So, we are both here in Montreal , living at my parents, and enjoying being SPOILED for a while...till the newness wears off!!! I got here last Thursday and went straight to the offices to apply for my Medicare card...Praise the Lord my "lawyer" sister was there to help me! So it went relatively well, and I'll be getting the card at the beginning of July. Alex got here on Tuesday (yesterday) after a very early and long ride and arrived right on time at the hospital for the appointments that we had for that day. God is so good, He made it possible that my mom bump into him on the way to meet me- I have no idea how he would have found me if that hadn't happened (for those from Mars Hill, the hospital is huge, and there are more people there than the people and farm animals from Mars Hill!!). Anyways, we had tons of meetings, it was long, however, and the results were good. We had a full heart check and his heart seems fine for now!! Also, the doctors were very kind and we talked to the Surgeon who had been trained in Philadelphia and she was very nice. So the news for now is that we have to wait, and keep getting checked up to make sure nothing happens. Our next appointment will be in three weeks, so we'll be home before then for the CEF banquet.
We love you and miss you (and our cat) very much!!
Thank you for your prayers, we are doing well, and getting ready for the banquet on Friday! We are excited to get back home, please pray for a safe trip and that the border crossing won't cause any problems. I have sent a picture so you can see how our baby is growing!!!!
All our appointments went well...even the MRI! The baby is growing, and nothing else showed up, so everything is going as planned. We got to see him moving around and we even think he waved at us!!! (He's like his dad, always moving around). The doctor who is following the pregnancy was very kind and is going to Kennebunkport Maine , for a vacation in a little bit, so he knew about where we lived (although it's a lot north of that!). He is very optimistic, and encouraging, so it was nice to see him today. Please keep praying that Baby B will keep growing and be stable until the delivery. We have our next appointment in two weeks, for an ultrasound and to see the doctor again.
God has been very good to us, and we are so thankful for this baby, he's a blessing to us already! We are so fortunate to know The One who knows the future, and The Ultimate Doctor!
Well, it's been three wonderful years that Alex and I have been married and we celebrated by going camping!!!! We had a great time, and Alex even caught some fish to top it all off!! We have an appointment tomorrow, Tuesday the 31st, so please be in prayer for that, we hope to hear some of the results from our last visit (MRI, ect.). Our little boy is getting bigger (as you can probably tell by the picture attached) and he's moving a lot. Please pray that he will make it full term and not have to be taken early. Alex's family will be travelling here to see us on thursday, so please pray for safety for them and that we'll have a great time. We are so blessed to have the support and prayers of our families and so many friends. Thank you for your prayers. We're excited to see what God will do and how he will use our precious boy!!!
Praise the Lord!!! We had a heart ultrasound today that showed that the heart has no structural or circulation problems!!! It's only misplaced a little bit because of the Omphalocele, but is ticking wonderfully! The doctor even said that we wouldn't have to go see him again (for a HEART ultrasound) until the baby is born!
Since his heart is working well physically, please pray that our baby's heart will be spiritually healthy one day and that he will come to love and serve the Lord whole-HEARTedly!!!
Thank you so much for praying for us. Sometimes people tell us that we are handling this so well, and that we are very strong. I believe that it is because of your prayers that we are able to be so joyful through it all. However, we do have hard times, and we do cry... It is hard, but God is good and He keeps encouraging us, with good reports from the doctors, with family and friends that surround us with love, with you.
We had a doctor's appointment on Monday, and everything is still going well. The baby is healthy and growing! The only problem was that our son was moving so much they could hardly get pictures of him on the ultra-sound!!! What a wonderful dilemma!! (This proves once again how much he is like his father!!!!) The next appointment will be on July 11th, and the estimated date of the cesarean is between the 8th and 15th of August. It's coming up so quickly, and Alex and I are so excited to finally see him and see what/who he looks like!
Please pray for us as we wait for 8 more weeks! Please pray that our baby will stay where he is until then and not be pre-mature (the bigger he is the better!). Please pray for the doctors, that we will be witnesses to them.
Please also pray for Alex, who is now on his way to Camp Good News for the Christian Youth In Action training. Pray for all the teens there, that God will do a work in their hearts and use them while they are there. Alex will be gone for a week, so you can also pray for me, that I won't get too lonely!!!
