Gavin Christopher Owens

November 2007

  • Thu, Nov 15, 2007 5:16 PM

    The verdict is that Gavin has an ear infection as well as a respiratory virus. We went down to duPont today for a blood culture from his central line and as long as it stays negative and Gavin does not get worse we get to keep him home! We are so grateful to his doctor for making this exception -- fever and central line usually mean inpatient stay at Hotel La duPont.

    Madison is still wheezing and giving her the breathing treatments has been a huge battle, usually ending up with me sitting on her holding the mask to her face.

    Keep the prayers coming we need them right now...

    Comments:
    Amy Basciani:  I know what you are talking about with this respitory thing. We cannot beat it. I hate winter. I am praying you will get over this soon. Or i say , all sick kids and thier frustrated,tired mommies and daddies should get a free pass to the Virgin Islands. Doesn't that sound great. Hotel La Warm sandy beach over Dupont anyday!!!!!! Get better soon.
    Amy
    Matthew and Amy:  Matthew and I were just wondering how you guys were doing since you got home from the hospital. I guess this answers that question. Tis the season for this kind of thing. We hope the little ones start to feel better soon. We will be praying for them and for you as you care for them.
    Lisa and Michael Walk:  We are so sorry for the sickness!! We will pray extra hard for the whole family. Remember that the will of God will not lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you. (I constantly have to remind myself that!) Much Love- we hope to see you over Thanksgiving. God bless!
    Bruce & Terri:  We are with you in thought and lots and lots of prayers. SPEEDY RECOVERY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY...Love Ya....Bruce and Terri
    Pastor and Liz:  We're praying for a FAST recovery and endurance for you all. We love you!
    Fava Family:  Sorry to hear about Gavin's ear infection and respiratory virus, but glad to hear that you're all back at home. I know how hard it is to give a child Madison's age breathing treatments, as Justin was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 2 and was on them as well. They certainly have a mind of their own when it comes to taking meds!! Please call if you would like any help administering these treatments. I know that you can do it but I found from experience that sometimes our children are more cooperative for others than for their parents. Go figure!! Blessings!
    Lisa Stone:  I am so sorry about all the illnesses. I've been there with the breathing treatments and pneumonia with Megan. Thank the Lord that you are able to be home with them. We will continue to pray.
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  • Thu, Nov 15, 2007 6:19 AM

    This week has been a rough week for our family in regards to sickness. Everyone, except me, has respiratory issues at the moment. After an xray yesterday Madi was diagnosed with Pneumonia, and I'm taking Gavi in today to have him checked as he has been running fevers and is starting to wheeze as well. We are praying for a quick resolution and grace from the doctors. He is obviously sick with running nose and cough but due to his central line, if he has fever it is an immediate red flag. I know you all realize how we feel about staying home for the upcoming holiday so your prayers are needed!


    Thanks!

    Comments:
    pop pop:  we are praying for you and the family.you are a amazing young woman. our love for you and the family is wide and dep but nowhere near the love that the father has for all of you. i believe that he will not fail you in this time of need. the LORD told joshua that he must be strong and courageous. hold on and trust.your pain is our pain too.
    The Rich Family:  You've got 'em. Try to keep your strength up. And remember tp keep looking up.
    Fava Family:  Count us in for extra prayers! Jacob and I faithfully pray for Gavin every night at bedtime and we will continue to do so. We will say some extra prayers for the whole family. We will pray for Madi to be healed of the pneumonia quickly and also pray that Gavin does not come down with it. Blessings to all of you! :)
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  • Thu, Nov 8, 2007 9:57 AM

    Ah Yes... home sweet home. It it so good to be home once again. Everyone is well and very happy to be back in our "normal" life routine. Gavin is doing great! We made some changes while at the hospital in hopes of preventing this inflammatory process from happening so often.

    For those of you who do not know, Gavin is on TPN for 16 hours a day and due to his inability to maintain his sugar levels he also runs Dextrose though his IV whenever he is not on the TPN. We did a trial of Gavin off the dextrose to see how he would do and he did ok but not great. He dropped a few times and just really had no energy. So needless to say we put him back in the dextrose infusion for now just to keep him safe and enable him to continue to do well without the added stress of trying to manage his blood sugar levels, which at this point is the least of our concerns.

