This website has been set up as a way to provide updates on John's health. Just to recap what has taken place this past week...
Tues 4/22:
At 7:30am, John went in to Rocky Mountain Children's Hospital for his scheduled soft palate surgery. Surgery went well and he was moved out of recovery into a normal room.
Kate, Joe, and Kelly went for a visit after school. Erin's mom, Linda, is in town to help. Erin spent the night with John in the hospital. They anticipated only one hospital overnight before going home to recover.
Wed 4/23:
Recovery is not going as well as expected. High blood pressure, low oxygen levels, and lethargic. They anticipated a second night at the hospital. Jason spent the night with John. During the night he was struggling to breathe, still had high blood pressure and heart rate, and also developed a fever. Around 2:30am, John was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His caring surgeon stayed by his side from 2-6am.
Thurs 4/24:
Doctors were trying to figure out why his blood pressure was so high so John went through several tests: x-ray, CT scan, echocardiogram, kidney ultrasound and an MRI. Jason's mom and sister, Joanne and Shawna, flew into Denver. MRI showed healthy kidneys, brain, heart, and thyroid ruling out any underlying medical condition. Doctors were suspecting an infection, viral pneumonia, or sepsis, but they wanted to do more bloodwork to find out. By late afternoon, it was looking like sepsis and not pneumonia. John was being treated with a range of antibiotics and they were now expecting a full recovery. By late evening, a closer look into his MRI showed a lesion on his brain stem with previous bleeding. It was unclear what that meant, but a team of specialists planned to gather the next morning to discuss. Unrelated to the MRI results, John was expected to be hospitalized for another 7 days.
Fri 4/25:
John is still very lethargic which is extremely unusual at this stage of recovery. It is certain there is an infection in his lungs. The brain stem is showing a small lesion which may have been there since birth. The lesion has had past bleeding and it is the part of the brain which regulates heart rate and blood pressure so it is unclear if it is causing his current high blood pressure issues. The lesion is in a very dangerous spot to be bleeding so his blood pressure needs to be under control now and for the rest of his life. They are meeting with a neuro doctor sometime today. John has only been taking in fluids this whole week and they're hoping to get some more foods with substance into him. Things remain unknown and unclear and Jason and Erin are being told John may be here one week or he may be here one year.
Stay tuned as we set up schedules and ways that you can help the Rowland family in both the short and long term, but above all please keep John and family in your prayers.
Prayer Requests:
- John to regain his vitality and energy
- for his blood pressure to stay within a healthy range
- wisdom for his doctors to provide Jason and Erin more certainty and understanding
- wisdom for Jason and Erin on how to juggle caring for John in the hospital, caring for Kate, Joe, and Kelly and their demanding school and activity schedules, while also finding time to care for their own needs and each other
- in this time of uncertainty, for Jason and Erin to not be tormented with the worst case scenarios
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