Family Day and Update on Henry

Here is an update on Henry:
Posted by Laura Davidson-

Today we're thankful that Henry ate for the first time since surgery (avoiding a feeding tube.) Facial swelling has gone down considerably and he slept well last night. We're humbled by and thankful for your outpouring of support. God bless. 

 

WOW! I am in awe hoe much of a fighter Henry is! Keep praying...it is working!!

 

Today was a fun family day.  I started the day with an 8 mile run! It was the perfect temperature this morning.  It is starting to be cooler in the morning which makes running more pleasant.  After that I came home and ate and showered and got ready to go.  All the state parks in Georgia today were free! So we went to Fort Yargo which is pretty close to our house.  The weather was kind of overcast so it was nice and not blazing hot.  We parked by the boat ramp and we went fishing.  That Barbie fishing pole is amazing!! We have had such good luck with it and again good luck today!! We caught 3 fish on it! I caught a bass and a blue gill and Brendon caught a sunfish.  Olivia even became interested in the fishing pole..I showed her how to turn the crank on the reel.  She also liked to press the purple button that released more line...which made it hard when a fish would bite.  She watched the bobber and would say bobber.  She was also interested in the fish once we would reel it in.  After fishing we had a picnic lunch.  Then we went for a short walk on the trail.  Olivia liked picking up sticks and we had to be careful of the poison ivy on the trail.  But she loved walking on the trail.

 

Then we came home and it was nap time.  While she napped I went to Kohls.  I had a few coupons and got a few things.  I bought Olivia a cute little cow bowling set for Christmas.  I hope she likes it!  

 

Later in the afternoon the Georgia/Tennessee game was on.  Actually when we were coming home from Fort Yargo we got stopped by a escorted bunch of buses which we think were the Tennessee football players...they were being escorted by GSP and some Tennessee police.  That was the only thing we could think of.  We watched the football game and made some chicken wings.  Olivia did pretty good during the game.  She would clap when we clapped and I taught her the word cheerleader! So cute! Maybe one day she will be a cheerleader!

 

Fishing with mommy

Let me try!!

I got this!

Whoa! Mommy caught a fish!

Whoa! mommy caught another fish!

Ewww....we got splashed!

Whoa! Daddy caught a fish!

I'll always be your fishing buddy daddy!

lunch time!

Going for a walk

I like to walk in the woods!

Crossing the bridge!

 

Teaching her well and Henry update

Here is Henry's update...

This was posted about 2 hours ago by Laura Davidson...

Update for Friday September 28th: Henry was weaned off of oxygen today and may be transferred out of PICU to the Neuro Department soon. We are not expecting pathology results until sometime next week. Thanks always for the prayers and support!

Please continue to pray and if you can send them a card and donate.  I know that is my project this weekend...I already picked up a gift card while I was getting a few items at Publix...easy as pie!

 Well we are teaching Olivia well and the apple is not falling far from the tree.  Today she found a piece of paper that has Georgia Bulldogs on it...and she recognized it and said, "Go Dawgs!"  Then when Olivia and I were watching the news tonight they were showing lots of footage about the Braves since Chipper Jones is retiring.  First she said baseball, then Braves, and then Chipper Jones.  The icing on the cake was she started doing the Tomahawk Chop! I was so surprised since we have only done it a few times with her.  Olivia's new favorite thing is to climb on the kitchen chairs and sit.  Tonight she climbed in a chair and started thumbing through the Kohls ad! This mommy has taught her well!!

What should we buy at Kohls??

 

Kindermusik and Update on Henry

Update on Henry... Jessica posted this in the afternoon today...

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6, 7 NIV). Today we are thankful for: 1) Henry is OFF the ventilator and breathing well. The surgeon's look of happy shock was priceless upon learning this. He marveled at this "little Hercules" and we marvel at the answered prayers of thousands of kind souls. 2) We can snuggle beside him now in the bed. This morning I laid my hand on his warm, soft face as we drifted into a nap. We can watch him nod or listen to a few whispered words. Ian was able to hold him in a rocker for 20 minutes and we got our first smile!! 3) our 2-year-old daughter is thriving under the care of my parents and sitters at times when we are both away, this gives tremendous peace. 4) God is present and doing powerful work. You all, His body, have lifted us with each kind word, each prayer, and every act of service. Specifics on Henry's diagnosis will come to us down the road, but we know that in the face of any prognosis, our Father remains faithful, powerful, and evident. You all have made our hearts burst with gratitude. God bless you and your families.

