Micah, Derek, and Connor
I've done this post just in time, yay!
Here is the baby announcement that Connie sent the Fellowship on the 12th, on her sister Winnie's behalf:
We would like to announce the birth of our second child, a baby boy - Born at BC Women's Hospital Sunday March 9th, 2008 at 4:55 PM. He is 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Final name has not been finalized.
As many of you know already, Baby has not been doing well. Unfortunately, immediately after birth, Baby experienced breathing problems and he was transferred to the Intermediate Care Nursery, then to the Neonatal ICU when his respiratory status deteriorated. He was diagnosed with sepsis - a bloodborne infection. He needed to undergo a lumbar puncture (aka: spinal tap) to rule out Meningitis - and thankfully, the result came back normal (negative) today! He is being treated now with oxygen and IV antibiotics. He'll likely need to stay in hospital for a total of 2 weeks. We have undoubtedly been really worried and stressed. Please pray for a rapid recovery and comfort for Baby as he has not been able to be with us.
For those of you who already know the recent news, thank you for all your prayers / calls / emails / messages..... all your care and support mean a ton to us.
Attached pictures were taken immediately after delivery and before all the complications.
Love
Winnie, Kenny and Megan
The baby's name is Christopher in these emails; it's since been changed to Connor.
A day later:
We want to thank everyone for their prayers because God is answering them – Baby Christopher is improving! He was transferred out of the Neonatal ICU yesterday as he doesn't need assistance with his breathing any longer. However, he is still on oxygen and is slowly being fed milk (finally!) via a tube (and the occasional bottle). He is still breathing quite rapidly, but definitely he is not as sick and laboured as he was one day ago. He is improving day to day. He will need to be on antibiotics for a total of 10 days and then if he can breathe on his own without any oxygen – he can come home with us!
Kenny and I have been overjoyed that we've been able to hold him the past day and cannot wait to share him with the rest of you. We truly want to praise our Lord and to thank our community of faith whom He has blessed us with.
Love in Him,
Winnie
A week after that:
Hi friends:
Just because we are such a tight schedule these days with hospital visits – can the recipients of this email circulate this to your respective groups / friends? Thanks!
THANK YOU for everyone's emails / calls / prayers. Praise the Lord indeed; God has been good. Baby will be home tomorrow! His oxygen was discontinued yesterday as he is breathing very well without it now. His feeding is also improving! Tomorrow, he will be 10 days old, and we are so happy to be able to bring him home instead of running to and from the hospital everyday.
I want to THANK everyone who has volunteered to help us with little things – meals, shopping, babysitting Megan. During this time, we have had time to reflect on the countless blessings God has given us... we realize that there are so many things we take for granted. For example, as a physician, I cannot help but think what would have happened if baby Christopher was born in a part of the world without the wealth, resources, knowledge, medical know-how. We are so blessed to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world with good access to quality medical care. It makes me sad to think of all the children in the world (the majority) who are born in underdeveloped countries, in poverty and born into families who do not even have the basics of life. It made me realize how blessed each of us are just to have our health, and how blessed we are to access help as needed. This experience has definitely given us a new perspective on life, and reminds us to be thankful for just being alive!
TO EVERYONE IN DAVID FELLOWSHIP:
THANK YOU also to David Fellowship for providing us a gift bag of groceries! It came at the best time as Kenny and I have not been able to do any grocery shopping for the past two weeks. Thank you for your generosity, your care, concern, love and prayer support. Thank you for feeding us all!
TO ALL OF MEGAN'S BABYSITTERS / FAMILIES WHO TOOK HER IN while mommy and daddy went to hospital:
THANK YOU for spending quality time with Megan.... she is blessed to have so many friends such as you! She does appreciate you all because when she was really sick with her pneumonia, she said to me one day, "I miss my friends." Thank you once again for showing her the love of Christ.
To all those who visited – thank you for your physical presence in encouraging us and praying for us.
To those who wanted to visit at the hospital, but were "denied" – we apologize for being unable to accommodate all those who wanted to visit. Visiting baby in the nursery / NICU was difficult as there was not a lot of room and / or time. We will welcome visitors when we all return home. Just call us / email us anytime.
We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this bundle of joy, and we cannot wait to share him with all of you.
