I miss Amma. Her funeral was yesterday, Sunday, and my mom has been there in Taiwan for it. I miss my mom too. I haven't talked to her since last Wed. when she called me at 04:45 in the morning to tell me she arrived safely. I miss not being able to talk to her and see how she's doing.
I thought I was fine, all happy and joyful. But yesterday at church, I was just down, kind of depressed. Thinking about dying and how that would be so great to be in heaven with God and with Jesus. Then I think how it's not up to me when I die. When my time has come, then the Lord will bring me home. Until then, my purpose and plan on earth isn't completed yet. I tell Greg that and he reminds me how much Jonah needs his Mommy and how he needs his wife. I guess it's nice to be missed, and it's good that I miss Amma. I'm glad that the Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. I guess that's what funerals are for. So that we can mourn the loss of our loved ones and rejoice that the pain is gone and that we'll see them again one day.
It's really a beautiful day today and we enjoyed this weekend spending time outdoors as a family. I'm back to 100% now physically, and keeping up with Jonah. He's got so much energy! It's nice to feel rested and energized. I think I need to give myself a chance to really grieve and it may take a while to be okay. I think about my mom and wonder how she's coping with the loss of her mother. I would be so sad if my mother were gone. I have to let her grieve and share with me about her sadness and loss instead of trying to say things to make it all okay.
Thank You, Lord, that you comfort those who mourn and you bless them.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Amma is in heaven.
Amma is in heaven. I am confident of this. At first I was worried that I would not be able to pray with her, then I realized, it's not up to my power, God is bigger than all this and He can do amazing things! He can change hearts, not I. And I may never know until the day Christ comes, or until I die, that Amma is living with Jesus in heaven.Yesterday morning, my mom called me to tell me that Amma passed away just after midnight our time, or 12:25pm June 11, 2008, Taiwan time. She was peaceful, and now the pain is gone. My mom said she talked with Amma and asked if she's still holding on because she wants to be a Christian? and her sister kept taking the phone away from Amma saying to my mom, "speak Taiwanese, she can't understand you." My mom was trying, but she can't remember. It's been so many years since she spoke the Taiwanese dialect, so she was speaking Mandarin. My mom was trying to tell Amma thank you for letting her go to college. [My mom was the only person in her family to leave the Buddhist religion and go to a Christian college.] My mom was in tears as she was telling me this. And she thinks Amma heard her because she kept saying "uh." trying to respond because she tried to talk but had no voice. She could only shake her head and nod, but my mom heard her responses.
I said, "mom, we can assume that Amma is in heaven because she was holding on, not that she just wanted to talk to you, but because she had something in her mind. And she wanted to let you know that she accepted Jesus." My mom said Amma's pulse slowed down after talking with her and she was calm. I said, "wow! That's amazing, because her pulse was 120 for 2 days!" Then they washed her and changed her clothes, since they knew the time was coming soon, and her body changed to a beautiful pink color, and she looked like a doll. She had a smile on her face and she left smoothly and peacefully.
I'm in awe at the amazing work God did in our lives! I told my mom that it's amazing that she shared the gospel with Amma when she was in high school and Amma wanted to be a Christian, but there was cultural pressure. Then I learned two Bible verses in Mandarin about 10 yrs. ago and continued praying for Amma's salvation. Then we went to Taiwan as a family with our husbands and Amma's great-grandson Jonah, and shared these verses with her and prayed with her and loved her and showed the peace we have in Jesus in our family. Then I was praying constantly and all night when I heard that she was back in the hospital and something was on her mind that she's holding on, and they can't figure out what it is, but they hoped my mom would call her. I prayed that someone would tell her the prayer, be it my mom or someone in the hospital, or God would just speak directly to her heart so that she would know that He can save her from death if she believes in her heart that Jesus is Lord and she can live with Him forever in heaven.
