingly prevalent in the church. Walk into many of today's churches, and you will notice that most of the families are representative of the "perfect American family": two parents, two or three children.
It was not until about four years ago that my parents realized that the subject of children is directly dealt with in the Bible; God has specific things to say about childbearing. I'd like to look at exactly what God has to say about children. Are they a burden or a blessing? Is the number of children we have left up to us, or is this something that God wants to have control over?
It all started at the beginning. God gave a command to the first man and the first woman:
"...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill to overflowing] the earth..." (Genesis 1:28)
It is interesting to note that this command was repeated to Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:1) and also to Jacob (Genesis 35:11). We have a clear command from God to multiply, to raise up godly generations of people to serve and follow Him. The advantages of following this commandment are numerous. Not only does God promise to bless those who keep His commandments, but "being fruitful and multiplying" also creates a lasting legacy of godly men and women to advance God's kingdom. Both Catholics and Mormons seem to understand well the advantages of having many children to carry on their faiths. Imagine if every Christian family followed God's commandment to be fruitful and multiply! A family with two children is only replacing the parents. According to statistics, families with three and four children replace the parents and make up for those people who never marry and couples who never have children. Only if a family has five children is it increasing the population. If non-Christian families stick to their two- and three-child policies, and Christian families follow God's command to be fruitful and multiply, then Christians would eventually outnumber the non-Christians. Think what could be accomplished!
Children are also a great blessing, and are referred to as such throughout the Bible. When God blessed people, He almost always included as part of the blessing the promise of many children. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Ishmael, the Israelites, and many more Biblical characters, were promised the blessing of many children. God says that children are a blessing! We have it straight from the Bible. If God says that something is a blessing, shouldn't we desire it earnestly? Shouldn't we be open to God bestowing it upon us?
Psalm 127:3-5 ~ Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Children are our heritage and reward. Who gives us this heritage and reward? The Lord does! Who are we to limit the heritage that God wants to give us? Who are we to limit our great reward from the Lord?
Yet, today, children are often viewed as a burden and constraint. This is because men and women are not following God's plan for their lives. They don't see that one of the highest callings of God is to raise up children for Him. Yes, it is a great responsibility, one which we cannot do on our own. But, with the Lord's help and guidance - by teaching God's Word diligently to our children, talking of God and His ways when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, in the evening and the morning (Deuteronomy 6:7) - God promises that when our children are old, they will not depart from "the way they should go" (Proverbs 22:6).
When a woman is not committed first to her family, children well may be a burden. When a woman has plans and goals which are contrary to God's great calling, children may well be an unwelcome interruption to her life. However, if a woman is following God's calling for her life, striving to provide for her household and raise up - alongside her husband - a generation glorifying to God, children are the greatest blessing that God could bestow!
Society today has strayed so far from God's plan for mankind! Francis Schaeffer once said,
"Tell me what the world is saying today, and I'll tell you what the church will be saying seven years from now."
And this is just what is happening! The church is following just about seven steps behind the world. It is gradually embracing almost everything that the world says and does. It is becoming "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2) - in virtually every area of life. We are called to be transformed by renewing our minds. This means renewing our minds in every area of life ... rethinking every sphere of life by examining what God has to say about it.
God is the Giver of life. How is it within our power to thwart God's perfect work by preventing a life ... a little character ... a tiny personality ... from coming into existence?
In the past several years, my parents have come to realize that God is the One who gives children. He bestows them as His little blessings as He sees fit. The result of this change of mind and heart is a new little baby brother or sister (playfully and temporarily christened "Bob" in order to avoid the insensitive pronoun "it") coming in February! We look forward to this little blessing's arrival, and pray daily that he or she would become a godly servant of Jesus Christ. As the fifth child, this one will be the one to add to the population. With just us four, we barely broke even!
After my parents were married, they waited five years to have children. Their reasons?
1. They wanted to wait until they were financially stable.
2. They wanted to have some time with just the two of them before children entered the scene.
These both seemed to them - at the time - to be fairly valid reasons. However, my mother doubted at times whether this was right or not, and for years sought counsel from different Christian women in various churches. The response was always the same. "That is entirely up to you and your husband; it is a personal choice."
