Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:55 am Post subject: Update: Eli Goes Home To Be With the Lord
This is an ongoing story of faith, courage and strength gained from the Lord. Little Eli's grandparents are friends of ours and we and many others have prayed for this little guy since day one of his little life. Here is this precious child's story so far. I just know that the Lord has great plans for this little one.
Dear prayers,
This is a summary of Eli's first week and a half. It gives you the heads up on his current conditions and how God has worked with him and for him. Keep it up!
Thank you so much,
Charlie and Judy Fly
Eli Keeps Fighting! Summary of His First Days..
8/15/09
Our tough little grandson Eli is now 10 days old, He already has a pretty rocky history with more surgeries than most get in a lifetime. And he still faces 2 more open heart surgeries! I wanted to give you a current report on our little buddy so here goes....
As most of you know, Eli Harris Robinson had his 1st open heart surgery (Norwood procedure) on Monday. That was day 5 for Eli and was quite a rollercoaster ride. I'll try to get you up to date since my last email.
Tuesday/6 days old: The day after his big surgery will be a day of rest and recuperation. He is hooked up to a machine called ECMO which takes care of heart and lung functions. All his blood flows out a tube in his chest, through the machine, and then back into his heart. His little chest has remained open since this procedure.
Thanks to my buddy Bob McKinney for mentioning a painting of a surgeon in an Operating Room...Jesus has one hand on his shoulder and the other hand guiding the surgeon's hand. A comforting image that now resides on my computer next to Eli's picture.
Wednesday/7 days old: Eli is 1 week old! There is bleeding around the heart & lungs. They try to take him off the ECMO machine but it doesn't go well. He is connected back to ECMO. Dr. Bichell went in and did a Diagnostic Catheterization. They find a blood clot that is in a dangerous location. During the procedure the clot somehow moves and goes into the newly manufactured shunt. That's a great thing because now if it moves it won't travel to the brain. (Good going Jesus!). His Left Pulmonary Artery is small and blood flow is not good. Doctors schedule a strategy meeting for tomorrow morning.
May God bless the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who have such a sincere dedication to keeping Eli alive!
Thursday/8 days old: Doctors meet & decide to go back in tomorrow morning to deal with the blood clot & pulmonary artery. Eli has a good day. His numbers are improving and he has been opening his eyes although doctors don't want him to get too excited. He even squeezed Carla's finger!
Thank you Lord for giving little Eli strength and spirit!
Friday/9 days old: Back into surgery. Dr. Bichell takes care of the blood clot by replacing the shunt with a new one. He repairs the artery issue by reconstructing how things are situated. Bleeding has stopped. This doctor is some kind of genius! Eli goes into OR at 8am and gets out 8pm. An extremely long surgery that has extreme ups & downs!
Saturday/10 days old: Eli is stable and resting. We are so thankful that he made it though an unbelievable day of surgery. He will be on ECMO for 48-72 hours. Todd & Beth are both exhausted but rejoicing. The doctors are impressed with his fighting spirit. Today he opens his eyes and is checking out the place. I think he liked it better in Mommy's tummy.
Our little fighter has really been through it all. And I know that through it all we've learned to trust in Jesus even more. We've really been witness to a gracious God answering the prayers of his people. And to all of you people I'd like to send out a humongous THANK YOU for the prayers and best wishes. If you would be so gracious......please keep 'em coming. We're not home yet but we're on the road.
Trusting in the Lord,
Carla & Robby
For more regular updates you can "friend" Todd on his Facebook page. Make sure you introduce yourself if he doesn't know you. (I don't really understand Facebook). Beth has blog: http://bethstime.blogspot.com/
Last edited by God's Warrior on Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:43 am; edited 2 times in total
This is from From Todd (Eli's father)
Monday at 9:43pm
What a weekend. Had another "scare" last evening but once again, Eli stabilized. Resting well today with good numbers. Has not been able to come off ECMO but will try again Wednesday AM. He's my little fighter! God is so
good! Thanks for sharing and thanks all for praying.
