Old Man Morgan

Its been a long 24 hour with Baby George (full name: Christian George Hutauruk). He is quite the fighter and proved that on Sunday night when we almost lost him. Overall, his prognosis is good. He woke up on Monday morning almost as if nothing had happened – other than having a feeding tube in his nose, a breathing tube in his mouth (which prevents any sound coming from his voice), IV in his arm, monitors on his chest for heart rate, monitors on his feet for blood pressure, pulse, and probably oxygen, and mittens on his feet to keep warm, and mittens on his hands so he doesn’t tear out all the gizmos.

The doctors have confirmed that he went into shock / convulsions, due to severe dehydration associated with the diarrhea (sadly, a VERY common cause of death in children in Indonesia). Had Georgie not already been at the hospital when he went into convulsions we would have lost him. Had there not been the power of prayer and loving, competent doctors and strong friends and family ….. we would have lost him.

The cause of the diarrhea was confirmed to be a virus. Specifically, Rotavirus, which infects about 3 million kids annually and causes about 0.5 million deaths annually … primarily in places like Africa, Asia, and of course, Indonesia. Folks can blog on Rotavirus, but it is basic a very virulent virus associated with fecal-oral transmission. In Georgie’s case, and I know his living conditions, this was likely contracted when his bag was being changed … he is an incredibly active child and it would have taken only a split second with a fast moving hand to accidentally touch himself during a bag change (recall his temporary “anus” is on his belly) and then put his hand in his mouth. We have talked to Dolly about this and they are committed to having 2-3 folks help with the bag change to avoid a re-occurence.

Back to Georgie.

Throughout the day Monday he regained strength and activeness. They began feeding him formula through the tube. All going well (and I have very high expectations of that) they should begin removing the various gizmos from his body today (Tuesday). They are being cautious and are taking blood on a regular basis. Basically, they only want to “unhook him” as it becomes clear he is overcoming the virus. If they move too quickly (regardless of how uncomfortable he is right now) then the virus with overpower him. Self immunity over the virus builds up over time … plus antibiotics help.

As a demonstration as to just how much of a fighter he is, the doctors are starting to talk about the “next steps” … that is, begin the surgery process of putting his intestine back in place and closing the hole in his tummy. They are saying that if he continues to rebuild strength rapidly (like he is currently doing) they may go right into the surgery without releasing him from the hospital.

Please continue praying for Baby George. We believe that God has a special plan for him …. and through these trials and traumas Georgie will be strengthened, Danny and Dolly’s faith will grow, others will be touched, and God’s / Jesus’s mercy, power, and love will be revealed – to Christians and non-Christians.

Thank you so much for the love and prayers. GBU. Ciao ciao.