    We made a switch in formula, that I'm not so sure is any better but I'm giving it some time to see how he responds to it. Feeds are the biggest issue for Gavin and it's something that We just need to work on everyday.

    Please say a prayer that we can stay infection/inflammation free over the holidays. I would just love to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas at home.

    Thanks to all for your love and support!

    Comments:
    Lisa and Michael:  Wonderful news! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday... we will be there for the Owens family Thanksgiving so we hope to see you! You will continue to be in our daily prayers and we will pray that Gavin can be home through the holidays! God bless you all!- Lisa and Michael Walk
    Terri & Bruce:  YEH Gavin....Karen, we will be praying for you to be home for the holidays. I was just reading a part of the update to Linda and said
    randy & marilyn:  Thank you Lord that Gavin is home again! We will definately pray that you'll have an awesome Holiday season at home with your family! Take care and know we're praying!
    Fava Family:  We are so happy to hear that you guys are back home! We will keep praying for Gavin's health to improve and for your family to enjoy the holidays at home. Blessings to your whole family!!
    Mary Alice Carpenter:  Thank God you are home again and Gavin is on the road to healing. The holidays are coming faster than we know and I hope you can have as normal as possible time to relax and enjoy each other. Prayers...prayers....prayers...
    Debbie:  Home for the holidays- we will be praying earnestly for that one! Evan says hello Gaga!
    Jimmy DeWan:  you know i will keep praying for all of you guys. Have a very blessed THANKSGIVING. PRAISE GOD GAVIN IS FINALLY HOME YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  • Tue, Nov 6, 2007 5:32 AM

    Gavin's fever is gone!!!! He is back to his old self and we are looking to get out of here today, though He will need another transfusion before we leave.

    Last night was his first night back on feeds and he did pretty good. He still had belly distention but seemed pretty comfortable. He is still huge, as in swollen and puffy but this usually resolves within a few days.

    Thanks to my friend Dawn for spending the day with me yesterday -- it made the day go by so fast!!!! I appreciate friendship more than ever during these times.

    Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

    Comments:
    Jenine Junker:  PRAISE GOD.....For with God NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE!!!!......Luke 1:37
    The Rich Family:  Great news!! Keeping the prays going.
    jimmy dewan:  PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was praying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Kristi Junker:  Praise be to the Lord our God--the GREAT Physician! Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers!!
    the Hannum's:  Yay God!!!!!!!!!! So glad you'll be out of there soon- still praying for you all.
    Jess:  Glad to here you are getting some sort of normalcy back!! We will continue to pray for you all!
    Erica Fisher:  Hooray!
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  • Mon, Nov 5, 2007 8:12 AM

    Gavin's fever broke sometime during the night! Hopefully he is on his way to getting better. When I woke this morning I was stunned by how puffy his little body is. He is still pretty fussy but I think he is just uncomfortable with his huge belly. Once the inflammation goes down his liver should get smaller and give him some relief. We were not able to get the labs that we needed due to his fever breaking but that's ok. We have held his feeds for the past few nights due to his belly distension and fever but I think we will try to resume them tonight.

    Now we just wait and see if he can keep his fever down. I'm expecting that even if he does it will be a few days until we are discharged.

    Karen

    Comments:
    Fava Family:  Glad to hear that Gavin's fever broke last night. We pray that he will soon become more comfortable and that he will be able to tolerate his feeds. Blessings to your whole family.
    gram jane:  Hi Karen, So good to hear he is doing better. The entire church prayed for him yesterday. Now we' ll pray that he and mostly you will be back home soon. luv ya Gram
    Matthew and Amy:  Hey Guys! That's great news. We're relieved to hear that Gavin finally has some relief. Sorry that this has been a difficult hospital stay. Hopefully it will be over soon! We'll be praying for just that.
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  • Sun, Nov 4, 2007 6:08 PM

    As I sit here an hour early waiting to go to the cafe and get my coffee I thought I write you all an update. It was another long night. He is still running high temps and breaking through the pain meds. He received his blood yesterday but he doesn't seem much better. They are anticipating on possibly transfusing again on Monday but I'm staying optimistic that he can hold his own.