Please continue to pray for Henry and his family.  Every little thought and prayer counts.  

Well in our neck of the woods we had an ok day.  We went to Kindermusik tonight and had lots of fun.  We played with hula-hoops tonight and pretended we were washing machines.  It was pure entertainment to watch...Olivia may just be getting a hula-hoop from Santa! Olivia participated in the scrubbing segment tonight where we pretended to be scrubbing/cleaning...last week she said no and refused to do it.  Tonight she took the sponge and did it ! YAY! Olivia also had a pretty lengthy conversation with her animals before her nap...I captured just a bit before she fell asleep.  She keeps saying, "Goodnight Olivia." Then there is either poo poo or choo choo...I have no idea what she was talking about! Also Olivia learned her first letter....O! She can identify it in her name, on a block, and something that holds her toys!

Hula Hoop fun!

 

Attachment/Clingyness

Olivia is starting to get attached to things/clingy... her Lamby doll now needs to come with her downstairs... or wherever...she even brought her outside the other night.  If we try to take it away she cries... A LOT! The other night during dinner I told her that Lamby was going to go take a nap and I quickly threw her up the stairs.  Tonight it was a book.  I have a cute Marley and Me- Marley Saves the Day book.  We have looked at it several times and she can even point to the characters and say their names- John, Jenny, Patrick, Marley and Lisa.  She loves the page with the police car because it says, "Whoop! Whoop!" She thinks it is so funny! Well tonight we had major meltdown at bedtime because she wanted to take it to bed...I love the idea of taking a book to bed...but at the same time it scares me to death! I am so afraid something would happen...so right now...no books in bed.  So we had to get all calmed down and I put the book on the bookshelf and got her settled.  I guess this is one of those phases...I hope!

Please see the post after this about the update about Henry.  

Yep...sitting on the toilet with guess who?? Lamby!

Jake is not a horse!

Playing with my car with pigtails!

Keep Praying and How can you help?

Keep praying friends for Henry.

Here is the latest update...

Posted by Laura Davidson:

Henry remains stable and he is definitely a fighter. Results of the pathology test may come tomorrow. We will try to give updates each evening. The prayers are making a difference. Please pray for peace and calm as he heals from surgery.

Posted earlier today by mom Jessica:

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 TNIV) Today I am thankful for Henry's stability through the night, and for his responsiveness through the sedation (a sign he'll recover well from the procedure). I'm thankful for an outstanding surgeon and excellent medical staff, many of whom have shed tears and said prayers for our little man. I'm thankful for inspiring, selfless, supportive family, old friends, new friends, and for each of you taking time to pray for & encourage us. I'm thankful to serve a God who's heart is FOR us, and I'm thankful for all the ways He's already using this journey. I'm thankful and confident that we'll see Henry's smile again. Love and blessings to all of you.

 Now for the how can you help part...

This was posted by George Butler:

PLEASE READ: Hey all... We are all on this page because we love the Kelley family, or we are friends of someone who loves them... And most, if not all, on this page would probably also be able to say they believe in the power of prayer and that they are praying for Henry, Jessie, Ian, and Miri. I have been so encouraged to see so many people invited to this page (almost 7,000 at last count) and so many who accepted the invitation to the page (1,172 at the time of this posting). I, like many of you, wish there was more that I could do to support this sweet family from so far away. Many have emailed or messaged and asked about ideas of what we might be able to do to help be a support as the road ahead looks like it is going to be a long (and expensive) one. A little while ago I talked to Ian and posted some ideas about how we could be a support to them through some specific gift cards. I was thinking about that post and reading through the prayer page and I started to wonder what it would look like if each of the 1,172 members of this page were able to send just one $25 gift card for either gas, groceries, or visa to the Kelleys to use in the coming days (months?). If every one of us did that we would be able to send them $29,300.00 in support to help offset the many expenses they will now be facing. What would it look like if even a portion of those 1,172 people sent just one gift card? Together we can make a huge difference! In addition to your faithful prayers for this family I challenge each of us to consider sending a gift card in the coming days. I'm sure not everyone will be able to but hopefully any that they receive will lift a burden from them.
A humble suggestion from someone who loves this family...