I would have been happy waiting until That Day to know if Amma is in heaven, but I told my mom, how amazing that God wanted to let us know that Amma accepted Jesus before she died. She said she's going to write a letter and said I can write a letter too so my mom can take it and burn it with her body. I said, "okay, I'll write a letter. The letters are more for us, not for Amma, but I will be praising God in that letter, and we can pray directly to Jesus and he can hear our prayers and answer us. And Amma is smiling down on us from heaven."
My mom is now dealing with the stress of preparing to travel back for the funeral and with her siblings preparing for the funeral. She was worried about dishonesty that could happen, and I told her to just pray that the person would not be dishonest and would do things the way Amma would have wanted, with integrity and honesty. I said, "Mom, we have to pray for our family because they have no hope. You could see the look on their faces. We have to continue praying because their hope is only in this life and how much money and material things they can have. Obviously, you can't take any of that with you."
I'm SO amazed at God's amazing works! The way He works things out for our good and His glory! The more people I tell, the more I hear that we were obedient and shared the gospel with her, but the more I know that God has honored our request for her salvation! I know it's not up to me, it's between Amma and God, but I'm glad I was able to know for certain that she did indeed accept the forgiveness of Christ. Now, we have to continue living our life for Him and sharing the good news with others and continuing to pray for those we love who are rejecting Christ right now. I did before, but then I turned to Him and cried out for Him to save me, and he did! He saved me from my sin and continues to teach me how to be like Him more everyday. I've surrendered my life to Him, and it took me a while to relinquish that power completely over to Him in every area of my life, but I did. And I still struggle with taking back some control, thinking "I can do it, Daddy, I can handle it by myself. Watch me." But in reality, I can't. And it's my pride that wants to do it on my own. He's bigger and He can carry me when I'm weak and I can't go on any further. When I stumble and fall, he picks me up, brushes me off, and shows me that I just need to trust Him to handle it.
Thank You, Lord, for loving us the way You do!
James, my mom, Greg, me, Jonah, cousins Yen-Ray (back), Wei-Jen, 2nd Cousin Sun Wei, and his dad, Dr. Sun Wu after a dinner in Kaohsiung. 5/16/08
My aunt and her grandson, Sun Wei, Jonah, me, and Amma at Amma's house after the dinner.
Sun-Wei and Jonah playing with Amma's beads.
Sun Wei, his mommy and my cousin Sun Mei-Huei, me, Jonah, Amma, cousins Wei-wei, and Wei-Jen.
Jonah and Mommy clapping with Amma.
Greg, Jonah and me at a Buddhist temple park in Tainan. 5/17/08.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
About Amma
Amma is back in the hospital after she was home, after hearing about her condition (lung cancer) because there's no air conditioning and she was very hot and uncomfortable. Dr. Sun said that she was getting much worse and her dr. said maybe only a few hours more. Then Dr. Sun asked my cousins to sing to her the songs she used to sing to them in Japanese and she was happy and her condition improved a little. My uncle told my mom this too. Amma doesn't want us to rush to go back to Taiwan, but she wants us to take care of our own health first and take care of Jonah. Dr. Sun hopes that my mom will call because Amma can still hear. He said she is so strong and is still holding on because of something in her mind. They're having trouble figuring out what is in her mind because she can only nod and shake her head. I'm praying that she will open her heart and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he can save her from death and give her eternal life with Him in heaven. I e-mailed that to him and asked them to please tell her that for me.
I called my mom and asked her to call and pray with Amma that if she believes in her heart and confesses with her mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, she will be saved. I also prayed that she would be able to share that with her, because I don't know if she's spiritually prepared to do that right now. She's at my sister's house playing with Calvin. I asked her to talk with Dolly about praying with Amma and to call even now. Dolly was in Crusade and went to China in college. I just keep praying, but I'm praying also that someone would share that with her, or that Jesus would speak directly to her heart through our cries. I'm thankful that He can change hearts, even in the very end.