    His feeds were held last night due to his abdominal distention, mainly from fluid retention and his swollen liver but we didn't want to cause him more discomfort at this point.

    Please pray that Gavin can get some relief. To be honest I've never seen him so sick. I know that he has been a lot worse but Gavi never shows his distress. This is the first time I've seen him really upset and just not himself at all.

    We are trying to get some blood work to confirm this inflammatory condition. The tricky part is that he has to have a fever to get the labs and because they have to be sent to Ohio we can not draw them until Monday at 4am. I want Gavin to get better but I would also really like to get these labs.

    Nothing else going on. Our friends John and Susan came down for a visit last night and brought us some "outside" food. Thanks guys!

    Thanks for you prayers!

    Comments:
    Randy & Marilyn:  Hi Adam & Karen: We are praying for healing and rest for Gavin. Holding on for your miracle! We will continually lift you up today. Love you guys!
    betsy and Ray:  We are praying for Gavin's healing and also for you and your family that you can stay well and that God will give you the strength and comfort you need for each and every day.
    betsy and Ray:  We are praying for Gavin's healing and also for you and your family that you can stay well and that God will give you the strength and comfort you need for each and every day.
    Fava Family:  We are strongly praying for Gavin's body to be healed so that he can start feeling better again. We also pray for his comfort and for your family's continued strength.
    Mary Alice Carpenter:  Remember Gavin is getting older and that is why you see his discomfort more. I will pray that the blood helps to give him some relief and that the labs get done soon. Thank God for friends and family they sure help in rough times! Prayers for all...be strong!
    AMY BASCIANI:  hI kAREN, sORRY i HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CHECK ON YOU GUYS. wE WERE AWAY THIS WEEKEND AND JUST GOT BACK. i WAS HOPING AND PRAYING FOR GOOD NEWS. i WILL KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS TONIGHT FOR SOME NEWS TOMORROW. lET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO. AMY BASCIANI
    Wendy Tobias:  We are keeping Gavin and your entire family in our thoughts and prayers.
    Kristi Junker:  Gavin,
    I am praying that God wraps his loving arms around you today and gives the comfort and peace that only he can. I am looking forward to getting to know you better soon when you return home. Hopefully, I can give Daddy and Mommy some much needed and well-deseved rest!! (Karen, keep giving frequent updates so that I know how to pray for him...Gavin is blessed to have a family that cares for him as you all do :)
    Kristi Junker
    Lisa and Michael:  You are all in our prayers. We will be thinking of you and praying for you at church today. God bless you! Hang in there Karen! You're a wonderful mother! - Lisa and Michael Walk
    Grammy Owens:  Dear Karen Just a quick note to let youknow how much we love you and are praying for little Gavin. We will pray for him and you guys at church today... If I can do anything please let me know.
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  • Sat, Nov 3, 2007 6:21 AM

    It was a long night for Gavin. My parents came down to visit and just as they were leaving he spiked a fever of 105. Needless to say he was not very happy and in fact looked very sick. This morning the lab called up to let the doc know that his hemoglobin has dropped to 6.2 -- He will be getting blood today. I forgot to mention yesterday that the doctor mention possibly starting injections to help his bone marrow make more red blood cells. I'm not completely sure as to what it is all about but if it means we don't have to get transfused every 3 weeks than Adam and I are all for it!

    All blood cultures continue to remain negative, which more confirms the inflammatory response. We will be giving pain meds on a schedule NOW instead of as needed to try to keep him comfortable.

    We had a great nurse last night who has been with Gavin since birth and I was able to get a few hours sleep. Adam and Madison are going home today to take care of some stuff around the house. I think Madison needs a bit of fresh air!

    As always I'll update if we hear anything...