Here is my original post which includes their address:

Some Ideas to Help: I asked Ian if it would be a blessing if we organized the sending of some gift cards to restaurants close to the hospital. In talking through this he said they really didn’t need gift cards to restaurants but that it would be a huge blessing if we could send some of the following: 

 1- PRAYER (this is the biggest), 

2- GAS CARDS (Ian is driving an hour each way to and from the hospital. He gets home each night in time to spend a couple hours with Miri. If you don’t know what gas stations are around there I would think VISA gift cards would serve the same purpose), 

3- GROCERY STORE GIFT CARDS (Publix, Kroger, and Target are all close to the hospital. He said he has made several trips to those stores since they are spending so much time at the hospital. They prefer to get groceries from those places for meals right now rather than from restaurants),

 4- WALMART GIFT CARDS (There isn’t a walmart near the hospital but there is one near their house and gift cards to there would be helpful when buying groceries for the house). 

Ian is checking the mail at their house each night so gift cards would be best to send to their home address. Hope that helps in giving some ideas about how you can bless this family! Their home address is: 20 Renwick Drive, Senoia, GA 30276

Praying

Friends and Family I am not asking for much except for a prayer.  I know you don't know the person but a prayer for this family is all that I am asking.  A former colleague I used to work with Jessica Kelley's son was diagnosed with a brain tumor this past weekend.  Here is a synopsis from their Facebook page they created....

Dear Friends,

This email is being sent to you to ask for your help for a sweet family in our community, Jessica & Ian Kelley and their children Henry (4 years old) & Miri (2 years old.)

For a while now, Henry has not been feeling the best. Ian and Jessica sensed that something was wrong and has been to the pediatrician several times. They have drawn blood work & everything has been coming back fine. About a week ago, they noticed that his hands were shaking a bit & it seemed to get worse as the days went on. Ian & Jessica decided to take him to the ER at Scottish-Rite on Friday night. The ER doctor ordered a CT of his head & they found a large mass in the front part of his brain. They were admitted about 11pm that night. Saturday morning Henry underwent a MRI of the brain and also had a drainage system called a ventriculostomy placed in his brain to help alleviate some of the pressure. After the MRI & the ventric placement, the Neurosurgeon came to the room to talk about what the MRI showed. He said that Henry has a large tumor that is “very large and appears quite invasive.” The plan for is for Henry to undergo brain surgery on Tuesday. The time of the surgery is not known at this moment but the neurosurgeon estimates the surgery to take 6-8 hours.

The Kelley family would LOVE for you to pray for them as they go through this tough time. They have a strong faith in God and know that prayer is very powerful in so many ways. Specifically for the next couple of days, they will need prayer for wisdom, patience, and perseverance while caring for little Henry until his surgery. Since he has the ventriculostomy, he has to stay in bed and has to keep his head at a relatively consistent level so that the drain does what it needs to do & works properly. We all know what a big task it would be to try to keep a 4 year old in a bed and lying relatively still.

In addition to prayer, there have been a lot of people ask what else they can do for this family. Here are some ideas:

1.The Kelleys will be having a various number of family/friends coming from out of town to visit over the next while. There has been a Care Calendar set up for them to help out with meals for them. Visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/126010. The CALENDAR ID is 126010 & the SECURITY CODE is 2081. The coordinator is Angela Kopacek so if you have any issues, please contact her at curt_ang_kopacek@hotmail.com or call 404-693-5662. Note: if a meal is just too much to try to fit in the next few weeks, feel free to bring something little to Mom to Mom on Thursday (ex: bunch of bananas or other fruit, box of oatmeal, snack boxes, of raisins, Granola bars, etc.)

