Jayna's Arm

As we told you, Jayna broke her arm on June 5th in gym class. She had her first surgery that night to set the bones and clean out the open wound. Her arm was then put in a full arm cast and a sling. She spent one night in the hospital and came home. She was super brave and calm before and after the surgery! We were so proud of her! We went back to the surgeon the next week and found out that the bones were not set anymore and further surgery needed to be done. She had this next surgery this past Wednesday. Dr. Goethe put in elastic titanium nails in each bone. He had to make an extra incision than planned for the radius bone because it was off so bad. She spent another night in the hospital. Once again, Jayna was super brave and calm. She has done an excellent job with all of this! Now, she is recovering and feeling better everyday! PRAISE GOD ALL HE HAS DONE FOR JAYNA! Thank you for your prayers! July 1st is her next appointment. This is when she is supposed to get a PINK cast (still full arm) that her friends can sign! The nails will be surgically removed in 6-9 months. Here is what she has been up to lately: cuddling with her sister...
enjoying visits from special friends like Amber and Michelle... working on a memory book with people like Grandma Ellie...
playing school with friends like Aric...
and doing art projects. She also gets on the computer, reads books, plays games and goes outside as much as she can tolerate, along with many other things. This hasn't slowed her down too much, but there are times when she needs a rest. She is a champ in our books!

Autumn and Ann Arbor

Autumn had an Ann Arbor check-up last Friday. Things went very well. The only adjustment was an increase in her iron supplement just because her iron stores were a little low. Other than that, she is doing very well. She will go back in December for her annual ultrasound and semi-annual check-up. The doctor did say that she can have some more time in public this winter since she is getting stronger and proved this past winter she can make it through some sickness. The doctor wants her to gradually build up an immunity so she is ready for school in a few years. Of course they did remind me that the stomach flu may be a bit more incovenient for us than usual (as it has been this year) because we still have to be careful not to let her get dehydrated. I did ask the doctor if there is any chance that she might be able to remain this way forever (rather than heading for dialysis and a transplant). She said that she can't make any promises, but there is definitely a chance, especially if she continues to do well through illnesses, growth spurts and puberty. We will just leave it in God's hands as we have already. He is an amazing physician (especially when I am reminded of her crazy start to life - recessitated for 8 minutes, 83% blood loss, liver damage, no kidney function, multiple blood and plasma transfusions...) PRAISE GOD FOR THIS MIRACLE! I thought you might enjoy some pictures of her. This child has a personality all of her own. She loves everyone, she isn't afraid to take chances, she rarely stops moving, she speaks a mile a minute and she counts to 20. We lovingly call her the wild child. She is also our little monkey-very similar to Curious George.

She often finds a way out of her clothes.
She likes to wear a hat, on her own terms that is.
This girl loves books! That makes her dad and mom very happy!
She goes and goes until she crashes. She is either up or down, there is no in between.
She is just too cute for words in our eyes. Thank you Lord for our Autumn! What a miracle she is!

Now, please pray for Jayna...she will be having another surgery tomorrow on her arm. We pray that this one works. We know God is in control of this too. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you Lord for our Jayna! We love her so much!

We Are Here

So here is what is up....

• Today was Jen's last day of school - so be prepared for lots of posts in the next couple of weeks.



• Jayna fell at school in gym class on the second to last day of school (June 5, 2008) - she broke both of the bones in her arm with one puncturing her skin causing her to bleed. She had surgery that night and will have another surgery on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. More details later - I promise.



• 2nd Annual Terry Hess Memorial Golf Tournament was a great success with around 40 people participating - Lots of great fun and memories of Pops.



• Autumn is going to Ann Arbor tomorrow (Friday) for an appointment - I am sure that Jen will share about that also in the next week or so.



• Spring / Summer is here in Michigan - we have been enjoying it very much so far - the flowers are beautiful - the grass is green - the birds are loving our food. It has been very enjoyable around here.

Enjoy a couple of pictures - more in the next week or so.