I called my mom and asked her to call and pray with Amma that if she believes in her heart and confesses with her mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, she will be saved. I also prayed that she would be able to share that with her, because I don't know if she's spiritually prepared to do that right now. She's at my sister's house playing with Calvin. I asked her to talk with Dolly about praying with Amma and to call even now. Dolly was in Crusade and went to China in college. I just keep praying, but I'm praying also that someone would share that with her, or that Jesus would speak directly to her heart through our cries. I'm thankful that He can change hearts, even in the very end.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Health Updates
Since we've been back, Jonah has contracted pneumonia. Amma also has pneumonia. They both got it around the same time, about last Monday. I'll first update you on Jonah and then tell you what I know about Amma.
Jonah started coughing last Mon. and on Tues. had a fever all day with rapid breathing (tachypnea) and coughing and congestion and Wed. I took him to his dr. He had a 104.6 fever. They ordered a breathing treatment immediately and didn't hear fluid in his lungs but ordered a chest x-ray. As we were awaiting the results of the chest x-ray, I thought about Amma. Dr. Sun (my cousin's husband, a pediatrician) had been keeping me updated on Amma's condition and she was diagnosed with tachypnea (rapid breathing) and then pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital on Sunday or Monday. I was hoping Jonah didn't have pneumonia too. When I described Jonah's coughing and trouble breathing, Dr. Sun suggested I listed with my ear to his back and if I hear fluid in his lungs, I could do percussion on his back for 2-3 min. to help him cough out the secretions. He thought he could have bronchiolitis. I researched bronchiolitis, and it's a viral condition with fluid in the lungs, sometimes confused with pneumonia, which is bacterial.
Jonah's chest x-ray showed the beginning stages of pneumonia in the lower lungs. The dr. prescribed Omnicef, a stronger antibiotic, for the pneumonia, and Motrin every 6 hours to take down his fever and breathing treatment (a nebulizer, humidified oxygen) 4 x a day. He recommended I continue to nurse him, so I do, 7x a day. I asked if he could tell from the x-ray if it's bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and he said they can't tell, but they want to treat it with antibiotics as a precaution. I thought this would be okay, since he's never had antibiotics in his life. This is the 3rd fever he's had in his life, and the second one was when we got on the plane to Taiwan.
I was exhausted, still coughing and weak, not fully recovered from whatever illness Greg and I contracted, so we prayed that the Lord would provide nutrition and asked for help with meals. What a blessing and outpouring of love! Our church organized meals through our Sunday school class and Flock Group and we still have meals in the fridge and more offers for meals. Praise the Lord! Greg, Jonah, and I were able to eat dinner together on Fri. and Sat. and lunch and dinner on Sunday. On Thursday, when I was overwhelmed with Jonah's diagnosis and treatment schedule and sleep deprived, our flock group leader, Theresa Fronius, came to our house and cooked dinner and took care of Chuy and played with Jonah while I took a 30 min. nap. I was able to focus on taking care of Jonah and do his breathing treatments and give him meds while she handled the dog and the food. Her selfless time and gracious efforts encouraged me and made me thank God even more! He provided the nutrition that we prayed for. Jonah's been eating well, 2 meals on Sat., 3 meals on Sunday and a big breakfast today so far!
His fever came down on Friday and I thought he was responding well to the meds because he had good energy and appetite. Sat. morning he woke up at 5:30 just restless so I checked for fever. He felt normal, so I nursed him. Turned on the light at 7:30 and saw a rash all over his face and then saw it was all over his body. I read on the prescription that this was a sign of an allergic reaction to Omnicef, so I immediately called the dr.'s office. The nurse suggested I bring him in to be looked at. Thank goodness that Northpoint Pediatrics has Sat. morning clinic hours from 8-10am. Good thing he had no fever and his breathing sounded good. The rash could be accompanied with trouble breathing and swelling, but he didn't have any of that. Praise the Lord! So they prescribed a new antibiotic that we have to take for another 10 days. The pharmacist said that since Augmentin ES is in the same "family" as Omnicef, that he may be allergic to this one too, but we won't know until his rash clears up, in about 48 hours. So they suggested giving him Benedryl every 6 hours to help with his rash and Augmentin every 12 hours. I was concerned to give him Benedryl too, since he's never had medicine in his life and then when I gave him Omnicef, it caused a rash and an allergic reaction. I've never taken Benedryl, because I have asthma so I can't take it, and I was tired and exhausted and emotionally drained. I had just read an e-mail that Amma was doing worse with her pneumonia in the hospital, just after she was doing better for 2 days, and Dr. Sun thought it could be 1-2 days, it's hard to predict. He wrote that he hopes she has a good "final journey." So I was sad about that too, since I love my Amma and I will miss her so much!
