Mandy University

20. August 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

I know it has been a few since I’ve updated. It has been a really crazy time for us. Now that I have a few minutes, while Mandy is asleep, I thought I would update

I mentioned in the last post that we are staying at the hospital with Mandy, learning all the aspects of her care. It’s been kind of like a cross between medical school and boot camp. Here at Mandy U, our course schedule looks like this.

8:00 am Breakfast
9:00 am Suctioning and Secretions

10:00 am Feeding Pumps, formula bags and all things G-Tube.

11:00 am Diapering and Dressing
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Trachs and the ties that bind them
2:00 pm Hand washing and infection prevention
3:00pm Bath time administration
4:00pm Snooze Time
5:00 pm Dinner
6:00 pm Medications and the anatomy of a syringe
7:00 pm Cuddling and Family Bonding
8:00 pm Preparing Formula and Dietary Manipulations
9:00pm Bedtime stories and nighttime feedings
10:00 pm Go to bed

I will admit that I am being a little facetious, but I am not kidding about the number of training hours. We usually spend about 12 hour’s day training. It makes for some very long days, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

There are a few praise reports. Mandy’s minor surgery went well and they determined a few things. Her airway is clear. Her Doctor said her airway is “a little floppy” They also tested her hearing. She has a moderate conductive hearing loss. This can be corrected with hearing aids, or perhaps surgically.
We got a report Monday that her thyroid was in the right range. So she should start to gain weight more quickly. Also we got word yesterday that the long term care insurance was now in place! This has been a long battle. In fact she was denied the first time because she had to go back into the hospital. This is an especially important step, because it will pay for the home nursing, and therapy and such.

Mandy will probably be in the hospital for a while still. She has to gain some weight, and there are several surgeries that need to be done, including cleft palate repair, cataracts removal, and possibly hearing restoration. So the battle is far from over.

Prayer Requests:
That Mandy will gain weight.
That we will get through the training successfully.
Please pray for wisdom and favor and discernment for everyone involved, and for the right decisions to be made. Ultimately that God’s perfect will be done.

I know this has been a long post and I appreciate your patience and support.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS. Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below. They are so encouraging to us.

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Weight Gain and Bootcamp

7. August 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

There have been some major developments. Mandy is doing well. She is up to 9.6 pounds now. Praise God! She is growing closer to being able to be discharged.

One very cool thing happened last night. Mandy was crying, and none of the usual things were wrong. Her diaper wasn’t wet, she did not need suctioning and it wasn’t time for her feeding. I picked her up and held her for a while. She stopped crying and calmed down. It was so cool and a bit surreal at the same time. I started to remember the first couple of months of her life. She was on a ventilator from about a week after she was born in late December until the Tracheotomy was done, which was in late February. During this time she was sedated, and we were not able to pick her up or play with her or care for her in any way. The nurses did everything, because of the mass of monitoring equipment, leads, IVs etc that were in place.

We are entering a new phase in our training. We are now staying at the hospital with Mandy, learning how to take care of her full time. Our plan is to stay for a full 3 weeks. So far I have learned how to do her feeds, prepare and administer her medication, and work to perfect my suctioning technique, along with Trach ties and trach replacement. Teresa has been learning how to dress Mandy, and change her diaper. This has been a bit of a challenge for her not being able to see.

One extremely cool thing to report is that we now have a whole new support team that is helping us with advocacy, resources, and more. This is one facet of help that we have not had up to this point. Arizona has a ton of resources that we were made aware of initially. Teresa and I are confident that we will be able to take care of Mandy.

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov 22:6 (NAS)

But we are not out of the woods yet. Please continue to pray for us for discernment, wisdom and the Lord’s will in our situation. I know that he will carry us through.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS. Teresa and I would like to thank those who have contributed. We could not have gotten this far without your help. Things are a bit crazy right now, and finances are stretched thin. But we know that God always comes through for us. If you would like to donate, you can use the button on the side to do so.

PSS. Please share your thoughts and prayers by clicking the comments link below. They are very encouraging to us.

PSSS. We are working on a new video, and should have it posted shortly, and I did not use my cell phone this time.

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CAT Scan Results

30. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

We have some good news. We got the results back from the CAT scan. There has been no change! Thank You Jesus! Everything else is going pretty well. We are still having some challenges with the training. More on that later

Thank You for Your Prayers

Michael and Teresa Blaes

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Our First Two Videos of Mandy

25. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

I just finished creating our first two videos of Mandy. Let us know what you think. I used my cell phone to shoot the video, so it is a bit rough.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below. You can also comment and vote by clicking the video itself.

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Surgery Postponed

22. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

Mandy’s Surgery was postponed. Her blood sugar dropped too low this morning and they had to put her back on feeds. For the surgery, she has to have an empty tummy. Ill let you when when it is rescheduled.

