Dan Gould

Category: Health

  • Jackson Update #3 Childrens Medical Dallas

    Well today didn’t go like we expected.  Jackson has kept his O2 on most of the day.  When they take it off his level drops so they have to put it back on.  They tested today to see if he picked up a virus other than the croup he has.  At this point it seems like the original reason why we were here has become secondary to the condition he is in now.  He has slept all day and has to be held by Stephanie or myself.  If not he cries.  The Nurse sucked his nose and throat to remove some of the mucus.  It made him very upset and seemed to have a little affect.

    So, we go into the night with a lot of questions and not a lot of answers.  They did a swab test today and we will get those results in the morning.  They have pretty much put him in a quarantine set up, doctors, nurses and visitors have to wear mask.  Kinda reminds me of ET but not that extreme.

    The doctor just came in and asked if he Jackson was RSV positive.  So they said they will continue the O2 and and suction all night.  Sounds like tonight isn’t going to be fun!!!

    His fever just went up to 103.  For Jackson that is beyond the danger zone for seizures.  It’s starting to come down now we have to keep it down so we don’t have to worry about seizures on top of the other stuff!  Please pray everyone gets some much needed sleep!!!!

  • Jackson Update #2 from Childrens Medical Dallas

    Update, Jackson is in a regular room now, things looked like they were getting better last night, until about 11:00pm when he started having some difficulty breathing and they put him back on O2.  We were hoping to go home today but have been told we can’t leave until Jackson is eating on his own (which he is not doing), off of O2, and has been monitored in both a day and night setting.

    Today, he acts like he is sick.  He wants to be held all the time, which is not like Jackson, and his eyes are red and puffy.  His stomach seems to be bloated, it’s really stiff, from what we think to be air.  But we are not doctors just parents.  They are getting ready to suction his nose right now.  The nurse agrees that Jackson looks worse today than yesterday.  So I don’t exactly know what that means yet.  I guess we will see how the day goes . . . kinda scary to be honest!

    We continue to pray for God’s healing, strength, perseverance for ourselves, and wisdom for the doctors!  We are so thankful for friends and family!

  • Jackson ICU update

    As many of you know at the conclusion of the Grace Fusion Bowl during the Chili Challenge, Jackson had a seizure while at church.  His seizure only lasted a bout 5 minutes but his eyes didn’t look normal.  We took him to to the ER at Children’s Medical Center Plano.  While there, Jackson had another seizure.  This happened while they were poking him trying to get blood.  They poked several times, very frustrating when they turn your child into a pin cushion.   After about 2-3 hour in the ER with several nurses attending him they transported us to the ICU at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.  I guess seizure + croup = ICU

    We have made it through the night, Jackson is still fighting a fever, up and down, up and down.  His room is a refrigerator.  The attendant says that Jackson will be moved to his own room this afternoon.  We will be here at least another 24 to make sure he transitions to oral meds ok.

    Both Stephanie and I are tiered from the fun football tournament yesterday.  We have one champion in the family.  Stephs team took first place in the girls division.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get the luxury of sleeping in our own bed, Stephanie, got the luxury of sleeping on the fold out chair in his room and I got the not so awesome recliner in the waiting room.

    Thanks for all the prayers and texts.  It really speaks to our heart and is so encouraging to read the words and see the support.  Things like this make you feel isolated and lonely, something the enemy takes pleasure in.  However, seeing these just reminds us of Gods love and Faithfulness to us.

    I will update my twitter (check the side bar for updates, or follow me as a friend) and facebook more often than this blog so check there so you can know how to pray as things arise!

  • Pneumonia Again and a Blast from the Past

    That’s right Jackson now has pneumonia for the 3rd time this year.  Luckily we caught it before it got to bad and needed to be in the hospital.  He seems to be doing better already.  We picked up a battery operated nose aspirator from Wal-Mart yesterday and it has been amazing so far.  However, it is gross when the clear cup fills up with green snot after sucking a kids nostril.

    On another note, while working on my talk for this weekend, I had a music shuffle going on through itunes and came across a song that believe it or not, played a huge role in my transformation at age 18.  Music has a powerful way to influence us whether we want to admit it or not.  I found a video on youtube with the song.  Listen and Enjoy! (Warning, it is a rap song, so don’t hurt yourself bobbin you head or waving your arms in the air like ya just don’t care!)

  • 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.

  • 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)

  • 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.