Thankfully, just then there was a knock at the door, Mirriel Chandler, from our Sunday School class was bringing a meal over for lunch on Sat. and I talked with her and she prayed with me too. She prayed that the new medicine would help his body get rid of the pneumonia and that he would not get worse. She prayed for Amma's salvation and that even when she is lying there on her bed that she would open her heart to God and ask for Him to save her. We appreciated her prayers and continued prayers and her delicious meal. She even offered to help me this week if I needed help at home. Praise the Lord the way He provides relief!
Greg and I thought about Benedryl, and I asked others about it, and all said it's very mild and there's usually not a reaction. I thought it could help his rash get better, because we don't want him to have breathing troubles from it, but it could clear on its own in 48 hours. So then we thought, we'll give it to him at 2 and 8pm and then not until the next day when he wakes up. He slept 12 hours Sat. night and we continued to give him the Benedryl. His breathing treatments went well, and his rash seemed to be more blotchy, but not itchy or bothersome. After giving his last breathing treatment of the day, last Benedryl and final dose of the Augmentin, nursing him and putting him to bed by 8:30, I was exhausted. I hoped he'd sleep through the night.
I checked my e-mail and found out that Amma kept encouraging everyone to hold it together and to take care of each other. They were all "tearing", Dr. Sun said. They finally told her that she has lung cancer and she wanted to go home. She's more comfortable at home, so she has her oxygen still but they signed the "no resuscitation" agreement so it could be any day now. I called my mom and told her this, and she didn't know that Amma had pneumonia. I thought she knew that Jonah and Amma had it, and I hoped he didn't because I knew Amma did. The good thing is that Amma does not have tuberculosis, though she thought she did, and I was concerned that we would have to get him tested (in a month, Dr. Laurel Couts suggested).
Dr. Laurel is such a great friend. She and her husband Ryan (Greg's friend from HS) were at Jonah's birthday party, and she was so helpful with him and helped me so much, with cutting the cake and things. I was grateful to be able to talk with her through all of the questions I had for Jonah's dr, that I didn't get a chance to ask him, since he didn't see Jonah, but only the nurse practitioner did. The nurse practitioner added more concern on Wed. when she thought he had hand foot and mouth disease which has nothing to do with respiratory, so it threw me all off, and added more stress, because I knew that this was unnecessary and I just wanted to see his dr. On Sat. when we went in, another nurse practitioner thought the rash could have been viral, and that he could have caught it anywhere. I said, "he's just been at home with me." She said, "you haven't taken him anywhere in a week?" Unbelieving, I said, "no, just here, to the dr. on Wed." I guess she didn't realize that he has pneumonia, and we've been sick. Of course I'm not taking him anywhere. When the dr. at the clinic saw his rash, she thought it was an allergic reaction to Omnicef too, and prescribed Augmentin ES. I love nurses and dr.s and health care professionals, but I'm going to request not to see the nurse practitioners anymore because in these 2 encounters, I've had wasted time and energy and undue stress on Jonah because of their far out misdiagnoses!
Praise the Lord for insight and good medicine and drs. and nurses who take time to listen and think before jumping to conclusions. We're thankful that Jonah is strong and though he's weak during this illness, he's smiling and playful and takes the time to laugh that "woody woodpecker" laugh. It sounds raspy and low and congested, but he still smiles and shows off his 4 teeth!
