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Showing posts with label William. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Hospital of many idols....
Altar full of idols...Black Nazarene, Mary, Santo Nino...etc.
I don't know who this is, evil looking fella, I call him evilman.
Of course the statue of Jesus
Big belly Buddha
Dee Hwa Liong is the name of the hospital William was born. Anthony Dee, from what I
understand, was the one who immigrated to the Philippines from China and became rich here.
He was kidnapped and held for ransom years ago and then killed. We had the privilege to meet
his grandson, Timmy, and he shared that his father was a Catholic-Buddhist. Perhaps this
explains why there are so many idols in the hospital.
The Rest of the Story
Ok, now that my wife and son are both home, happy and healthy, I can share some of
the other things that happened during our hospital stay. I purposed not to until all was well because I didn't want to worry anyone unduly. The hospital was great for Filipino standards. It is a private hospital, and the Doctors and nurses seemed professional and capable. The building itself, well that is a little different. It is a half finished complex, replete with concrete pillars having rebar jutting from them. The rooms were spacious and had a steel door that one visitor said reminded him of a prison cell. Perhaps there is a locking mechanism to keep you from escaping til you pay your bill!
Now that I have lived in the tropics, I am not as squeamish with the constant presence of bugs, and since we couldn't do too much about it, we shared the room with lots of ants, though they didn't offer to pay their part! The ICU, also had bugs, and though it is to be a place of life, I confess to murdering the crawling critters.
The machines they had seemed to be relatively new and worked great, though when I read the directions written on the side of one machine, and noticed the grammatical errors, I could only hope their technical skills in building the machine, were better than their English skills in writing the directions.
I am extremely happy to announce they have excellent generators! This I know, because in the midst of my son's ICU stay, there was a Typhoon!!! The power was knocked out, but almost immediately the generators kicked in! Hurray! Kinda scary as the water was blowing in through the windows onto the ICU floor and towels were posted as guards against the incoming flood.
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the other things that happened during our hospital stay. I purposed not to until all was well because I didn't want to worry anyone unduly. The hospital was great for Filipino standards. It is a private hospital, and the Doctors and nurses seemed professional and capable. The building itself, well that is a little different. It is a half finished complex, replete with concrete pillars having rebar jutting from them. The rooms were spacious and had a steel door that one visitor said reminded him of a prison cell. Perhaps there is a locking mechanism to keep you from escaping til you pay your bill!
Now that I have lived in the tropics, I am not as squeamish with the constant presence of bugs, and since we couldn't do too much about it, we shared the room with lots of ants, though they didn't offer to pay their part! The ICU, also had bugs, and though it is to be a place of life, I confess to murdering the crawling critters.
The machines they had seemed to be relatively new and worked great, though when I read the directions written on the side of one machine, and noticed the grammatical errors, I could only hope their technical skills in building the machine, were better than their English skills in writing the directions.
I am extremely happy to announce they have excellent generators! This I know, because in the midst of my son's ICU stay, there was a Typhoon!!! The power was knocked out, but almost immediately the generators kicked in! Hurray! Kinda scary as the water was blowing in through the windows onto the ICU floor and towels were posted as guards against the incoming flood.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006
They Changed Our Names!!!
The Filipino law states that a child born here can be given a first name, but the child's middle name will be the mother's maiden name. Since we had already picked William Drew as the first and middle name, and since our son was not going to be given Filipino citizenship, I balked when they told me this. The kind lady at the records dept. offered to let me go to the government office and plead my case, I did, and lost. I called the embassy and they explained that though he would become William Drew Greathouse Devonshire (William Drew being a two part first name) when they made the American birth certificate they would drop the Greathouse. So, when I returned to the hospital, I agreed to go along with this. When they called me to sign the birth certificate, I was shocked to find out that they had changed all of our names! I was now David Charles Yanssens Devonshire and my wife was now Christine Penelope Bryant Greathouse. I explained that though that was the custom and law here, that in America it wasn't and those are not our names. She didn't seem to understand my complaint, and after a fruitless discussion, I let it go. Hmmm...I came here to hopefully help change some lives, and got my name changed! Maybe I should have wrestled with the records dept. lady til the breaking of the day and gotten a better name....Gen 32:24-28
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Thursday, October 12, 2006
Will Pics
Well the first bath took place with mom worrying about the water being too hot and dad about it being too cold, and I, well I was just worried!
