RS-Virus again …

Rachel didn’t have a good night … She is full of phlegm and due to this the doctors have decided to “tube-feed” her for various reasons – Primarily Rachel is very short of breath. Drinking her milk also seems to be increasing the chest congestion, and she’s also coughing a lot.

To Angela it seems as though Rachel has again picked up a Respiratory syncytial virus (RS-virus), as she had in South Africa during May. The RS-Virus is a common cause of acute bronchitis in small children, and Rachel certainly seems to be showing those symptoms.

Furthermore, Rachel isn’t too comfortable with her feeding tube and was constantly pulling it out, so the nurses had to tape her hand closed with some ad-hoc mittens.

We pray Rachel and Angela will have a peaceful night – Although Rachel was exhausted and sleeping when we got there this evening just after six, she later woke up (approx. 7:15pm) , and having just got off the phone of Ang’ now (10pm) I’ve learnt Rachel has been crying ever since …

God Bless

7th Month

Today Rachel is 7 Months old … It’s also the 31st Day that she’s been in Dubai Hospital. She seems to be doing ok, but had a bit of a fever when we arrived to visit with her this afternoon. Angela was with her and had already asked for some medication which seemed to have broken the fever.

Rachel seems to be getting weaker, but it looks like it’s just making her hold on so much more tightly – She’s still very alert, and fully aware of what’s going on around her – She follows conversations by turning her head to the speaker and when asked to “smile for the camera” most of the times she will … Too cute!

Please pray with us as we continue to love our little princess and wait on the Lord for his grace to us all …

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be Psalm 139:16b (NIV)

Yours in Him
The Verrips Family

Sweet like Chocolate

Angela gave Rachel some Chocolate today – As you can clearly see … Rachel LOVES chocolate!.

Tooth be told!

Rachel is doing better – Her Sodium levels have returned to normal, which means that when we were visiting with her this afternoon she was a lot more alert, “Smiled for the camera” and seemed to constantly be looking at whoever was talking …

Also, and this is the really exciting bit – You’ll notice a new link (on the left menu of this website) to Rachel’s Toothchart - Why? ’cause today her first two teeth popped out after what must’ve been the longest teething period ever :-)

Both her bottom central incisors (That’s bottom middle to the rest of us) have erupted – Click on the link for a graphic presentation

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Nathan Art

Nathan painted this for Prianka – It’ll be her birthday on Sunday
(Click for a larger version)

Rachel’s unstable

The doctors said this morning that Rachel is in an “unstable” condition – Looking at her observations (Click on the small image for a more detailed on) you can see she’s not doing too well.

Her temperature is stable (praise the Lord) showing that she doesn’t have an infection.

Her respiration however is very fast at times, and slow at other times – Her respiration seems linked to her girth though – The girth measurements show the effects of the ascites (i.e. fluid ’round her liver/spleen) and the draining there-of, and thus subsequently the speed at which she is breathing, (i.e. her respiration)

What is not included in the graph is her blood pressure, which follows pretty much the same pattern as her pulse-rate – Her BP peaks at around 102/51 and has once dropped to 67/35 but usually is in the region 80/40

At the risk of this turning into a medical journal, the long and short of it is that Rachel seems to be staying steading in her deterioration. What Doctor Badriya did however stress this morning as well was the fact that Rachel is loosing a lot of weigh, and the blood tests they did this morning also shows her sodium levels are very low.

Most of the body’s sodium is located in the blood and in the fluid in the space surrounding the cells. Sodium is required by all cells in the body to maintain a normal fluid balance. Sodium plays a key role in normal nerve and muscle function.

We’re worried because the brain is particularly sensitive to changes in the sodium level in the blood. Symptoms of something low sodium levels, i.e. Hyponatremia are lethargy and confusion, and we’ve definitely noticed that Rachel is a lot more restful these days (i.e. lethargic). As hyponatremia becomes more severe, muscle twitching and seizures may occur which we pray will not be the case.

The challenge is that due to the amount of fluid that is drained every other day, and the subsequent fluid intake via the her drip, Rachel’s little kidney’s are very confused with the sodium levels, but the doctors are giving her something for it, and we pray it will keep her comfortable.

We pray also that the Lord will continue to keep us all in His Grace.