Back to the present. Jonah's napping now. He slept well last night, woke up at 6:00 to nurse, and his rash was looking better. It's almost gone, not really on his face anymore, hardly on his torso, and just on his legs and arms. It's as if it's leaving his body. Who knows, he may develop a rash tomorrow from the meds, but if he does, we'll know what to look for. I almost forgot to do his first breathing treatment this morning, before his nap, so I did, and then put him in the crib and he sat up and talked to me and stood up, and I looked at the time, and realized it was 10:00 and he probably wanted to nurse. So I did, and now he's resting. I'm so glad he had a good breakfast and some play time this morning. He had diarrhea this morning on the toilet, but it's a side effect of the meds. At least he's getting rid of the pneumonia through his waste. Oh, and that's another thing, in Taiwan he used the toilet, and would hold it until we went to the toilet as best as he could, so we saved a lot of diapers, using 1 or 2 a day. When we came back and he was jet lagged, however, he started using his diaper as a toilet. I knew he'd get back on track when he was back on schedule, and I thought maybe after the pneumonia, but these past 3 days, he's been using the toilet well and is more hydrated.
I just talked to my mom about Jonah and Amma, and she had talked to her sister this morning at 5:30 am. She told my mom that Amma is doing worse and is in the hospital. I thought that she wanted to go home and that she was at home, but maybe it was confusing talking on the phone, and my mom might have heard that Amma was doing worse and was in the hospital. So, my mom is preparing to go back to Taiwan. She's not doing well, and is on medication. She needs to have surgery in Houston soon for her thyroid, but doesn't want to worry about it right now. She may go before the funeral, but otherwise it would be 2 weeks after the death, so she's not sure what to do now. We're praying for her and James since they have a lot going on now and a lot of decisions to make and they're not fully recovered from all the travel.
We're so grateful for our God, the great Physician, he gives us strength to get through each day. We're praying that Amma will be comforted and that she will ask for Jesus to save her. I know that I may not know until Christ comes, but I have a peace that He's in control, not me, and that it's between Him and her now. Praying that my mom will have a clear mind and guidance as to what to do concerning her own health and with traveling to Taiwan again to see Amma either before she dies or for her funeral. Praying that Jonah will continue to get stronger and breath easier and that the meds would help his body to rid itself of the pneumonia. Praying that Greg will feel better today (he woke up feeling sore and like he was run over by a truck or that he did heavy yard work), so he can have a good, full, productive work week.
God is good. All the time. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Praise the Lord for He is good. It is good to sing praises to our God!
Jonah started coughing last Mon. and on Tues. had a fever all day with rapid breathing (tachypnea) and coughing and congestion and Wed. I took him to his dr. He had a 104.6 fever. They ordered a breathing treatment immediately and didn't hear fluid in his lungs but ordered a chest x-ray. As we were awaiting the results of the chest x-ray, I thought about Amma. Dr. Sun (my cousin's husband, a pediatrician) had been keeping me updated on Amma's condition and she was diagnosed with tachypnea (rapid breathing) and then pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital on Sunday or Monday. I was hoping Jonah didn't have pneumonia too. When I described Jonah's coughing and trouble breathing, Dr. Sun suggested I listed with my ear to his back and if I hear fluid in his lungs, I could do percussion on his back for 2-3 min. to help him cough out the secretions. He thought he could have bronchiolitis. I researched bronchiolitis, and it's a viral condition with fluid in the lungs, sometimes confused with pneumonia, which is bacterial.
Jonah's chest x-ray showed the beginning stages of pneumonia in the lower lungs. The dr. prescribed Omnicef, a stronger antibiotic, for the pneumonia, and Motrin every 6 hours to take down his fever and breathing treatment (a nebulizer, humidified oxygen) 4 x a day. He recommended I continue to nurse him, so I do, 7x a day. I asked if he could tell from the x-ray if it's bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and he said they can't tell, but they want to treat it with antibiotics as a precaution. I thought this would be okay, since he's never had antibiotics in his life. This is the 3rd fever he's had in his life, and the second one was when we got on the plane to Taiwan.
