Wednesday, 2nd July, 1997
Jonah has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. We have chosen to have three surgeries that will completely reconstruct his heart over two years. The first surgery was when he was four days old, and the second surgery will be this month. Jonah's surgery has been changed to Wednesday, July 16, first thing in the morning. We will be leaving on July 14 for Ann Arbor, for pre-surgery testing on the 15th.

We have been cherishing the time that we have been able to spend with Jonah so far. He is just over five months old now, and we are able to treat him like a normal baby. His weight gain has been slow, but steady. As of today he weighs 13 lbs 3 oz. He is so cute and laughs a lot. He loves attention from his brothers (Noah and Nicholas), as well as from us. Please visit Jonah's web page to see pictures and to read his story.

Click here for web page: About Jonah VanEck !

We are requesting prayer for us as we prepare for this "trip" (this is our summer vacation), and for Jonah as well as the doctors and medical staff. We are already feeling the stress. We have been through this before, so we know what to expect, which is good and bad at the same time.

We will keep you informed about Jonah's progress. Thank you for your prayers and support for our family.

Wednesday, 16th July, 1997
We have so much to be thankful for!

We have good news about Jonah. He came through the surgery very well, and the surgeon was very pleased with the surgery itself, as well as how Jonah is doing. He is on the ventilator, but they keep turning the oxygen down, and will try to take him off in the morning. This is where we had problems before, so he will get steroids in preparation for this.

We have moved over to the Ronald McDonald House, and after a mix up, we now have a large room which is very nice. It is nice to be around a lot of other parents, but it is also very depressing to hear all the stories. There are several other babies here with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, just like Jonah, in all of the different stages. I have bonded with one mom, mostly because her son's name is Jonah also, and he had the same surgery last week!

Thank you so much for your prayers for Jonah. We have been lifted up and someone told us that we do not look stressed. We thank God for all of you who are praying for us.

Thursday, 17th July , 1997
After just 24 hours after surgery, Jonah was moved out of ICU into the Moderate Care Unit. He came off the ventilator at 5:00 AM this morning, and stayed off, which is a big accomplishment. He has been on oxygen, but now is just on very little. He hasn't woken up all the way yet, and has yet to eat, but that may come even tonight. This has truly been a miracle!

He is now waking more, and crying a little. The docs are all very pleased with his recovery. Tomorrow they will take out more tubes and lines.

We have met several other families, and while it is very hard to hear the tragedies, there is a lot of support. There are several other families with HLHS children, one mother has been waiting three weeks to deliver.

Friday, 18th July, 1997
It's Friday evening, and Jonah was moved on to the floor, in a regular room. This is good, but now we feel that we need to stay with him more at night, maybe sleeping in his room. But, we may only be here for two nights, because we may be going home on Monday. We will know more tomorrow. He had his lines pulled, and the foley, but the chest tubes will wait until tomorrow. He is now being tube fed, so he can rest. He is a little less puffy, and the headaches seem to not bother him as much, but the motrin could be helping. He is definitely on the road to recovery! We are seeing God work through Jonah in so many ways!

We will continue to update, and hopefully will know more about when we can come home!

Saturday, 19th July, 1997
It's Saturday morning and Jonah looks a lot better today. He is a lot less puffy, and can open his eyes. He still is a little uncomfortable, but he isn't crying all the time now. His body may be getting adjusted to the extra blood flow to his head, so his headaches may be decreasing. They are talking about taking out his central lines, but may leave the chest tubes in for another day. He is not on any oxygen and his sats are 83%. This is very good for him.

Bob and I are doing pretty good. We are able to sleep, and the Ronald McDonald House is very nice. We are sharing in the joys and disappointments of all the children with parents there, and we are so thankful that Jonah is doing so well. So many others are not.

The other Jonah is going home today. He is doing very well, and looks great (I think he looks a little like our Jonah).

If all goes well, we may be albe to go home early next week. We will keep you updated. Thanks for your prayers, we have felt God's peace.

Sunday, 20th July, 1997
It's Sun (I think) morning, and Jonah seems more comfortable today. He is less puffy, and they will take out his chest tubes later this morning. I will send another update when the docs come for rounds, and we talk about when we might be discharged. Hopefully it will be tomorrow or Tues.

Monday, 21st July, 1997
It's Monday morning and Jonah is still sleeping. He was awake a lot during the night (I hope to get that straightened out before we get home!)

Yesterday afternoon they took out his chest tubes and turned off all the monitors, and turned his morphine off last night. He is just on the feeding tube now. He will be having the pre-discharge tests today, so it looks like we will be going home tomorrow, but will know more later today. This is very good news to us. We are getting very weary of hospital life. It takes it's toll on all of us.

We have been talking with several other families that have HLHS babies, and this has been such a blessing for us. We are trying to be encouraging to the parents that are waiting for surgeries, some of them have seen a lot of families come and go, yet they are still here. They are all from other states across the country.

We are continuing to see God work in our lives as well as in others, here in Ann Arbor especially, and we praise Him.

continued...

Jonah's Homecoming!

Hello! It's Monday at 10:30 AM and we just found out that we can go home later this afternoon! Praise the Lord! We are very glad for this. Jonah just has to have some final tests (echo, EKG, etc) and get orders and meds. He breast-fed great this morning, so we can take the feeding tube out before we go home.

We have had to say goodbye to a lot of new friends, and that has been sad, but with e-mail we promised to keep in touch.

Thank you all for your prayers and support though this surgery. We have been so blessed with our precious little Jonah.

We will try to update later tonight, from Grand Rapids!

In God's Care, Kerrie, Bob, Noah, Nicholas and Jonah Van Eck