DAN GOULD

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Category: Family

  • Got one down!

    Josiah is starting to memorize scripture with me.  We have been in a series called HABITS on the weekend with our students.  One of the HABITS that has been weak for me is memorizing scripture.  So, I asked Josiah if he wants to do memorize some verses with me, of coarse he said yes.  He is so good he already has our first verse down.  Here is his translation of Hebrews 13:8

    “Jesus Christ is the same the other day, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

    He is doing so good and it is cute that he says the other day instead of yesterday.  I am excited to see how far this goes for both of us!

  • Dip N Dot’s and Nana to the Rescue

    Jackson has been doing pretty well with his sore throat, however he is running a fever and doesn’t want to drink or eat anything.  This poses a huge challenge since he had oral meds that have to be taken.  His fever got to about 100 degrees and we had to cool him off in the bath tub.  Pretty scary for parents of a kid who has febrile seizures when his fever gets high.  After we got the fever down we had to figure out how to get the meds in him for the night.  This is when Nana came to the rescue!!!

    Jackson will eat Dip N Dots, so we put the meds in a spoon with a couple of Dip N Dots and walla, Jackson took all of his meds! Tricky I know, but we were able to out smart a 16 month old!!!

    Praise Jesus for Dip N Dot’s and Nana!!

  • Jackson is coming Home!

    We made it!!!!  Jackson had surgery yesterday at 7:00 am the procedure to take out his adenoids and tonsils only took 20 minutes at most.  We were fortunate that Jackson slept off the sleepy juice instead of getting really cranky and mad.  The doctor said that typically kids come out of anaesthesiology very irritable and upset.

    Yesterday seemed to be pretty easy in the Hospital, we had a great nurse named Latrina.  Our ENT said that the first day is always the easiest, GREAT, and days 3-5 are the hardest!  So we will see how it goes for the next couple of days.

    After spending all day at the Hospital, Josiah and I came home to sleep while Stephanie and Nana stayed at the Hospital.  Stephanie said that Jackson slept very good last night, didn’t toss or turn like he normally does and was quiet.  The quiet thing we will have to get use to.

    Special thanks for the prayers, visits, and stories of similar scenarios.  This always helps us realize we are not alone and shows us how BIG God is!

    Jackson and Daddy 1 hour after surgery
    Jackson and Daddy 1 hour after surgery

  • Surgery Tomorrow

    Jackson is all set for surgery tomorrow.  We have to be at Centennial Medical Center at 5:30 am.  Yuck!!  His surgery is scheduled for 7:00am and should only take about 30 minutes to take out his adenoids and tonsils.  From there we will go to recovery, then to his own room on the pediatrics floor for at least 24 hours of monitoring.  The ENT said that days 4-6 are the worst and we have to keep him hydrated.

    We welcome visitors and would love the continued prayer.  Nana will be here tonight to watch Josiah and care for all of us.

  • Great Podcast – After the Heart

    Well, we still have no new news on Jackson’s sleep study and are hoping to have some info tomorrow.  Luckily we do have a monitor that seems to alert us if he stops breathing for more than 10 seconds.  Its’ something we have had for awhile but didn’t really know we could trust it or not, but after two nights of us taking turns staying awake watching him and watching the monitor we both tried to go to sleep at the same time last night.  I don’t know if it did any-good, it seemed like both of us were up every hour checking on him.  So please continue to pray.  Here’s how you can pray specifically!

    Well tonight, on my walk, I know I am sounding old, but it’s part of the new habits I am trying to create, I listed to a podcast from the village church with Matt Chandler over Luke (part 30) After the Heart.  Great talk and if you are a Fusion Volunteer, one you should check out; it’s only 37 minutes long!  You can get it here or on itunes the village church podcast.

  • Prayer for Jackson and Us – Update

    Thanks for your prayers!

    Jackson was a trouper last night.  The ladies that work there said they got one of the best reads they ever have on an child his age.  I guess that is good news.  The bad news is we won’t know the results for 72 hours.  That means one of us has to be awake to monitor his sleeping.  Our pediatrician thinks it could be a form of acid reflux, something I don’t think our ENT doctor mentioned.  However, he mentioned it could be something neurological, which if you know our story, Jackson has a neurologist and is already on meds for Myoclonic Seizures to which he is supposes to grow out of by age four or five.

    It has been a stressful month with 3 hospital visits with Jackson including 2, 2 night stays and 1 ER visit for about 4 hours.  I can’t express how much your prayers mean to us.  We are humbled by your kind words and so appreciative of you interceding to the Father on our behalf!  With that we will always be grateful!