Today, society's idea that "too many" children - or even any children at all! - are a burden has become increasingly prevalent in the church. Walk into many of today's churches, and you will notice that most of the families are representative of the "perfect American family": two parents, two or three children.
It was not until about four years ago that my parents realized that the subject of children is directly dealt with in the Bible; God has specific things to say about childbearing. I'd like to look at exactly what God has to say about children. Are they a burden or a blessing? Is the number of children we have left up to us, or is this something that God wants to have control over?
It all started at the beginning. God gave a command to the first man and the first woman:
"...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill to overflowing] the earth..." (Genesis 1:28)
It is interesting to note that this command was repeated to Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:1) and also to Jacob (Genesis 35:11). We have a clear command from God to multiply, to raise up godly generations of people to serve and follow Him. The advantages of following this commandment are numerous. Not only does God promise to bless those who keep His commandments, but "being fruitful and multiplying" also creates a lasting legacy of godly men and women to advance God's kingdom. Both Catholics and Mormons seem to understand well the advantages of having many children to carry on their faiths. Imagine if every Christian family followed God's commandment to be fruitful and multiply! A family with two children is only replacing the parents. According to statistics, families with three and four children replace the parents and make up for those people who never marry and couples who never have children. Only if a family has five children is it increasing the population. If non-Christian families stick to their two- and three-child policies, and Christian families follow God's command to be fruitful and multiply, then Christians would eventually outnumber the non-Christians. Think what could be accomplished!
Children are also a great blessing, and are referred to as such throughout the Bible. When God blessed people, He almost always included as part of the blessing the promise of many children. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Ishmael, the Israelites, and many more Biblical characters, were promised the blessing of many children. God says that children are a blessing! We have it straight from the Bible. If God says that something is a blessing, shouldn't we desire it earnestly? Shouldn't we be open to God bestowing it upon us?
Psalm 127:3-5 ~ Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Children are our heritage and reward. Who gives us this heritage and reward? The Lord does! Who are we to limit the heritage that God wants to give us? Who are we to limit our great reward from the Lord?
Yet, today, children are often viewed as a burden and constraint. This is because men and women are not following God's plan for their lives. They don't see that one of the highest callings of God is to raise up children for Him. Yes, it is a great responsibility, one which we cannot do on our own. But, with the Lord's help and guidance - by teaching God's Word diligently to our children, talking of God and His ways when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, in the evening and the morning (Deuteronomy 6:7) - God promises that when our children are old, they will not depart from "the way they should go" (Proverbs 22:6).
When a woman is not committed first to her family, children well may be a burden. When a woman has plans and goals which are contrary to God's great calling, children may well be an unwelcome interruption to her life. However, if a woman is following God's calling for her life, striving to provide for her household and raise up - alongside her husband - a generation glorifying to God, children are the greatest blessing that God could bestow!
Society today has strayed so far from God's plan for mankind! Francis Schaeffer once said,
"Tell me what the world is saying today, and I'll tell you what the church will be saying seven years from now."
And this is just what is happening! The church is following just about seven steps behind the world. It is gradually embracing almost everything that the world says and does. It is becoming "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2) - in virtually every area of life. We are called to be transformed by renewing our minds. This means renewing our minds in every area of life ... rethinking every sphere of life by examining what God has to say about it.
God is the Giver of life. How is it within our power to thwart God's perfect work by preventing a life ... a little character ... a tiny personality ... from coming into existence?
In the past several years, my parents have come to realize that God is the One who gives children. He bestows them as His little blessings as He sees fit. The result of this change of mind and heart is a new little baby brother or sister (playfully and temporarily christened "Bob" in order to avoid the insensitive pronoun "it") coming in February! We look forward to this little blessing's arrival, and pray daily that he or she would become a godly servant of Jesus Christ. As the fifth child, this one will be the one to add to the population. With just us four, we barely broke even!
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