Tag: Prayer

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 Recovery, Insurance and T-Shirts

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

A Sincere Thank You and an Update

mandy0325.jpgHi Guys,

 I just wanted to express my heart-felt thanks for the donations that came through. We were able to raise enough to cover the next two payments.

 It was just the timing that threw the budget out of sync. We had some unexpected expenses that came at the wrong time.

 Again Thank You

 Back to Mandy……

We started training on Wednesday, and so far everything is going well. The facility that she is in is awesome, and the staff are incredibly patient and hospitable. I practiced suctioning some more, and began to learn how to setup and change her feeds. Friday I am supposed to learn now to change out trach.

According to Mandy’s doctor, she will be at the hospital for about a month. They have to wean her off of one of the medications before they can release her to our care. And of course we have to know how to take care of her.

 Mandy is not a fussy baby  at all. She cries when she needs something, diaper changed, trach suctioned, etc. But once the need is filled she settles down right away. She has a very soft cry that you really have to learn to listen for. In fact it is uusally the monitors that let us know something is wrong.

 One of the funny but annoying things is she is starting to wiggle more, moving her arms and legs. But everytime she moves too much it sets off the monitors. The technology is just not geared for children. 

To be honest, its refreshing, seeing her move around, and not have to be sedated all the time. At one point she was on 3 different pain medications all at the same time. So she was always groggy and not very responsive. Now Im starting to see her personality emerge, and it is really cool.

Thanks for all the prayers,

Love in Christ
Michael and Teresa Blaes

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matt 19:14 (NLT)

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

PSS. Let me know what you think of the new banner.

Mandy isdoing well, but lots of challanges ahead

Hey Guys, Just a quick update on Mandy. She is dong pretty well at the moment. We saw her today and she is definitely gaining weight. Her weight is 7 pounds 7 ounces. She is still on the ventilator. They plan to let her rest while she grows. They are increasing her calories every day. The plan is to eventually try to take her off the ventilator again. If she cannot function without life support, then they will probably do a tracheotomy . The good thing about this is that Mandy would not have to be as sedated she has to be now. She will be able to move around a little more which would be awesome. But it would require another surgery. So once again it’s all in God’s Hands. Thank You for All the Prayers! God will bless your vigilence. Watch and pray that you not enter into temptation. Math 26:41Love in Christ
Michael and Tresa Blaes  

A little setback

Hey Guys,I have a quick update on Mandy. They were noticing that her blood pressure was really low last night. So they took her off of feedings. This morning they noticed that she was having a lot of trouble breathing. So they tried putting her on CPAP which she didn’t tolerate well at all. So they put her back on the breathing machine. She is doing better now. They are not sure why. There is a chance that her lungs are getting too much blood. They are also considering that she may have an infection. So they are starting antibiotics just in case.  Please pray that they can figure out what is wrong. Also that Teresa and I have the strength to endure. It is kind of frustrating her making progress and then falling back. If God wants to heal her instantly I would not mind that either. Ultimately she is in God’s hands.  Michael Blaes

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