Dec 19; Isabella Comes Home! (Again)

After 7 days Bella was released for home! (still using oxygen). As of today, Dec 22, Isabella no longer needs oxygen and is fully restored to health. I do believe in the power of prayer and beleve that yours made a difference. Thank you.

We celebrated her homecoming a couple days later by giving Isabella her first bite of food! (See picture, Dec 21. Click on images to enlarge)

Dec 12, 2008: Very Close Call

On Friday morning we came very close to losing Isabella...

The previous Wednesday (Dec 10) we were on our way to the Sao Paulo airport to spend Christmas in the USA. We saw that Isabella had a runny nose, turned the car around and came home.

By Thursday evening, her breathing was increasingly labored. On Friday morning, her oxygen saturation suddenly dropped alarmingly (we keep her hooked up to a vital signs monitor) and her heart rate nearly doubled, and she became placid with her eyes rolling back. . We called the paramedic pediatric team-- an excellent free service of the State with trained medical doctors, Within minutes, the paramedic team zoomed up a one way street and screeched to a halt in front of our building.

In the ambulance, the doctor told the driver to "make it a code 3" which is evidently for the most pressing emergencies, whereupon we blazed through intersections with lights, sirens, and horns. I was in the passenger seat thinking we were all going to die.

Upon arrival at the hospital, they immediately moved Isabella to the ICU. At this point she cannot live without supplimental oxygen, and I am back to sleeping in the ICU waiting room at night while Corenne spends the day with Isabella.

Despite being terribly sick Isabella can't help giving her nurse friends a smile within her little oxygen tent - I reached in and snapped this picture on Sunday.

November 2008: Life with Isabella

Isabella has been home two months now, and charms everyone that she sees!

Unfortunately, however, she is a little bit fragile when it comes to cold and flu viruses affecting her lungs, and our otherwise thriving little baby occasionally demonstrates her vulnerability.

In early November, Isabella was hospilized for a week with respritory problems, and remained on oxygen and monitors and home for another week. She is now back to perfect health, smiling, wiggling, and happy. She sleeps through the night, rarely complains, and is a very easy baby.

Aug 31, Monday: Isabella Doing Well

Isabella remains at home doing well. She is still hooked to monitors and uses supplemental oxygen as needed (when the alarms go off during the night, less and less frequent, we turn up the oxygen a little).

We are trying to slowly wean her off the oxygen. Aside from this, she is eating well – has gained a pound this week to 8.25lbs – and she smiles often, mainly at her little brother.

Thank you so much for your concern in checking in. I have pasted in some pictures, below.

(NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

Aug 29, Friday: Pictures - Isabella at home

Aug 24, Sunday: ISABELLA HOME!!

Isabella has finally come home!

After 31 days in the hospital - 23 in intensive care - Isabella was finally deemed well enough to continue her convalescence at home. There is no describing our emotions as we carried her through our front door for the - well, second time.

The hospital arranged to have oxygen installed in our home, as well as heart & blood monitors which remain attached to her toe. Whenever blood O2 levels drop, alarms go off and we crank up the oxygen until things settle down. The objective is to keep her off oxygen as much as possible. When she is awake she is alert and smiling, and can somtimes saturate 100% on her own. But when asleep, O2 levels can drop dangerously and she needs the supplemental air.

Every expectation is that she will continue to improve and gain weight, suffering no lasting ill effects whatsoever. The toughest residual consequence she may face (which may put stress on her lungs) is having to put up with smothering hugs from her parents through her 40's.

Thank you all so much for your kindness and prayers. We will post a couple pictures tomorrow, and provide a final update in a week or so unless something changes.

Aug 22, Friday: Coming Home Tomorrow?

It looks like Isabella may be coming home tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd. However, she will still require oxygen and monitors, so medical technicians will come by tomorrow to install the equipment.

We are a little nervous about bringing her home, and being so far away from the doctors and nurses . . .

On Wednesday Hope President David Nowell arrived for two weeks, and had the chance to visit Isabella. I came down with a bad cold 3-days ago so have had to stay away from Isabella, meaning Corenne has had to take over the night shift in addition to her ususal day shift at the hospital. Marc is beginning to miss Mommy, who has not been home for 3 days. Me too.

August 20, Wednesday: A Little Setback

Yesterday doctors thought Isabella might be coming home today. Sadly, however, she lost weight since yesterday. When her oxygen levels were checked, her saturation was down to 84% -- three points below the level which sets off the alarm when she was in ICU.

Tonight she was returned to supplimental oxygen, via short nose tubes. That is a huge disappointment.

Today's blog entry was supposed to be my last, but it seems all of this is not over yet.

Aug 15, Friday: SUDDEN MIRACLE - CAN IT BE OVER??!

Today has been a truly miraculous day!!