Yours in Him

Roy, Ang, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Pic of the Day

21 today …

It was on a Wednesday, three weeks ago that Rachel was last admitted into Hospital and she hasn’t been home since. This is the longest single stretch she’s been in hospital, a day longer than when she was in Pretoria East Hospital in May with the RS virus, and week longer than when she was born in early April.

I spent the afternoon with Rachel today, giving Angela a chance to spend some time with Ma as the two of them hardly ever see each other as they work opposing shifts at the hospital.

I enjoyed the time with my little darling – She is so cute and very eager to have a bit of fun – We played “Peek-a-boo” and “Where’s the baby” and she enjoyed that a lot. She’s developed the cutest facial expressions when she’s looking at something and concentrating on it and her eyes seem to “say” a lot more these days.

Rachel is however getting weaker and more subdued daily. During the five hours I spent with her yesterday she slept for about four of them – Her blood-pressure is gradually dropping, indicating a weakening heart, which is very understandable given the amount of strain it’s under due to the portal hypertension. She seems very drowsy at times – We praise and thank the Lord though as her comfort level seems to have increased, i.e. either the pain she was experiencing in the last couple days of last week has gone away, or she’s dealing with it a lot better with the help of the pain medication.

We continue to ask our Lord for strength and vitality during this time – The routine of the daily swap-over between Ma and Angela, and the hospital visits with Rachel, is not only an emotional drain on all of us (Nathan included) but is physically draining at times as well – As I locked up our home a few minutes ago Angela, Nathan and Dad were all fast asleep, clearly exhausted from everything that has been happening these last three weeks.

We entrust ourselves in the Hands and Will of our Lord and know He is keeping us in His grace

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Nathan’s Spider

Today at “playgroup” Nathan made this spider – Even though it’s legs are very short and it’s body is very big it’s still pretty much able to stand up off the table. Nathan has also been singing “Incy Wincy Spider” ever since coming home …

Nathan’s Bat and Rachel’s Portal Hypertension

At the moment Nathan is learning all about Animals at Ms Kay’s place – Today he made this “bat” … Isn’t it cool!?!

Rachel seems to be a lot more comfortable now that she’s on pain medication – The doctors are a bot concerned for her though as she now seems to also have portal hypertension, which can be expected in a someone with final stages of liver failure.

You see, normally, blood is carried to the liver by a major blood vessel called the portal vein. If blood can’t flow easily through the liver because of cirrhosis, the blood gets slowed down in this vein and the pressure inside the vein increases. This higher blood pressure in the portal vein is called portal hypertension.

If blood can’t flow normally through the portal vein, it must return to the heart using other blood vessels. These vessels become swollen because of the increased amount of blood flowing through them. They are called varices. Varices have thin walls and can easily break open because they aren’t meant to handle such high-pressure blood flow. Bleeding from a broken blood vessel is serious and can even be fatal.

Yet, our God is an awesome God and we praise Him for the wonderful love he displays unto us.

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma.

As you can see, Rachel is smiling again – Last night she was on Oxygen through the night and this helped clear up her chest a lot. They’ve also started giving her some pain killers (Paracetamol) which has her a whole lot more comfortable too.

She’s sleeping soundly and is clearly not in nearly as much discomfort – When they drained her today though more than 300mls of fluid came out. The doctors are worried as it seems to be coming out very quickly when they “tap” her.

Angela and Ma are subsequenly doing a lot better as well now that Rachel is more comfortable.

Other news is that the month of Ramadan has started and most Muslims (i.e. more than 60% of the people in Dubai) have taken to fasting from prayers at sunrise (Sohour) to prayertime at Sunset (Iftar). Out of respect for those fasting most restaurants are closed during the day, and eating or drinking in public is considered to be disrespectful and could result in imprisonment (At least that’s the Urban Legend we’ve been lead to believe) – Please pray with us as we pray for those “lost” amoungst us.

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Update on Rachel

Rachel is not doing too well at the moment – I spent the afternoon with her while Angela, Nathan, Dad and Ma did some pre-Ramadan shopping.

Rachel seems to be terribly uncomfortable. When she’s not sleeping she’s either moaning, groaning or crying and it’s not easy for any us seeing her in so much pain. The doctors are a little apprehensive in administering pain medication fearing it will adversely effect Rachel given the strain her little body is in already under.