    Here is how you can pray specifically:

    – Pray for HEALING

    – Pray that God would be in Control

    – Pray that the doctors have wisdom in what is going on and how to treat it

    – Pray that Josiah still gets attention and isn’t affected negatively by whats going on with Jackson

    – Pray that God would be our provider spiritually, physically, emotionally, and financially

    – Pray that God would multiply our sleep, comfort our fears, and give us supernatural peace and rest

  • Prayer for Jackson and Us

    Tonight, Jackson will go to a sleep study to see why he stops breathing and why he snores/wheezes tosses and turns.  Yesterday the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist said that Jackson’s Adenoids and Tonsils weren’t extremely large and so now we are taking the next step and praying that the sleep study will get a good read and be able to determine the problem and cause.

    Please pray for our sanity.  Stephanie and I both seem to be emotionally, and physically drained.  It’s hard enough dealing with the seizures and now with all of this I feel we have hit our limit.  I don’t think I have felt so helpless before.  I want to fix it but can’t.  I have been praying this verse since last night.  It was the theme verse for our small groups talking about coping and how we do that when stressful things happen.

    “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

  • Our Early Time

    This morning as we were getting ready Josiah said something that really caught me off guard but encouraged me also.  As he was in the shower he said, “Dad, we haven’t had our early time yet.”  I had to ask him what our early time was and this is what he said.  You know that time you get up early to talk with God.  WOW!

    A couple of weeks ago Josiah got up a little after I had and came out in the living room to ask what I was doing.  I told him that I get up early to read my Bible and talk with God.  I had no idea that it totally registered with him, but after today I understand that it has.

    Here is the lesson for me . . . He is watching everything that I do!  I know I have a lot of bad traits and habits that unfortunately Josiah and Jackson will probably pick up.  However, what I model for them is impacting them in real ways.  Nothing humbles me and yet excites me more than what Josiah shared with me today.  It almost like I was being held accountable by a 4 year old.  But he is watching, and as he grows, he will remember that his dad would get up early to spend time with God, and hopefully he will do the same thing because I modeled that for him.

    This song captures what I am feeling right now!

  • Back from Cali and the crazies begin

    Stephanie and I had a great time in California attending The Gathering at Saddleback Church.  It was a much needed break!  However, when we returned it didn’t take Jackson long to give us another scare.

    When Jackson sleeps he sleeps hard, but he sounds like he is snoring but we are learning that it is probably more of a wheeze.  On Sunday Night, he decided to stop breathing while he was sleeping.  Stephanie and I are already on edge at night because of his history, so we called the doctor, and the nurse asked how long he would go without breathing, I told her that I put my hand on him and he started breathing again.  The nurse said that it could be a form of sleep apnea and we should take him to the hospital.  So, we wake up Jackson, load up Josiah and start driving to the Children’s Hospital that we got to visit just 2 weeks ago.  Of coarse at this time Jackson is awake and seems to be his normal energetic self.  The ER Doctors were great, and said that by what they are seeing there is no reason for them to keep him; but if we would feel better they could monitor him through the night.  So we asked to stay since we have already met our deductible and just paid the $100.00 co-pay to address a problem that is unseen when he was a wake.

    So, Sunday Night Stephanie and Jackson stayed the night in the Hospital and Joe and I came home.  Jackson didn’t sleep much Sunday night so they were not able to observe him like we had hoped for.  He did fall asleep for a little nap in the morning and the nurses were able to hear him sleep.  At least they were able to hear what we hear and understand why we were there.  Later that afternoon Jackson fell asleep for a longer period of time and again stopped breathing a couple of times and the nurses were able to witness it this time first hand.  The monitors that were hooked up to him showed that he stopped breathing for about 7 seconds a time.  That’s good news but still not normal.  After they saw this, they did a throat and nose x-ray to see if there was any blockage and called an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.  We have an appointment tomorrow with the same doctor that clipped Jackson’s tongue when he was newborn.  The doctor says that it could be his tonsils or adenoids.  His tonsils are to much bigger than they are supposed to be but she couldn’t see his adenoids.  So needless to say we are home.  We know a little bit more than we did on Sunday, but we still have a son that stops breathing when he is sleeping.  Please continue to pray for him and our Family.

  • Goooooaaaaal . . . Pumpkin Patch . . . Friends

    Today started early with Josiah’s soccer game.  Joe played really well, he had a couple of assist, takeaways, and scored four goals.  It was so much fun watching.  Nana, and Papa were here to take in all the action.  From there, we ate breakfast at McDonald’s and then went to a pumpkin patch to pick up some pumpkins for Josiah and Jackson.  The boys had a great time picking out their pumpkins and playing with the straw.  All the pumpkins sold helps raise money for a youth group mission trip.  Great Idea!!! Right now, Josiah has his neighborhood friends in the backyard playing with the water table.  Here are some pics from today.