Thanks for your prayers
Michael and Teresa Blaes

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A Little Minor Surgery

22. July 2008 Michael

Hi Guys,

Just a quick update. My daughter Mandy is having a little surgery this morning. They are going to check the inside of her Broncil tubes, tummy and her hearing under sedation.

Please pray for her, for God’s healing and to direct the doctor’s hand. Teresa and I are confident and trusting that God will take care of her.
I will post an update later, and update everyone on her condition

Love In Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS. Please share you thoughts and prayers by clicking the comment link.

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Great News!

17. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

I have some great news to report. After almost a month of battling the system, I am happy to report that we are now insured! I was really starting to get frustrated, and was having some trouble keeping my cool. The wheels of the government grind exceedingly fine, and it takes them forever to get into motion. We did our best to dot every I and cross every T, submitted everything they wanted and more, and waited and waited and need I say waited. Finally after over a month of pulling out my hair, I got the call today. Their investigation is over and we have been approved! What an incredibly beautiful word. They not only approved Mandy but Teresa and I too! I have been without decent medical insurance for a while, and have let some things slip aside in regards to my health. I know I shouldn’t have, but Mandy’s needs took precedence over everything. We are overjoyed at this part of the battle being over. Now we are ready for the next step. That is finishing the training so that we can finally bring Mandy home. This has been the most difficult. It is extremely nerve-wracking when you are dealing with the Trach and you remember that that is the only way that she can breathe. Teresa has struggled with it the most. With her complete loss of sight, it is really difficult for her to cope with the idea of taking a piece of plastic and rubber and trying to find a tiny hole in her neck and then installing it before the hole closes. She is really concerned that she will not be able to accomplish this.

I will be the one who will take care of this type of stuff most of the time. But Teresa has to be prepared to replace the trach in an emergency.

Please pray that God will show us what we need to learn, so that we can finally bring Mandy home. Also pray for the wisdom to figure out techniques that Teresa can use by touch. Finally please pray against the fear that Teresa and I are dealing with, of not being able to take care of Mandy the way we need to.

These are the scriptures that we are standing on

2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Thank you for standing with us through this very difficult time. We appreciate all of the prayers and support we have received.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below.

PSS. If you know of anything that can help us, please leave it as well.

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Mandy is Gaining Weight and the Battle Continues

11. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys got a quick update.

Mandy is doing really well at this point She is up to 8.7 pounds now.

We are still fighting the battle with the State insurance people. We are having to deal with a lot of red tape. Its like they look for every reason to deny and very few reasons to approve you. It has been an uphill battle all the way. But yet I know that my redeemer lives. I also know that the Lord will bring us through this too. My God is my refuge, my ever present help in time of trouble.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS. Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link. We really appreciate your encouragement.

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Weight Update and Possible Discharge

6. July 2008 Michael

Hey guys

I just have a quickie. We went to see Mandy last night; she is back at 8.26 pounds! That’s a far cry from the 7.3 pounds that she was at when she went into the hospital. She seemed so much happier. Teresa was able to hold her for a few minutes, and she wasn’t fussy at all.
The hospital is looking into transferring her back to the lower care facility, not the nursing home. That may happen today but most likely tomorrow. We will keep you in the loop as things happen.

Does God answer Prayer or What!

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

Please feel free to share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below

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Mandy’s Recovery, Insurance and T-Shirts

5. July 2008 Michael

Hey Guys,

I hope everyone had a nice Independence Day!

I have a quick update for everyone. Mandy is doing very well. She is continuing to gain weight. It looks like the problem was caused by her thyroid. The doctors are convinced that her meds were set too high. That has been corrected. They are continuing the monitor her outputs and inputs, and they plan to run some more labs tomorrow. All in all everything is going well.

Teresa and I are starting to feel better. We caught some kind of a bug that wiped us out for a few days. And of course we had to stay away from Mandy, because we did not want her to catch whatever it was that we were carrying.

It looks like we will be able to get insurance for Mandy after all. It is just a matter of submitting the proper paperwork. We will take care of that on Monday. It’s a good thing too. Hospital care is getting very expensive. We ran up over twenty four thousand dollars since Mandy was admitted.

Thank you for your vigilance in prayer for us. We sense those prayers constantly. We are growing by leaps and bounds in our faith. Occasionally we still have doubts about Mandy’s care. But after talking to some other parents, I am starting to realize that this is how every parent feels. We just have a little more on our plates than most other parents. But I am confident that God is equipping us to take care of Mandy. We have a long way to go, but we are getting there.

Prayer Requests:

We are continuing to thank God for Mandy and Teresa’s healings.
Please continue to keep us in prayer concerning our business, for wisdom and direction. Also for our preparations to bring Mandy home.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below.

PSS. We will have the promotional items ready shortly. Below is a picture on one of the designs. Please let us know if you have any suggestions. Use the comment link. Thanks

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