Just last Thursday, following 4 dramatic resuscitations, doctors thought Isabella might remain on artificial life support for weeks. By yesterday, she was so well they tried removing breathing tubes again...and she remained strong as on ox! Last night, we were allowed to hold her for the first time. She immediatly stopped crying, and her un-drugged, quizzical, awed expression seemed to ask, "Are you God?" No, sweetheart....but He is not far away.

This morning, the doctors did away with the incubator altogether. A little later they tentatively removed her feeding tube, to begin re-training her sucking mechanism. No need! Isabella eagerly gulped down a bottle of mik in Corenne's arms. All the while, her eyes alertly tracked every little movement in the room.

Long and short of it: ISABELLA HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM ICU!! She is in a regular hospital room for observation, where we remain around the clock, but will likely come home Monday. I am still reeling from it all.

How our lives can change, moment to moment, and what a spectacular, miraculous ending to this surreal odyssey! All I can say is, your prayers worked. And I say that with convition. Thank you all, and thank you Lord.

Tune in Tuesday or so for a FINAL, beautiful picture of our lovely princess coming back home.

(NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

Aug 13, Wednesday: BREATHING TUBE REMOVED!

Today was a wonderful, emotional day. All praise to our Heavenly Father!

The doctor removed Isabella's breating tube...and she continued to breath by herself!

After many hours had passed, her oxygen levels were still very high, and she was kicking and crying like a normal baby.

They tried to place her in Corenne's arms, but Isabella was not ready for that as her throat was too swollen. But we were able to touch her throuth the incubator windows as much as we wanted.

She cries VERY softly, poor thing, because her lungs cannot produce enough air to really belt out, and when you touch her you can feel the vibration and raspy breath from her clogged lungs. She is still being fed through a tube. But it really feels like we are on the home stretch now!

Aug 11, Monday: Tube Removal Attempted

Today the Doctor decided Isabella looked so good that he would attempt to remove the breathing tube!! Unfortunately, she was still too weak and her little lungs could not take it. Within 5 minutes she had tired out and the tube was re-connected. Nevertheless, this was real reason for hope! They will try again in a few days.

August 10, Saturday: Looking Better

Today Isabella looks much better! Still critical, but her heart rate is stable and oxygen levels are good. The machines are providing much less life support, so she is doing more breathing on her own.

I broke down after talking to the doctor yesterday. I had been ready for some good news. He told me milk consumption (tube-fed) had increased from 25 to 30 ml every two hours, and there was no residue meaning she was digesting it. The doctors said that Isabella was doing so well, there was even a chance of disconnecting her tubes by the end of the week, to see if she was able to breath on her own.

Today Pastor Derli and Denise came by the hospital to stay and pray with us. In the ICU, Derli discretely anointed Isabella with oil as we prayed for healing.

August 7, Thursday: Four Scary Episodes

Isabella had four serious “episodes” this afternoon, with a plunge in her vitals, requiring the hand pump to get everything stabilized. This is really a tremendous setback.

She was doing so much better relatively speaking -- any improvement is excruciatingly slow, so is a matter of miniscule improvement every 2-3 days or so. We’d had about 6 days of stability, which was reason for real optimism and even called for celebration.

The doctor’s say Isabella’s episodes were related to a buildup of fluid in her lungs. At this stage, doctor’s are saying she might remain in ICU for quite some time, perhaps several weeks.

August 6, Wednesday: Daddy’s Little Girl

(From Philip): I had my third scare in three days tonight. Twice before, when Isabella was less sedated, I had opened the door of the incubator to talk to Isabella. Both times when she looked at me and heard my voice, she started to wiggle, and all the alarms went off – heart jumped to 190 and saturation dropped from a stable 96% to a dangerous 70%.

Tonight she was awake again. I told the nurse of my concern with her seeing me, and asked if a doctor was nearby. I then opened the door of the incubator until she saw me, and talked to her. Her eyebrows furrowed, her face contorted, and she just started to cry and wiggle. All of the sudden, sure enough, heart jumped, oxygen dropped, alarms went off, and nurses came running.

I will not try that again…but it warmed my heart to imagine that she recognizes me (is that possible at 3 months?) and seemed to want to jump into my arms.

Blessings, Philip

August 4, Monday: Miracles and Medical Bills

On Friday, stress was added to the situation when the hospital administrator demanded payment: $22 thousand for just the first week.

Because we had just adopted Isabella, we did not have her insurance papers yet. Regardless, the hospital administrator was not in the least interested in details of our insurance status, as she said the hospital did not have an agreement with our U.S. carrier.

Obviously coming up with that much cash every week would not be possible. Corenne was panicked that they would withhold full treatment if not paid. We were preparing to liquidate our retirement plan and fire-sale everything we owned.

Fortunately, I discovered that a friend, Dr. John Lane, was involved with the hospital administration. John was the brother of the late Dr. Eduardo Lane, Hope’s founding board president in Brazil. When I started to explain the situation to Dr. Lane, he interrupted me. “Philip, I will call and tell them not to bother you with this matter again. When Isabella is released, then we can worry about the bill.”

