Tag: Mandy

First Week at Home

Hey Guys,

Hopefully you had the opportunity to read my last post. Mandy has been home with us for a week now and things are going great. Her weight as of this morning is 15.6 pounds. So she is continuing to gain steadily. But there have been some very cool things that have happened as well

Her skin has improved. She used to get horrible diaper rash and rashes on her face. That has cleared up. Mandy has very sensitive skin, and it had gotten to the point having to use water wipes to clean her bottom. Now we use the wipes designed for sensitive skin, and she is doing just fine. I think it must have been the industrial cleaners that were used on her clothing and bedding at the hospital.

Mandy does require a lot of care. Fortunately we have a lot of help. We have a nurse during the day from 7am to 3pm. Then Teresa and I have her care from 3pm to 11pm. After that we have attendant care from 11pm to 7am. It has been a lot of help.

Teresa and I are still catching up on sleep, but I hear that’s par for the course with a new baby. I’m sure that we will make the adjustments needed.

Thank You for all the prayers and support!

Love in Christ
Michael Blaes

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Does Kurt Warner really know my daughter?

Hi Guys,

Kurt Warner holding Mandy
Kurt Warner holding Mandy

It has been a busy time for us. As I mentioned in my last post, Teresa and I have been staying at the hospital for almost a month now, learning all of the aspects of Mandy’s care. Its been an incredible time, getting to know her all over again and finally being a family. Let me recap some of the things that have happened.

We have Mandy on the passing air valve up to about 30 minutes at a time. I cant tell ‘you how cool it was to hear her making noise for the first time. Actually I can. I created a video, keep an eye out for the link. I cannot wait to hear her babble and cry.

Next Mandy is continuing to get more and more active. Ive seen her lie on her tummy and hold up her head and look around. She’s doing that very consistently now. And yesterday She propelled herself from one side of the crib to the other in one push with her legs. It will not be long now! Once she gets started, there will be no stopping her.

Also Mandy has some pretty famous friends. There are a group of ladies from the Arizona Cardinals that come in to volunteer, including Alice Wizenhunt, the coaches wife, and Brenda Warner, Kurt Warner’s wife and they all adore Mandy. But last Friday, we got the ultimate surprise. Kurt Warner himself showed up in our hospital room! He even held Mandy for a bit. Teresa and I were just astounded to meet him, especially after he gave all the Glory to God after the NFC Championship. It was a treat that I will long remember.

Back to the training…

Teresa and I have finished all of the training. Now it’s down to one final test. We have to do total care for her for 24 hours. That is set for tomorrow morning. Please pray that God will give us what we need to get through. Ill try to post tomorrow and let you know how things went. Shortly after that Mandy will go home. All of the pieces are in place now.

Mandy is going home and we cant wait!

Love in Christ

Michael Blaes

P.S. Please share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below.

Mandy Is getting Better!

Mandy Sitting Up Almost On Her Own
Mandy Sitting Up Almost On Her Own

Hi Guys,

I have some major updates.

Mandy is doing fantastic! She is gaining weight steadily now, and is up to 11 pounds. She is starting to look around, and pay attention to the things going on around her. A couple of days ago, I was watching the Occupational Therapist working with her. She was sitting in a little chair, just slightly propped up. She was holding her head up and playing with a toy that played music and vibrated. It brought tears to my eyes thinking about everything that Teresa, Mandy and I have gone through over the last 10 months. It has been an incredible journey and its just beginning. Mandy has surprised us over and over again. She is truly amazing! God has uniquely created her and despite her challenges she will fulfill the plan that he has set up for her. We just have to raise her up according to the scriptures and know by faith that she will not depart from it.

But alas I digress…..

Mandy has seen several doctors since my last post, including her Cardiologist, Pediatrician and a plastic surgeon who will hopefully fix her cleft palate. The cardiologist is very happy with her progress. The last set of echograms look really good. There is another hole in her heart, but he is hoping that it will close on its own.

Her pediatrician is pleased as well, with her weight gain and progress.

The plastic surgeon was concerned about her size and her “failure to thrive” She wants to see how she develops and will follow up in about 6 months.

Finally Mandy’s surgery has been postponed until the middle of November. They are going to put tubes in her ears and check her hearing again under sedation. Ill let you know when it is, once they finalize the scheduling.

Thank you for all the prayers. God is truly amazing and never lets us down!

Love In Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS I have been asked several times to share the back-story behind Mandy’s story, and am starting to work on it. Ill post it as I finish it.

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

Mandy’s Challenges with Emesis

Hey Guys,

Just a quick update….

Mandy is doing pretty well. She has so far continued to gain weight. However she is still having problems with vomiting or emesis as it is called in the medical community. This is slowing down her progress.

I have been trying to discover the cause for Mandy’s occasional tummy troubles, but have been unable to isolate it. We have tried different things; including making sure that her formula is made with distilled water. However the problem still occurs.

After two hospitalizations, and Mandy being poked and prodded in every way imaginable, all of her lab tests have turned up nothing productive.

I am very concerned about this issue, but am confident that everything that can be done or checked out has been done. Her Doctor is not overly concerned about the problem. He thinks it might have something to do with the pressure in her brain shifting, or perhaps her intestines. Frankly he doesn’t know. He is staying on top of the situation, and will hospitalize her again if necessary.

I know that God knows what is causing this problem. He is the great physician, and can reveal it to her doctor, or he can heal it instantly. I have learned through much trial and error, you don’t put God in a box. He will take care of it in the way that he wants to and there is no way to pin him down.

So like everything else, I have to trust him and rest in his arms. He has never let me down, and I know he won’t let Mandy down either.

So all of that being said, you now know what the prayer needs are. Also pray for wisdom and direction for Teresa and me.

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

PS. Please feel free to share your thoughts by clicking the comment link below. These comments are always encouraging, and God often uses them to remind us of his love and provision.

Weight Gain and Bootcamp

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. 🙂

Mandy Continues to Do Well

Hey Guys,

Mandy is continuing to do well. All of her stats are looking great. The doctors are starting to reduce some of her meds. I cannnot wait to see her on Monday. Thank You for all the prayers.

Regarding the website:

I finally got the autoresponder form posted. If you subscribe, it will send you a notification every tme I update the blog.

Feel free to comment below. Its very encouraging for us to read your thoughts and prayers.

Love In Christ

Michael and Teresa Blaes