Category: Prayer Request

Asking You to Keep Praying for Joshua in Japan

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Prayer Request

I'd like to ask you to continue to pray for Joshua in Japan.

He has had several blood transfusions to try to regulate his platelets, and white and red blood cell counts, and they do help short term.  Unfortunately, his numbers start falling by the next day.  The doctors are working on several things, trying to find the culprit, and to see what will work for him.

You can read all of his mom's updates here:  Mom 2-4 Xanga

Just imagine yourself in their shoes and you will know how to pray.  I know his parents are getting tired.  They have no time to talk with each other.  There girls are just getting bits and pieces of parental attention.  They are worried.  Their jobs are taxing their energy.  They are getting very little sleep.  There is no time for laundry and grocery shopping and cooking.  It has been exhausting, and they still have no concrete answers.

Please pray for God to move in a miraculous way in the minds of the doctors and in Joshua's body, to find a cause, a remedy and a solution to this situation.

Thanks for praying,

Alesha

 

Some Good News for Joshua

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Isaac Update, Prayer Request, What's Happening

 

Joshua's blood count seems to be improving! 

Praise the Lord!

\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/

Here is Laura's latest blog:

Home Sweet Hospital

She's included some pics, so be sure to click the link and read all the good news. 🙂

Thank you for helping us pray.  God is so merciful to hear and answer our prayers. 

We will continue to pray that Josh's bone marrow and blood keep producing the blood cells and platelets.  His numbers are not normal yet, but are moving in the right direction.

BTW, Ike is doing well.  He has slept through the night 12 out of the last 13 nights.  Yay!

I head to the dentist tomorrow.  Y'all know how I feel about dentist…sigh…  If you think about me, maybe pray a little prayer that my fibromyalgia will ease up and the muscle cramps from nervousness won't be too bad.  I'd really appreciate it. 🙂

Blessings,

Alesha

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Prayer Request

 

This is Joshua.

Josh1

He is eight years old (but will be nine next month!)

He has many special needs – like Isaac does – and he is Isaac's virtual online buddy.

Josh3

Josh's mom and dad are missionaries in Japan.  He and his sisters were adopted there.

He does therapy every week.  Here he is back during the summer, enjoying some PT in the pool!

Josh2

Josh is still very sick. 

One of the medications that he takes to control his seizures has evidently caused his blood to stop making blood cells and platelets correctly.

He has been in the hospital since last Tuesday.

He is feeling better, but his labwork shows that his body is still not producing the blood cells as it should.

Please continue to pray for Joshua in Japan!

We know that he is in God's hands, and we are trusting for complete healing for him.

Thanks for praying with me,

Alesha

Josh in Japan

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Prayer Request

Little Joshua is still incredibly ill.  Please keep praying for him!

Here's Laura's update from today:

2 Forward/3 Back

Keep in mind, as you pray for Laura and Josh, that they are in a Japanese hospital with Japanese doctors and nurses.  So Laura has to deal with a language issue when talking about all the medical information on Josh.  I'm sure the medical professionals speak some English, and Laura speaks Japanese; but it is still a complication that could be quite frustrating on top of everything else.

Also, remember that this family has gone through multiple earthquakes over the last couple of years, and they were also impacted by the tsunami several months ago.  They have a teenage girl at home, and a "tween" girl at home who are struggling to deal with their brother's illness now, too.  Not to mention the fact that Jerry and Laura both teach several English classes every week.

They truly need us to hold them up in prayer at this time.  God is there.  He is always near to comfort and guide them; but we need to be faithful to call out to Him on their behalf during this time of illness for Josh.

Thank you for caring and praying,

Alesha

Continuing to Pray for Joshua in Japan

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Isaac Update, Prayer Request, What's Happening

 

Our little friend, Joshua, is still in the hospital in Japan.  It seems his anti-seizure meds have played havoc with his bone marrow's blood production.

Scary stuff, yeah???

Here's Laura's latest blog:

Update Day 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac is still sleeping each night.  Whoo Hoo!!!  We are really grateful for this turn of events!

Doug is excited to be attending a Teachers' Conference today and tomorrow.  He loves the fellowship, the sessions and the teaching on teaching!  I told my friend he was as excited as a 3rd grader on Field Trip Day! 🙂

My back is continuing to mend slowly.  I have started to walk a little each morning with a DVD, and it is making me very sore.  So I guess "slow and steady" will be the name of the game while I continue to heal.

I guess that's it for today.

Thanks for helping us pray for Josh!

Alesha

To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub!

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Isaac Update, Prayer Request

I feel like I'm consumed with the subject of sleep lately.  Although, thankfully, I'm only concerned with a few hours of it each night, not obsessed with the eternal sleep, as was Hamlet!

Batman2

(Hmmm…aren't bats nocturnal?  We may have to scrap these pjs for a while!!!)

Isaac visited with his neurologist yesterday, then went to have his blood levels checked, too.  We won't have those levels in for a bit; but we do have some changes to put into place for him.

  • We are weaning him off his sleep medication, since it doesn't seem to be working anyway.
  • We are starting him on Melatonin.  His first does was last night.
  • We are increasing one of his seizure meds by one-third.  So his morning dose is doubled, starting today.

Isaac did sleep the night through last night.  We are SO grateful for that.  We don't know if it was the Melatonin that did the trick, or if his internal clock has somehow reset itself, because he has slept the night through for the past 4 nights in a row.  That is a record for the past 7 weeks!

Today, however, we have a quiet, subdued little man.  The double dose of meds will keep him that way for a while, until his body adjusts to that amount.  The neurologist did say that she hopes this will be a temporary adjustment, and we certainly hope that too.

My back is doing some better.  I was able to go to church on Sunday night, and only had minimal pain toward the end of the service.  It was so good to be able to sit in the service and enjoy the music and preaching.

I started a walking DVD today.  The instructor does a mile in about 18 minutes.  I was only able to go for about 11 minutes (before my right hip started complaining), and was not able to keep up with her pace for the last 5 minutes.  But I was up and moving and getting my heart beating and warming up my muscles…I'll take that as a successful workout for today. 

And, I'm pretty sure the exercise will benefit my sleep patterns, as well!

I'm praying for my friend, Laura, that she and Josh will get to sleep a little, too, while they're in "Club Med" (the hospital, for those of you who aren't current with Special-Needs-Kiddo-speak.)  Josh's blood labs are off a bit, and they are trying to find out exactly what is going on with him.  I know Laura would appreciate your prayers.

Blessings to you,

Alesha