When I appeared to question whether that would be sufficient, Dr. Lane burst out, “I founded that d”*n hospital, they better take my word for it." Then he said, in a tone and accent very reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger, “If ANYONE, EVER, approaches you about any bill again, you tell them to call Dr. John Lane . . . ”

I later found out that Dr. Lane had left the hospital a blank check, saying that if we did not pay, the hospital could fill it out for any amount they wanted.

What a blessing and answer to prayer!

The second blessing and answer to prayer was the call I received from the U.S. today, confirming that Isabella was now fully covered by our family insurance plan. Praise God!

August 1, Friday: Transfusion & Frightening Resuscitation

Yesterday we came close to losing Isabella during five scary minutes, after all her vital signs plunged and they worked to resuscitate her. Her breathing tube had come loose, but they are not sure whether this caused the crisis, or whether it fell out during the resuscitation efforts.

Today she had a blood transfusion. This is a tricky procedure as it is hard to find her little vessels. But in the hours since the transfusion she has done real well, and we are encouraged.

MISC SMITH FAMILY EXCERPTS FROM THE DAY:

- After 10 nights on the waiting room sofa I’ve already forgotten what a real bed feels like -- but as my Ethiopian brother Jerman reminded me, Isabella has a real family now. We are determined not to leave her alone.

- God has already answered our prayers of making Isabella a blessing in the lives of others. She has already brought us closer with family and friends. Greater things are yet in store for her!

- My sister Suzanna will arrive this evening for 14 days to help us through this time. I'm going to let her take a couple night shifts at the hospital so I can spend a couple nights at home.

July 29, Tuesday: Induced Coma

Friends –

Right now Isabella is in an induced coma. Any physical stimulation causes a dangerous plunge in her vital signs (even putting on her mittens). Right now she is hanging on by a string (in human terms, not in God terms). Sometimes it is by a thread. At other times it is by a rope. It is quite a roller coaster

The question is how long she will remain in ICU. It could be weeks, or even months in a worst case. Essentially, all they can do now is keep her sedated and wait for her lungs to heal and develop on their own. Now it truly is in the Lord’s hands.

Isabella is in a catch 22: high levels of air being pumped causes inflammation along lung walls. But lowering lung air pressure stresses her heart. The inflammation causes secretions and fills up her lungs. But moving her around to remove the liquid causes another crisis. Even medications were ceased, because they were causing dangerous stimulation to her fragile system.

Cor is staying at the hospital during the day, and I sleep there at night, in the waiting room adjoining the ICU. We plan to stay by her side until she comes home. Thanks for your continued prayers. Now is when we truly learn to wait upon the Lord!

July 24, Thursday: Isabella in Trouble

Dear Friends – I thought you should hear it directly from me first. Isabella was having trouble breathing, and actually stopped breathing en route to the hospital. She was resuscitated and is in critical care, where she is fighting for her life. Her vitals have stabilized but doctors say it will be a long time before she can be taken off of the respirators and feeding tubes. It is tool early to tell whether there was anoxia or permanent damage. The doctors believe she contracted a common flu virus, which attacked and inflamed her delicate lungs.

When I got the call I was en route to the USA, on a layover at the Bogotá airport. I am now on my way back to Brazil. It will have been 20 hours since the incident by the time I arrive at the hospital. Poor Corenne. Please pray. It is very, very difficult. Philip

July 22, Tuesday: Precious Baby

Isabella is a very easy baby; wakes up and softly cries to eat right on schedule every three hours or so. If we put her on her tummy when she is hungry, she will worm across the bed looking for food, making angry growling noises if something she tries to latch on to does not produce milk, and lifting her head up and looking at me accusingly.. She is a different baby than when we got her, already nearly 8 pounds. We are very grateful to God for giving us such a perfect little girl!

July 18, Friday: Isabella Joins the Smith Household!

We are thrilled to announce an addition to the Smith family: Isabella Suzanna Smith. Our son Marc, 5, was thrilled to finally have his prayers for a baby sister answered. As for Corenne and myself, we have been waiting and praying for this for seven years, and are very grateful to our Lord.Weighing 6 pounds, Isabella is two months old, but is still the size of a newborn because she was born two months early. She came to us through the Campinas court system on very short notice. The neo natal unit released her in perfect health, and she is a thriving little baby girl.

INTRODUCTION: We created this “blog” to efficiently update friends on the health of little Isabella, so they may continue to uphold her and us in prayer.

As of this intro (August 9) Isabella remains in ICU in critical condition, recovering from a deadly lung virus. Phil and Corenne continue to stay with her around the clock.

Isabella was adopted into the Smith family on July 18, 2008, after a seven year wait to adopt a baby girl. She was two months old and in good health, but had been born 2 months prematurely, and at 6 lbs was still the size of a brand new infant. Isabella had been with us only one week when she stopped breathing and was rushed to the ICU.

In this blog, I have copied and pasted a number of e-mailed updates sent out to friends at different points during this month-long odyssey.