All the days

Last year I wrote about some very special kiddos... our "heart kids," or children with congenital heart disease.  Susan is our pediatrician and she usually follows these patients.  She also helps to make arrangements for some of them to be seen and have surgery by a special team of doctors (Operation Open Heart).  When she was on home assignment last year, I took on that responsibility.

Baby of Sandra was one of my heart babies.  Isaac, as he was named, was born at our hospital.  He had trouble breathing from the very beginning of life.  In fact, every time I took him off oxygen he turned blue.  My working diagnosis was a ventricular septal defect, or a big ole hole in his heart.  Even though he missed the screening clinic in our nearby town of Mt. Hagen, I was able to transfer him to the hospital in Lae.  He was seen by the cardiology team.  They confirmed my diagnosis.  Unfortunately his defect was just too serious to be repaired in PNG.  

Sandra brought Isaac to clinic when they traveled back to the highlands.  I started him on some medicines to help his heart work a little better a little longer.  But I really didn't expect that he would live for very long.

Much to my surprise, I saw a familiar in clinic just a couple of weeks ago.  Sandra has gone back to school, so her mother is now looking after Isaac--who is still alive after a year and a couple of months.  He was looking rather blue and a bit underweight, but still alive.  Unbelievable!

I don't know how much time this little guy has left.  Papa does, for each one of his days was written before it came to be.  And each one is a miracle!

I don't have a picture of Melendi.  Since I was writing about heart kids, I wanted to ask you to pray for her.  She is about 14 months old and has PDA, or patent ductus arteriosis.  The surgery to correct this heart defect is pretty simple.  But when Melendi arrived in Port Moresby, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital.  The docs are waiting for her to get better before they will do her procedure.  Please pray that she will recover quickly and be able to have surgery to fix her heart!

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be."

~ Psalm 139:13-16