Another crisis averted, the bleeding has subsided. Thank you-thank you to all of you who lifted up our little buddy in prayer (along with doctors & nurses). I know positively that God hears the prayers of His people! We are so grateful to each of you and grateful to the Great Physician.
I thought I would send you Eli's log since the last email to get you up to speed. (He's getting a little too dramatic, though!)
Sunday/11 days old
Early this morning they start to wean Eli off ECMO but he doesn't respond well. They go back to ECMO. Eli has a restful day. They did a brain scan yesterday that showed a slight hemorrage in the brain and do another one today that doesn't show any increase. Good news! TDF has church-wide prayers for Eli with his pictures up on the screen. Todd gives a brief report to the congregation..."the body of Christ is alive and well". Thank you Saints of God!
Tonight there is bleeding out of his chest cavity around the tubes that are going into his heart. The bleeding is increasing. They called Dr. Bichell to come in. We send out a specific prayer request to all you Prayer Warriors to ask for the bleeding to stop. The bleeding slows down to a manageable flow. The doctor doesn't need to come in. Wow. Thank you friends and thank you Lord!
Monday/12 days old
This morning Dr. Bichell went back in and was able to take care of the bleeding. They also make another attempt to ween Eli off the ECMO machine but he doesn't respond well. They keep him on ECMO....this is something that will need to be eliminated sometime in near future. Basically Eli has a pretty stable Monday. There are sure a lot of people praying for this little fella.
Tuesday/13 days old
Most of today Eli has been resting comfortably and his numbers are doing well. However tonight he starts to bleed out of his chest cavity again. From 5pm to 7pm he bleeds heavily and the bleeding accelerates from 7-8. Eli's blood pressure is dropping. Dr. Bichell is called in while we send out prayer requests. Like a rerun of Sunday night they are able to get the bleeding to subside to a manageable level.
His numbers are now stable and Dr. Bichell feels they can go ahead to try to ween Eli off the ECMO machine tomorrow. (He will be 2 weeks old....pretty wild ride).
We give thanks to the LORD...His mercy endures forever. May the King of Kings guide the mind and hands of Dr. Bichell and his whole staff. May the Lord of Lords grant healing to Eli Harris Robinson!
carla & robby
Last edited by God's Warrior on Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
Friends,
The amazing drama of Eli's battle continues. This tiny baby has already experienced more surgeries than many will endure in a lifetime. From what I have been told Eli was blessed with very special parents in Beth and Todd, but it is also very evident from these updates that he also has some very special grandparents in Carla and Robby.
Please continue to lift up baby Eli and all of his family daily in your prayers. Sent by Bill Davis' email prayer ministry
8/21/09 Friday night at Vanderbilt
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING! Our incredible little fighter, Eli Harris Robinson, just got out of his 3rd open-heart surgery and he is not even 3 weeks old yet! I am very happy to report that he is doing well! (Go Eli!)
Not to sound like a broken record but we are EXTREMELY THANKFUL for all of your prayers and support. I KNOW God hears AND answers the prayers of His people. We have witnessed it first-hand these past couple of weeks.
Now to catch you up on Eli's amazing (true-life) saga.....
Wednesday/14 days old
Tuesday night we sent out a Praise Report that Eli had gotten past his bleeding problems. Well....in the wee hours he had yet another episode of bleeding. Things got very scary. Eventually the doctors were able to get a handle on it and the bleeding subsides. (Just when we thought it safe to relax a little!)
Things are really starting to take their toll on Beth & Todd. They have been through quite a lot! They both get a chance to go home and get some sleep.
However...today an extraordinary turn of events is that Eli's heart is now functioning and doing all the work it needs to do. He is taken off the ECMO for his heart and put on another type ECMO machine that performs the functions of his lungs.
Thanks to the Lord for this good news (as well as His Good News...John 3:16)!
Thursday/15 days old
Today they try to ween Eli off the ECMO machine for his lungs but it doesn't go well. His heart is doing its job but there is a problem with the lungs. Basically they will give him a day to rest and recuperate. The plan is to try to ween him off the machine tomorrow.