Love in Him
Winnie, Kenny, Megan and Baby Christopher
Here's an email from Frances dated March 13:
Micah David M.
DOB: February 11, 2008, 7:32 AM
birth weight: 7 pounds 15 ounces
As some of you know, Mel and I welcomed our baby son Micah last month. I had a rough C-section followed by post-operative infection requiring further surgical intervention, but am recovering well now. We are pleased that Micah is healthy and doing very well. Thank you for those who have been praying for us. I feel very blessed and thank God for granting me strength over the last few weeks. Praise God for His faithfulness. Attached are a few pictures of Micah from his first week.
Five days later, she sent us a brief email: Mel and I want to thank you all for remembering us and Micah in your prayers. Thank you for the truly huge bag of fruit that Lesley brought yesterday. I sure hope we will be able to eat it all!
Emails about Derek's lung tomor; this one is dated March 10:
Hi ALL
I had a chance to talk to the lung specialist Dr. Lam, and I was told that the tumour is about 2cm in size (size of a marble) - and considered "large" for the lung. He told me that he needs to look at the pathology report in order to tell the nature of the cells (malignant or benign) - it is yet to be confirmed. Presently, Derek is having some fever. A scan is scheduled for this Wednesday morning (7 AM) at VGH, and Derek is to be seen by the surgeon on Thursday morning. We still don't know when the surgery will take place. Let's pray for a smooth open chest surgery without complications or any secondary infection.
Thank you all for your concern and prayer support. I am sending this email out again to my basic core group; kindly forward this original copy to the ones you forwarded to yesterday, so that it can be passed on the same way as before.
Eric and Brenda
Two days later:
Hi ALL
Many thanks to ALL of you for your concern and prayer support for Derek and our family since we sent out the very first email. We can feel the love of God bestowed upon us through so many of you.
Pathology report came back, and Derek is diagnosed for "Carcinoid tumour." The surgeon Dr. Evans explained to us that it is regarded as a form of malignant tumour that is very slow-growing, and very rarely it would spread to other sites of the body. He said that the tumour may have been there for a few years, causing some obstruction, and hence mimicking some asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing or running out of breath. Therefore, the "asthma" Derek complained of may be due to the obstruction in his lungs.
Surgery is booked for Friday, March 28; before the surgery date, he still needs to go in for a couple of appointments. It is going to be a two-hour-long
major surgery that involves a 6-7 inches incision on the side of his chest between the ribs. Depending on how extensive the tumour is, either a bronchosplasty (removal of a section of the bronchial tube and sewing the ends back together) will be performed, or a portion of the lung will be removed.
Derek will be hospitalized for about 7 days, and needs to be off work for about a month after the surgery. Presently, he is feeling positively and he is relying on God. We are thankful that this was not happening to him while he was studying in China.
Please continue to pray for us as we walk through this difficult time. Again, kindly circulate this original email to other recipients the way you did before.
Eric and Brenda
A couple of days ago:
Dear ALL
Just a brief update on Derek's surgery today. It started at around 1:30 PM, and he came out of the operating room slightly past 5 PM. It took a little longer than expected. We talked to the surgeon (Dr. Evans) afterwards, and he informed us that the middle and lower lobes of the right lung were removed. It was on the whole a successful surgery. For a young healthy man like Derek, the surgeon is anticipating a full recovery. A histology report is yet to be read in a couple of weeks to confirm the nature of the cells.
Derek will be staying in the Recovery Room at VgH for the night, and transferred to the "Step-Down" Unit Tomorrow for close minitoring. We ask you to kindly refrain from visiting until he is moved to the regular respiratory floor in a few days. Presently, he is feeling drowsy and tired due to effects of the general anesthetic. We will keep you posted on Derek's recovery progress.
Eric and Brenda
And since I am taking advantage of having a computer on which I can actually save pictures (they'll be deleted!), I present to you these baby pictures:
Newborn Micah:
Micah in his first week:
Micah in very cute pajamas:
Micah on Feb. 22:
Connor's birth weight:
Connor and Mommy:
Newborn Connor:
Winnie and Kenny with the new baby:
Here is the baby announcement that Connie sent the Fellowship on the 12th, on her sister Winnie's behalf:
We would like to announce the birth of our second child, a baby boy - Born at BC Women's Hospital Sunday March 9th, 2008 at 4:55 PM. He is 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Final name has not been finalized.