Here I am finally tubeless! My little smile can show!Sunday, October 08, 2006
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) should be the big day! Lord willing, William will come home. Yesterday they took out the feeding tube and he is no longer connected to any machines or tubes, eats like a normal baby, with a bottle, and is in the bassinet. They say he likes to be carried around, but a white baby is a novelty to them, only the second one they have dealt with, and I think they like to carry him. I heard one say "Cute na Cute!" (Doubling the word means VERY to them, and I have to agree!)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
More about Will
I know I have delayed in updating you about our son. The situation was slow in changing, and is
still. Today they removed the oxygen hood and are using only a funnel that directs oxygen to
his face and at a lower rate, all in preparing him to be able to breathe room air. He is a little
yellow and so is back under the lights to get more of a tan.... The heartbreaking news we got
today is that we won't be able to take him home this weekend. Maybe next week. This is
difficult for us. We want him to be healthy and be able to take him home and we want to be able
to hold him. I hope that none of you are praying that God gives me patience. (The bible says that
"Tribulation worketh patience" Rom 5.3)
He is moving quite a bit and has a good sucking reflex which he hasn't yet been able to put to use.
They feed him through a tube that places the milk directly into his belly.
The doctor reminded me the other day, that he wasn't even supposed to be born til the 9th
through the 16th of October. Yes that is true, but it still doesn't make it any easier to watch
your boy laying inside an incubator and then to have to drive home without him.
What must it have been like to send your son into the world knowing he would suffer an
awful death and to go to hell to pay for the sins of a guilty world...
Thank you God and Thank you Jesus.
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still. Today they removed the oxygen hood and are using only a funnel that directs oxygen to
his face and at a lower rate, all in preparing him to be able to breathe room air. He is a little
yellow and so is back under the lights to get more of a tan.... The heartbreaking news we got
today is that we won't be able to take him home this weekend. Maybe next week. This is
difficult for us. We want him to be healthy and be able to take him home and we want to be able
to hold him. I hope that none of you are praying that God gives me patience. (The bible says that
"Tribulation worketh patience" Rom 5.3)
He is moving quite a bit and has a good sucking reflex which he hasn't yet been able to put to use.
They feed him through a tube that places the milk directly into his belly.
The doctor reminded me the other day, that he wasn't even supposed to be born til the 9th
through the 16th of October. Yes that is true, but it still doesn't make it any easier to watch
your boy laying inside an incubator and then to have to drive home without him.
What must it have been like to send your son into the world knowing he would suffer an
awful death and to go to hell to pay for the sins of a guilty world...
Thank you God and Thank you Jesus.
Follow @ddevonshire
Monday, October 02, 2006
The Update
The good news is Sis. Devonshire is out of the hospital and was able to attend the services this weekend. The presence of the Lord was precious to us and we are thankful for His grace. William is moving quite a bit, crying (a good sign) but took a small step backwards, his breathing was very fast and he was having mild retractions, so they had to go back to the nasal CPAP (I think it stands for Constant Positive Air Pressure) basically oxygen/air mixture blown into his nostrils. The ups and downs of his recovery can be heart wrenching. We think we are close to him being well, but then there is a delay. God is in control and we trust Him that all will be fine. I enclose a picture of our Super Doctor working on our Super Son. This is Dr. Gregorio M. Leonardo, a neonatalogist and the one overseeing our son's care. He gave our son the Filipino name of Gregorio! He is a really nice guy. He worked in New York and Detroit before returning to the Philippines. Keep up the good work Doc!