    Comments:
    Mary Alice Carpenter:  You two are the strongest parents I've ever come across. Every day seems to present you with new challenges. Remember difficult times bring out the deepest strengths. You'll make it through! With lots of prayers coming your way...hug those little ones.
    Marculo Family:  We continue to pray for you!
    We hope Gavin will be fever free soon and everything that is not right will be fixed and back to normal!
    God bless you!
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  • Fri, Nov 2, 2007 11:40 AM

    I just wrote a nice long update and then lost it so you are now getting the short version. Gavin continues to get worse and also have negative cultures. The team feels that he is having an inflammatory response in his body where his body basically attacks it's self causing a lot of things to just fall apart including his blood counts. The plan is to just watch him and give him the support he needs in terms of blood and pain/fever meds. They also made a switch to some of his meds to start a gut decontamination protocol to help him stay infection free. Gavin is a mixed bag right now. There are some things going well for him like his weight and mental development and other things that are just an uphill battle including his TPN and transfusion dependence and the every so frustrating feeds. They are looking into getting FDA approval for an experimental (and extremely effective) TPN lipid alternative called Omgeaven that would help with some of these issues including preventing this inflamatory response he currently may be experiencing.

    For now we are continuing with blood cultures just in case they decide to shed some light. He will get some blood products tomorrow and hopefully we will have a better night and day.

    I'll be sure to inform you all of anything new happening.

    Karen

    Comments:
    cerrie-anne & family:  we are praying for gavin to get better and for srtrength for all. love to you...
    Randy & Marilyn:  Adam & karen: Know we are praying. Hang in there! Love you guys! God is Faithful and nothing is impossible with Him on your side!
    gram:  Karen and Adam, You two are gettig to be strong uphill runners. Our prayers are with you all as you continue the battle.Gavin looked so wonderful on Sunday and seemed so much more alert.He is just full of surprises. love and prayers to you all Gram
    Erica Fisher:  Have you googled Omegaven yet?
    http://grey.colorado.edu/shortgut/index.php/Omegaven
    Boston isn't *that* far away...
    Mark & KayAnn:  We are praying for God's strength for you all. We know He has been faithful and will continue to be or you wouldn't have made it this far. Keep holding on to the hem of His garment and we will keep praying for your strength to hold on.
    Fava Family:  Our continued prayers go your way. Hang in there Gavin. You are a very strong little boy. We pray that your body starts to heal and that you become stronger everyday.
    Mary Alice Carpenter:  God Bless you and hold on to those dreams of never having to visit that place again. Don't look at Madison knowing everyone so long...it just may be God's way of directing her to be in the medical profession and be able to help children just like her
    Amanda:  You know you guys are always in our prayers. If you need anything don't hesitate to call...even if it is a starbucks run ;)
    Lisa and Michael Walk:  Keep your spirits up! God is with you and will give you all the grace you need to sustain yet another trial. We love you and are praying for Gavin every day. God bless you all! - Michael and Lisa Walk
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  • Thu, Nov 1, 2007 2:50 PM

    Today has been a pretty uneventful day. Our day began with Adam dropping Madison off at 5:30am. Well of course she had to rip out all of her toys and start playing. Needless to say by 10am she was tired of her toys and so we watched movies.

    Gavin has been going between happy and cranky all day. His fever is still persistent despite the antibiotics and his cultures are still negative. I talked with Dr. R this morning about Gavin's feeds and my strong desire to start moving him forward. He didn't really have too much to suggest other than to have GI take a closer look at him and see if they can offer some help. His weight looks great and his growth curve continues to improve. His hemoglobin and platelets are both low and most likely we will get some blood in the next day or so.

    So we still are just waiting -- for either a positive culture (which I prefer because then we know what to treat and we can go home) or for his fever to subside, which if viral may take some time.

    I forgot how much I hated this place until I walked in the door yesterday. One of the nurses told Madison that she has known her for more that half her life -- That made me very sad. Some day we will never see this place again -- That would be my dream come true!

    -Karen

    Comments:
    Terri & Bruce:  Blessings to everyone....we love you and continue to pray for God's movement in all this. Karen, Liz prayed once for me that when I am at the end of my rope and don't think I can take anymore that God moves in and does something. I think of that often and continue to pray for that today in our lives but now, I, in turn, are praying that for you. GOD BLESS YOU..love ya lots....Terri & Bruce
    Heather:  Hang in there girl!
    Olsen's:  We are praying for your all! Please let me know if there is anything we can do for either of you, including Madi!
    Liz:  I'm praying for all of you. May you have a Divine Appointment with someone while you are there. You're an encourager to many!!
    debbie:  Praying your dream comes true sooner than you can imagine! Lots of love and prayers!
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