As many of you know already, Baby has not been doing well. Unfortunately, immediately after birth, Baby experienced breathing problems and he was transferred to the Intermediate Care Nursery, then to the Neonatal ICU when his respiratory status deteriorated. He was diagnosed with sepsis - a bloodborne infection. He needed to undergo a lumbar puncture (aka: spinal tap) to rule out Meningitis - and thankfully, the result came back normal (negative) today! He is being treated now with oxygen and IV antibiotics. He'll likely need to stay in hospital for a total of 2 weeks. We have undoubtedly been really worried and stressed. Please pray for a rapid recovery and comfort for Baby as he has not been able to be with us.
For those of you who already know the recent news, thank you for all your prayers / calls / emails / messages..... all your care and support mean a ton to us.
Attached pictures were taken immediately after delivery and before all the complications.
Love
Winnie, Kenny and Megan
The baby's name is Christopher in these emails; it's since been changed to Connor.
A day later:
We want to thank everyone for their prayers because God is answering them – Baby Christopher is improving! He was transferred out of the Neonatal ICU yesterday as he doesn't need assistance with his breathing any longer. However, he is still on oxygen and is slowly being fed milk (finally!) via a tube (and the occasional bottle). He is still breathing quite rapidly, but definitely he is not as sick and laboured as he was one day ago. He is improving day to day. He will need to be on antibiotics for a total of 10 days and then if he can breathe on his own without any oxygen – he can come home with us!
Kenny and I have been overjoyed that we've been able to hold him the past day and cannot wait to share him with the rest of you. We truly want to praise our Lord and to thank our community of faith whom He has blessed us with.
Love in Him,
Winnie
A week after that:
Hi friends:
Just because we are such a tight schedule these days with hospital visits – can the recipients of this email circulate this to your respective groups / friends? Thanks!
THANK YOU for everyone's emails / calls / prayers. Praise the Lord indeed; God has been good. Baby will be home tomorrow! His oxygen was discontinued yesterday as he is breathing very well without it now. His feeding is also improving! Tomorrow, he will be 10 days old, and we are so happy to be able to bring him home instead of running to and from the hospital everyday.
I want to THANK everyone who has volunteered to help us with little things – meals, shopping, babysitting Megan. During this time, we have had time to reflect on the countless blessings God has given us... we realize that there are so many things we take for granted. For example, as a physician, I cannot help but think what would have happened if baby Christopher was born in a part of the world without the wealth, resources, knowledge, medical know-how. We are so blessed to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world with good access to quality medical care. It makes me sad to think of all the children in the world (the majority) who are born in underdeveloped countries, in poverty and born into families who do not even have the basics of life. It made me realize how blessed each of us are just to have our health, and how blessed we are to access help as needed. This experience has definitely given us a new perspective on life, and reminds us to be thankful for just being alive!
TO EVERYONE IN DAVID FELLOWSHIP:
THANK YOU also to David Fellowship for providing us a gift bag of groceries! It came at the best time as Kenny and I have not been able to do any grocery shopping for the past two weeks. Thank you for your generosity, your care, concern, love and prayer support. Thank you for feeding us all!
TO ALL OF MEGAN'S BABYSITTERS / FAMILIES WHO TOOK HER IN while mommy and daddy went to hospital:
THANK YOU for spending quality time with Megan.... she is blessed to have so many friends such as you! She does appreciate you all because when she was really sick with her pneumonia, she said to me one day, "I miss my friends." Thank you once again for showing her the love of Christ.
To all those who visited – thank you for your physical presence in encouraging us and praying for us.
To those who wanted to visit at the hospital, but were "denied" – we apologize for being unable to accommodate all those who wanted to visit. Visiting baby in the nursery / NICU was difficult as there was not a lot of room and / or time. We will welcome visitors when we all return home. Just call us / email us anytime.
We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this bundle of joy, and we cannot wait to share him with all of you.
Love in Him
Winnie, Kenny, Megan and Baby Christopher
Here's an email from Frances dated March 13:
Micah David M.