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Thursday, September 28, 2006
Friday the 29th (here) Update on the family
Little Will is responding well. He is more awake now and all of the sedation seems to have worn
off. This morning, his eyes were open and he was looking around for quite a while. This is
good news since the doc was concerned about him not moving much and always sleeping.
They had him breathing on his own yesterday, but they decided to put him back on the machine
for the night. The doc lives 20-30 minutes away and we were in the midst of a typhoon so
if there were any problems, he would have a hard time getting to the hospital, so we thought it
better to keep him on the machine til this morning, and then again let him breathe on his own,
and if all goes well, they will then remove the tube. Then, finally, he won't look like the
bionic baby!
Christine is still experiencing the high b.p. but the doc will let her go home when Will is
discharged, and maybe all of our blood pressures will go down!!
I have many experiences to share with you, but I want to wait til the whole family is safe and
sound at home.
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off. This morning, his eyes were open and he was looking around for quite a while. This is
good news since the doc was concerned about him not moving much and always sleeping.
They had him breathing on his own yesterday, but they decided to put him back on the machine
for the night. The doc lives 20-30 minutes away and we were in the midst of a typhoon so
if there were any problems, he would have a hard time getting to the hospital, so we thought it
better to keep him on the machine til this morning, and then again let him breathe on his own,
and if all goes well, they will then remove the tube. Then, finally, he won't look like the
bionic baby!
Christine is still experiencing the high b.p. but the doc will let her go home when Will is
discharged, and maybe all of our blood pressures will go down!!
I have many experiences to share with you, but I want to wait til the whole family is safe and
sound at home.
Follow @ddevonshire
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Will Alert
Little Will is steadily improving in his breathing. He is down to 22 machine breaths a minute and
40% oxygen. That means he is breathing more on his own . My wife is still dealing with the
high blood pressure but they will probably let her go home and deal with it with medicine.
Although they have taken him off of the sedation, he is still sluggish and the doctor wants him
to move more. Therefore, I spent time bothering him til he woke up and cried (but the tube down
his throat prevents any noise only grimacing faces) and got a little active. The doc is due in today
(Thursday the 28th here) around noon (midnight East Coast time). We should know more then.
Keep praying!
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40% oxygen. That means he is breathing more on his own . My wife is still dealing with the
high blood pressure but they will probably let her go home and deal with it with medicine.
Although they have taken him off of the sedation, he is still sluggish and the doctor wants him
to move more. Therefore, I spent time bothering him til he woke up and cried (but the tube down
his throat prevents any noise only grimacing faces) and got a little active. The doc is due in today
(Thursday the 28th here) around noon (midnight East Coast time). We should know more then.
Keep praying!
Follow @ddevonshire
Monday, September 25, 2006
The Will Update #2
Good News to report! William is improving! They are again weaning him from the oxygen
and the ventilator. His oxygen saturation levels are good. All is looking good. Christine is
still having problems with the blood pressure, but we hope that it will normalize soon. I
enclose a picture of Will in his sunbathing outfit...the cover on his eyes is to protect him while he
is receiving the photo therapy. Thanks again for all of the notes, emails, prayers, and support.
We are truly thankful, that though we are separated by miles, we are still part of a great family. Follow @ddevonshire
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Will Update
Christine is still experiencing High Blood Pressure and still in the hospital. Little Will took a step backwards last night. They had to increase his oxygen, he couldn’t quite tolerate the lower lever. His lungs are not quite as good as the second set of x-rays but still better than the first. His little feet and hands were cold and a little purple, plus he was turning a little yellow, so they have him back underneath the light to get rid of the jaundice and hopefully the new oxygen level will help his circulation. He is moving quite a bit, even though he is supposed to be sedated and resting. We still believe God that everything will be fine, just a little more time on the respirator and in the incubator. The ICU nurses are getting used to seeing me come in at all hours of the day and night to check on him and I believe he is getting good care. I am hopeful the next update will be more positive. Keep Praying!
Thank you for all of your support.
Follow @ddevonshire
Thank you for all of your support.
Follow @ddevonshire
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