Beth and Todd respond well to their extended night of sleep. Todd even goes into work for the first time since Eli was born. Their friends, family and church family have been supportive above and beyond the call of duty. (The Body of Christ IS alive and well!)
I'm really starting to feel God has a remarkable plan for the life of this little fella who has had to fight so hard in his first couple of weeks of life.
Friday/16 days old
This morning starts with an attempt to ween Eli off the ECMO machine. Again no-go. They have to find the cause of his lungs not working on their own so the next plan is to go back and do another diagnostic catheterization (I've learned more medical terms in the last 3 weeks than I've ever known!). They will also do a biopsy to check the lungs on the cellular level. Another issue that rears up today is the fact that his kidneys have not been working well for a couple of days.
After the cath procedure they discover that the right Pulmonary Artery has a narrowing and is not working properly. Their 1st plan is to put a stent in, however Dr. Bichell is in OR doing a heart surgery at the time and after conferring with him, they all decide the best course will be to put a "patch" on the artery. This will be a better and stronger solution. They get started with tough little Eli's 3rd open-heart surgery at 8pm.
Everything goes well in surgery (Hallelujah!). He is hooked up to a CVVH machine for his kidney to help get through next couple of days....no big deal for a guy in his condition. We pray that tomorrow goes well when they take him off ECMO.
We are so blessed by the fact that Eli is born in the time and place he is. Vanderbilt Children's Hospital is truly a place that miracles happen on a regular basis... all things considered not a bad place to spend a Friday night. And we can't say enough about the wonderful, dedicated, and caring staff. May God bless them all!
Well our little fighter took a step backward today. After an unsuccessful attempt to ween him from the lung ECMO machine and a struggle to get his little body rid of intense fluid buildup, Dr. Bichell has put him back on the heart/lung ECMO.
The next step forward will be to try to get him off ECMO in the next 48-72 hours.
We know Eli is wrapped in your loving prayers. We also know he is wrapped in the arms of a loving God. We humbly ask for your continued prayers for his recovery.
Tuesday morning 8/25/09 (20 days old)
Eli struggles
Friends & Prayer Warriors.....
Our tough little buddy is really starting to struggle. His hands and feet are severely discolored from a lack of blood flow and clotting. The weak blood flow is also starting to effect other organs in Eli's body.
Doctors are starting to run out of options. But GOD has NOT run out of options.
Friends, We must remember that our God is a sovereign God and we do not always
understand His ways. Our hearts are breaking over this precious baby and for the family.
August 26, 2009 8:06:53 AM
Last night Eli's bleeding increased. Dr. Bichell came in at 5am this morning to try to take Eli off ECMO. It was unsuccessful. Please pray for Todd and Beth and family as they say their goodbyes this morning. Eli will soon be in HIS presence.
Today our little grandson Eli Harris Robinson has gone home to be with the Lord. We trust the Scriptures that say "To Live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). We have complete certainty that Eli is in the hands of his loving Savior where he will never again suffer the pain and disease that plagued him in his short little life.
Be assured we are very very sad, and will miss our little Eli in the most profound way. In his short 21 days he has captivated the hearts and minds of people all over the world! Amazing! His pictures and presence have traveled through cyberspace in all directons and touched so many of you. We want to sincerely thank each one of you for the generous outpouring of your prayers and loving acts of kindness. The Prayer Warriors were awesome! There is no doubt that the Lord heard our call....He has been bombarded from all sides! I will never understand why He didn't heal our little buddy, but then again He is God and I'm not. I have to think He had better plans for Eli. I know that even in his short time in this world, God was able to use our little fighter in a mighty way. "He fought the good fight and finished the race." (2nd Timothy 4:7)
We take time to mourn our loss...to cry, to meditate, to wonder why. I know that without the Lord in our lives this would be an unbearable situation. Please pray for Beth & Todd as they cope with an indescribable loss. We pray for the peace that passes all understanding to comfort each of us and each of you.
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