2.Have your kids make a picture for Henry to look at while in the hospital

3.Write a note of encouragement for the family. Their address is 20 Renwick Drive in Senoia, GA 30276

4.Write a favorite Bible verse on a note card for them

5.Think of something Henry can do while in the hospital (books, etc.) to help pass time & keep him calm & entertained
 

If you feel led to do any of the above, you may bring the item(s) to our home on Sunday and it will be delivered to the family.

Thanks for your prayers and love!

 

Here is an update from today after his surgery:

Surgery's over. Henry is stable, but will probably be sedated for a couple days. Tumor is malignant and 50% was removed. We won't know what type it is or what the treatment options are until later in the week. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

 

If you would like to join their Facebook page search for- Prayer for Henry Kelley 

Jessica reads the board every night and the prayers and words of encouragement are a wonderful support for them.  

Please continue to pray for them.

18 Month Appointment

Today was Olivia's 18 month old doctor's appointment.  The time got switched to 10:45 a.m. so Malissa and I worked out that she would come in early today and I would stay later tomorrow so I could go to the appointment.  That is one of the benefits of job sharing that you can actually share!

I got there right on time and Brendon started filling out the lengthy paperwork.  The 18 month old checklist is a developmental checklist to see if children are developing.  There were a few items we weren't sure on.  One of them was if you drop a Cheerio in a clear bottle would your child turn it over to get it out.  Well we have never done that before...so I guess we need to try that skill.  She does dump stuff out.  Olivia was really good for the nurse and she asked us lots of questions too.  She asked us about sleeping, eating, diapers, and just overall questions.

Then we had to wait...and wait...and wait for our doctor.  I think some times it is a test of parenting skills.  Let's put parents and their little ones in a 5ft by 5ft room for a long period of time to see how they deal with your child.  Well here is what we did.  Olivia emptied the books out of the basket twice.  We looked at a few of the books.  The one book she didn't like the cover so she kept saying, "Ewwww!" Then we ate some snacks.  Did endless up and down off the table, to the chair, to daddy's lap, to mommy's lap.  We looked out the window at the cars going by.  We opened and closed the blinds a gazillion times.  We even did a little singing. 

Finally the doctor came in.  Olivia did great! Our doctor checked her all out- ears, nose, throat, heartbeat and all was fine.  I told her about my concern with her toes pointing in and she checked her hips and said it was with her hips and it should correct itself because it is very common but to keep a watch on it.  She said an orthopedist can't really do anything about it anyways.  The doctor checked her mouth and took a peek at the teeth.  I told her my concern about the lack of teeth and she said the left molars looked pretty swollen so they may be coming in soon...HA! I won't wait on that any time soon!  She said hopefully by 2 they will all be in... I am not counting on it. She passed her checkup with flying colors.  Then she got 2 shots which were the worst 30 seconds of crying...she turns bright red...scary red but was fine by the time we got to the car. 

So here are her stats:
Weight- 21 pounds and 9 oz (25-50th percentile) she gained 1 pound from 15 months!
Height- 31 3/4 of an inch (50-75th percentile) she grew 1/2 inch from 15 months!
Head Circumference- 47 1/4 cm (75-90th percentile) her head got bigger by a 1/2 of a cm!

Doctor said she looks good and will be pretty petite! So overall she is average weight and height with a big head!

As usual the scale shot! She did not cry this time!!

Getting ready to sit on the table!

Coffee time!

This morning we made it to church.  Olivia did pretty well.  She snacked for awhile and then read some books.  She loved to step on and off the kneeler.  She clapped at the end which was so funny!

Then we came home and she snacked some more.  Olivia was a snack-aholic today!  She couldn't get enough.  Her new favorite snack is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  She first called it crackers- they are square...but I taught her how to saw crunch so she now goes to the pantry door and says crunch! Hilarious.

After her nap we played outside for a bit...she wanted to swing.  This girl loves to swing! Then we had dinner.  The funniest part was that after dinner Brendon sometimes has a cup of coffee.  Well she saw her pretend tea cup and climbed on the chair with her Lamby and was pretending to have coffee after dinner.  It was hilarious! She even got a book and was looking at the book with her coffee!

Coffee time =)