DOB: February 11, 2008, 7:32 AM
birth weight: 7 pounds 15 ounces
As some of you know, Mel and I welcomed our baby son Micah last month. I had a rough C-section followed by post-operative infection requiring further surgical intervention, but am recovering well now. We are pleased that Micah is healthy and doing very well. Thank you for those who have been praying for us. I feel very blessed and thank God for granting me strength over the last few weeks. Praise God for His faithfulness. Attached are a few pictures of Micah from his first week.
Five days later, she sent us a brief email: Mel and I want to thank you all for remembering us and Micah in your prayers. Thank you for the truly huge bag of fruit that Lesley brought yesterday. I sure hope we will be able to eat it all!
Emails about Derek's lung tomor; this one is dated March 10:
Hi ALL
I had a chance to talk to the lung specialist Dr. Lam, and I was told that the tumour is about 2cm in size (size of a marble) - and considered "large" for the lung. He told me that he needs to look at the pathology report in order to tell the nature of the cells (malignant or benign) - it is yet to be confirmed. Presently, Derek is having some fever. A scan is scheduled for this Wednesday morning (7 AM) at VGH, and Derek is to be seen by the surgeon on Thursday morning. We still don't know when the surgery will take place. Let's pray for a smooth open chest surgery without complications or any secondary infection.
Thank you all for your concern and prayer support. I am sending this email out again to my basic core group; kindly forward this original copy to the ones you forwarded to yesterday, so that it can be passed on the same way as before.
Eric and Brenda
Two days later:
Hi ALL
Many thanks to ALL of you for your concern and prayer support for Derek and our family since we sent out the very first email. We can feel the love of God bestowed upon us through so many of you.
Pathology report came back, and Derek is diagnosed for "Carcinoid tumour." The surgeon Dr. Evans explained to us that it is regarded as a form of malignant tumour that is very slow-growing, and very rarely it would spread to other sites of the body. He said that the tumour may have been there for a few years, causing some obstruction, and hence mimicking some asthmatic symptoms such as wheezing or running out of breath. Therefore, the "asthma" Derek complained of may be due to the obstruction in his lungs.
Surgery is booked for Friday, March 28; before the surgery date, he still needs to go in for a couple of appointments. It is going to be a two-hour-long
major surgery that involves a 6-7 inches incision on the side of his chest between the ribs. Depending on how extensive the tumour is, either a bronchosplasty (removal of a section of the bronchial tube and sewing the ends back together) will be performed, or a portion of the lung will be removed.
Derek will be hospitalized for about 7 days, and needs to be off work for about a month after the surgery. Presently, he is feeling positively and he is relying on God. We are thankful that this was not happening to him while he was studying in China.
Please continue to pray for us as we walk through this difficult time. Again, kindly circulate this original email to other recipients the way you did before.
Eric and Brenda
A couple of days ago:
Dear ALL
Just a brief update on Derek's surgery today. It started at around 1:30 PM, and he came out of the operating room slightly past 5 PM. It took a little longer than expected. We talked to the surgeon (Dr. Evans) afterwards, and he informed us that the middle and lower lobes of the right lung were removed. It was on the whole a successful surgery. For a young healthy man like Derek, the surgeon is anticipating a full recovery. A histology report is yet to be read in a couple of weeks to confirm the nature of the cells.
Derek will be staying in the Recovery Room at VgH for the night, and transferred to the "Step-Down" Unit Tomorrow for close minitoring. We ask you to kindly refrain from visiting until he is moved to the regular respiratory floor in a few days. Presently, he is feeling drowsy and tired due to effects of the general anesthetic. We will keep you posted on Derek's recovery progress.
Eric and Brenda
And since I am taking advantage of having a computer on which I can actually save pictures (they'll be deleted!), I present to you these baby pictures:
Newborn Micah:
Micah in his first week:
Micah in very cute pajamas:
Micah on Feb. 22:
Connor's birth weight:
Connor and Mommy:
Newborn Connor:
Winnie and Kenny with the new baby:
Labels: 2008, babies, computer, connie, derek, emails, fellowship, frances, friends, korey, lesley, life, maxed-out tags limit, megan, mel, messages, pictures, sick, visitors, winnie
posted by Flami at 9:35:00 PM
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