I was exhausted, still coughing and weak, not fully recovered from whatever illness Greg and I contracted, so we prayed that the Lord would provide nutrition and asked for help with meals. What a blessing and outpouring of love! Our church organized meals through our Sunday school class and Flock Group and we still have meals in the fridge and more offers for meals. Praise the Lord! Greg, Jonah, and I were able to eat dinner together on Fri. and Sat. and lunch and dinner on Sunday. On Thursday, when I was overwhelmed with Jonah's diagnosis and treatment schedule and sleep deprived, our flock group leader, Theresa Fronius, came to our house and cooked dinner and took care of Chuy and played with Jonah while I took a 30 min. nap. I was able to focus on taking care of Jonah and do his breathing treatments and give him meds while she handled the dog and the food. Her selfless time and gracious efforts encouraged me and made me thank God even more! He provided the nutrition that we prayed for. Jonah's been eating well, 2 meals on Sat., 3 meals on Sunday and a big breakfast today so far!
His fever came down on Friday and I thought he was responding well to the meds because he had good energy and appetite. Sat. morning he woke up at 5:30 just restless so I checked for fever. He felt normal, so I nursed him. Turned on the light at 7:30 and saw a rash all over his face and then saw it was all over his body. I read on the prescription that this was a sign of an allergic reaction to Omnicef, so I immediately called the dr.'s office. The nurse suggested I bring him in to be looked at. Thank goodness that Northpoint Pediatrics has Sat. morning clinic hours from 8-10am. Good thing he had no fever and his breathing sounded good. The rash could be accompanied with trouble breathing and swelling, but he didn't have any of that. Praise the Lord! So they prescribed a new antibiotic that we have to take for another 10 days. The pharmacist said that since Augmentin ES is in the same "family" as Omnicef, that he may be allergic to this one too, but we won't know until his rash clears up, in about 48 hours. So they suggested giving him Benedryl every 6 hours to help with his rash and Augmentin every 12 hours. I was concerned to give him Benedryl too, since he's never had medicine in his life and then when I gave him Omnicef, it caused a rash and an allergic reaction. I've never taken Benedryl, because I have asthma so I can't take it, and I was tired and exhausted and emotionally drained. I had just read an e-mail that Amma was doing worse with her pneumonia in the hospital, just after she was doing better for 2 days, and Dr. Sun thought it could be 1-2 days, it's hard to predict. He wrote that he hopes she has a good "final journey." So I was sad about that too, since I love my Amma and I will miss her so much!
Thankfully, just then there was a knock at the door, Mirriel Chandler, from our Sunday School class was bringing a meal over for lunch on Sat. and I talked with her and she prayed with me too. She prayed that the new medicine would help his body get rid of the pneumonia and that he would not get worse. She prayed for Amma's salvation and that even when she is lying there on her bed that she would open her heart to God and ask for Him to save her. We appreciated her prayers and continued prayers and her delicious meal. She even offered to help me this week if I needed help at home. Praise the Lord the way He provides relief!
Greg and I thought about Benedryl, and I asked others about it, and all said it's very mild and there's usually not a reaction. I thought it could help his rash get better, because we don't want him to have breathing troubles from it, but it could clear on its own in 48 hours. So then we thought, we'll give it to him at 2 and 8pm and then not until the next day when he wakes up. He slept 12 hours Sat. night and we continued to give him the Benedryl. His breathing treatments went well, and his rash seemed to be more blotchy, but not itchy or bothersome. After giving his last breathing treatment of the day, last Benedryl and final dose of the Augmentin, nursing him and putting him to bed by 8:30, I was exhausted. I hoped he'd sleep through the night.
I checked my e-mail and found out that Amma kept encouraging everyone to hold it together and to take care of each other. They were all "tearing", Dr. Sun said. They finally told her that she has lung cancer and she wanted to go home. She's more comfortable at home, so she has her oxygen still but they signed the "no resuscitation" agreement so it could be any day now. I called my mom and told her this, and she didn't know that Amma had pneumonia. I thought she knew that Jonah and Amma had it, and I hoped he didn't because I knew Amma did. The good thing is that Amma does not have tuberculosis, though she thought she did, and I was concerned that we would have to get him tested (in a month, Dr. Laurel Couts suggested).