Please pray with us as we ask our Lord to be with Rachel during this time and give her peace, comfort and rest.

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Nathan’s Sheep and Jammies

When Nathan woke up this morning we asked him what he wanted to take to school for “show-and-tell” – He said he wanted to take his “jammies” (i.e. His Flannel Pyjamas with Dinosaur print) – They were a BIG hit and after Nathan told his friends all about it, they apparently “past it ayound” (i.e. passed it around)

Continuing on this weeks theme of “Animals” Nathan also made this beautiful “Baa-baa-black-sheep” from cotton-wool of which he’s really very proud.

When we went to visit Rachel this evening, she was still as smiley as ever, but a little bit more deteriorated than yesterday – Her breathing in noticeably heavy and Dr Sanaa had drained 270ml’s of fluid off her just before we arrived. The little red blotches (Petechia) are also stating to show more all over her body, indicating her blood clotting profile and platelets are also continuing to drop.

Nathan is going to the Zoo tomorrow, so Ma will stay with Rachel this evening and Angela will take Nathan to school tomorrow …

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan, Rachel, Dad and Ma

Some Pic’s of Rachel taken with my P900

Fruity Nathan

At Ms Kay’s place today Nathan made a Fruit-Kebab, which he proceeded to eat for lunch :-)

He also says he “played with toys” and did some reading in the “quiet room”

Henri Hendrikus Maarten Verrips (“Pappa” to Roy and Angela and “Oupa” to Nathan and Rachel) is 61 today!

Happy Birthday, Pappa!

We pray the Lord will continue to bless Pappa

Rachel Update

Rachel’s condition is staying pretty steady at the moment – She has however developed a cold and cough’s every now and then. The nurses are also suctioning some phlem off her every couple of hours.

As the little miracle she is, though, she still continues to keep smiling through it all.

Please continue to pray with us as we thank our Lord for this blessing and the joy we feel everytime Rachel smiles, and that we are still able to enjoy and love her So much.

Yours in Him

Roy, Angela, Nathan and Rachel (And Dad and Ma, who will both be with us ’till end November)

Rachel

Rachels condition is pretty much the same as it’s been for the past few days. The doctors haven’t tapped her for two days now, and today she looked noticeably uncomfortable, but still managed to smile for us.

Her drip though needs to be moved, and chances are they’ll try a vein in her foot next.

Please also pray for Rachel’s room-mate, Minhal, a little girl around the same age as Rachel, but with a pretty bad illness (we’re not too sure what) that has left her almost paralysed. There is nothing the doctors can do for Minhal either as her condition is rapidly deteriorating.

Please pray for Minhal’s mother and father, who, also like Angela and I, have a first child, who is 3 years old.

God Bless

Roy

Full of Giggles

Angela enjoyed the time with Nathan today and did some shopping with Dad while I managed to get away from work early. We got to the hospital just after five thirty to find our little angel in a very good mood, smiling, and even giggling.

Lori (Pastor Daniels wife) was there as well, and we were glad to all enjoy Rachel as the beautiful little princess we’ve come to know and love so much. The Doctors didn’t drain her today, and they said they’ll try keep the tapping to a minimum as her body is obviously taking a lot of strain from the procedure and her liver seems to just produce more liquid as quickly as it get’s removed.

Ang’ will spend the night with Rachel tonight.

Click on the image to see more pictures of Rachel smiling and giggling with us this evening …

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Sea-shells and Rainbows

Angela slept at home last night (i.e. Ma slept at Hospital with Rachel) and she and Dad slept late while I took Nathan to school in rather thick fog. Nathan was armed with the sea-shells he picked up on Sharjah beach last Friday for “show and tell” and was so excited that the moment he got to Miss Kay’s place he started unpacking his bag and showing it to all his friends.

During the rest of the morning they made rainbows and Nathan has a very pretty song to sing about it all as well … “Red and Yellow, Pink and Green, Pink and Green, Pink and Green, Red and Yellow, Pink and Green, Purple and Orange and Blue … I can sing a Rainbox, sing a Rainbow … I can sing a Rainbow to you!” (Extremely cute!)