Dr. Laurel is such a great friend. She and her husband Ryan (Greg's friend from HS) were at Jonah's birthday party, and she was so helpful with him and helped me so much, with cutting the cake and things. I was grateful to be able to talk with her through all of the questions I had for Jonah's dr, that I didn't get a chance to ask him, since he didn't see Jonah, but only the nurse practitioner did. The nurse practitioner added more concern on Wed. when she thought he had hand foot and mouth disease which has nothing to do with respiratory, so it threw me all off, and added more stress, because I knew that this was unnecessary and I just wanted to see his dr. On Sat. when we went in, another nurse practitioner thought the rash could have been viral, and that he could have caught it anywhere. I said, "he's just been at home with me." She said, "you haven't taken him anywhere in a week?" Unbelieving, I said, "no, just here, to the dr. on Wed." I guess she didn't realize that he has pneumonia, and we've been sick. Of course I'm not taking him anywhere. When the dr. at the clinic saw his rash, she thought it was an allergic reaction to Omnicef too, and prescribed Augmentin ES. I love nurses and dr.s and health care professionals, but I'm going to request not to see the nurse practitioners anymore because in these 2 encounters, I've had wasted time and energy and undue stress on Jonah because of their far out misdiagnoses!
Praise the Lord for insight and good medicine and drs. and nurses who take time to listen and think before jumping to conclusions. We're thankful that Jonah is strong and though he's weak during this illness, he's smiling and playful and takes the time to laugh that "woody woodpecker" laugh. It sounds raspy and low and congested, but he still smiles and shows off his 4 teeth!
Back to the present. Jonah's napping now. He slept well last night, woke up at 6:00 to nurse, and his rash was looking better. It's almost gone, not really on his face anymore, hardly on his torso, and just on his legs and arms. It's as if it's leaving his body. Who knows, he may develop a rash tomorrow from the meds, but if he does, we'll know what to look for. I almost forgot to do his first breathing treatment this morning, before his nap, so I did, and then put him in the crib and he sat up and talked to me and stood up, and I looked at the time, and realized it was 10:00 and he probably wanted to nurse. So I did, and now he's resting. I'm so glad he had a good breakfast and some play time this morning. He had diarrhea this morning on the toilet, but it's a side effect of the meds. At least he's getting rid of the pneumonia through his waste. Oh, and that's another thing, in Taiwan he used the toilet, and would hold it until we went to the toilet as best as he could, so we saved a lot of diapers, using 1 or 2 a day. When we came back and he was jet lagged, however, he started using his diaper as a toilet. I knew he'd get back on track when he was back on schedule, and I thought maybe after the pneumonia, but these past 3 days, he's been using the toilet well and is more hydrated.
I just talked to my mom about Jonah and Amma, and she had talked to her sister this morning at 5:30 am. She told my mom that Amma is doing worse and is in the hospital. I thought that she wanted to go home and that she was at home, but maybe it was confusing talking on the phone, and my mom might have heard that Amma was doing worse and was in the hospital. So, my mom is preparing to go back to Taiwan. She's not doing well, and is on medication. She needs to have surgery in Houston soon for her thyroid, but doesn't want to worry about it right now. She may go before the funeral, but otherwise it would be 2 weeks after the death, so she's not sure what to do now. We're praying for her and James since they have a lot going on now and a lot of decisions to make and they're not fully recovered from all the travel.
We're so grateful for our God, the great Physician, he gives us strength to get through each day. We're praying that Amma will be comforted and that she will ask for Jesus to save her. I know that I may not know until Christ comes, but I have a peace that He's in control, not me, and that it's between Him and her now. Praying that my mom will have a clear mind and guidance as to what to do concerning her own health and with traveling to Taiwan again to see Amma either before she dies or for her funeral. Praying that Jonah will continue to get stronger and breath easier and that the meds would help his body to rid itself of the pneumonia. Praying that Greg will feel better today (he woke up feeling sore and like he was run over by a truck or that he did heavy yard work), so he can have a good, full, productive work week.
God is good. All the time. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Praise the Lord for He is good. It is good to sing praises to our God!
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