Thank you so much for being behind us during this time and praying for us. God has been very good to us and we see Him blessing us every day. Today we had a doctor's appointment, and a doctor seemed to be concerned about the heart of the baby, so we had an other heart ultrasound. Praise the Lord, everything was OK, the baby's heart is just tilted so it looks different, but is fine. We were very relieved and thankful. We also got to see his cute little face, and have another picture for our album! We also have good news that we found out that our son will be born on August 10th, in just 2 weeks!! We are so excited to finally see him, although we know that this will also be a very hard time. Please be in prayer for:
1) The baby's health, that nothing else will show up as a problem that may have not been noticed.
2) That the baby will stay content with being inside my belly until the C-section!
3) That God will give us strength when the hard times come and the baby is in recovery.
4) Wisdom for the doctors who will be operating on our precious boy.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We are very blessed to have you with us on this journey.
There's only one week left until we get to meet our baby boy! We are very excited, nervous, and thrilled for the 10th to arrive.
Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment, and met with the surgeon who will be operating on the baby. He was so kind, and made us feel good about him taking care of our son. His name is Dr. Michel Lallier, so please pray for him, as his responsibility with our baby will be huge, and he will have to make many important decisions about the procedures they will use.
We also met with the obstetrician, Dr. Robert Gauthier, who will be doing the cesarean, and who had vacationed in Kennebunkport ME. and is extremely kind to us Mainers!!! Please pray for him, that the surgery will go well, and the baby will be taken out fine, with no bruising of and organs.
We met with the neonatologist, who showed us where our baby will be kept, and which machines would be used to help him through the operations. Please pray for the neonatal team who will care for the baby between operations, and watch over him. We also learned from him that the only ones allowed in the intensive care unit are parents, so pray for the grand-parents who will have to wait a little longer to see their grand-son. Alex and I will be able to go in and see him 24/7 and we are very thankful for that.
We also saw our son on the ultra-sound, and God gave me a special blessing, because when we saw his cute little face he looked like he blew me a kiss!!! I took it as a special birthday gift from my son and my great God.
The most important one we met with yesterday was our Heavenly Father/Doctor, and we pleaded with him for our son. We are so blessed to have Someone to turn to at this time, and to know that He is with us, and cares for us. Job said:"Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Through all this we have had so many blessings, and we thank God for them. Our son has made it this far (and not come out prematurely), he is healthy (besides the Omphalocele), and he brings us so much joy. Please pray for us as the adversities come, that we would be strong in the Lord, that He would comfort us, and "bring us to our desired haven".
We will be going to the hospital the morning of August 10th, at 7:00 AM, and the cesarean is the first one they have planned for the day. So if there are no emergencies, we should be having the cesarean by 9:00AM, and the baby will be evaluated after that to see whether he is stable enough to be operated on immediately or not. He will most likely be operated on within the first 48 hours, and Dr. Lallier thinks that it will be immediately after he is born. We will keep you updated as much as we can.
Thank you so much for your prayers, and know that we are very encouraged knowing that so many are praying for us and our little baby.
Love in Christ,
Alex, Lianne, and Baby B (just a few more days, and you'll know his name!!)
Jeremiah Bourgoin was born at 9:13 a.m. He weighs 4 pounds and 14 ounces. Jeremiah is stable, Lianne is doing well and Alex is ecstatic. We believe the first operation will be this afternoon.
"Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who do buisness on great waters,
They see the works of the Lord,
and His wonders in the deep" Psalm 107:23
Alex and I feel like we are on great waters, being tossed to and fro sometimes...the amazing thing about it is that this verse is so true in it's promise: We are seeing the works of the Lord, and His wonders every day!!
Jeremiah has been such a blessing for us! We love him so much, it's unexplainable! (By the way, we do have a nickname: J-J !!! He is so precious, and although we haven't figured out who he looks like, we think he's the most beautiful boy in the world!
Thank you so much for your prayers, we feel them and appreciate them, and see the results first-hand from them. Thank you also for your e-mails, and notes from Jeremiah's wed-site.. they are so encouraging!! We are getting notes even from people we don't know who are telling us that they are praying for us. What a blessing to be here today, and read all those notes!
Some people have been wondering about his surgery, and I figured I would try to explain it as best as I could (without using actions, but words, to describe it).
The surgeon pushed back on Jeremiah's organs as much as he could. He put back all the intestines, and pushed down on the liver as much as JJ would handle. He then couldn't fit the skin and muscle over that because his liver was still out a bit. So what he did was that he separated the muscle from the skin and pulled the muscle as much as it would go, and then sowed a mech of muscle-lkike tissue from one side to the other. The skin is more streatchable so the surgeon could take it and pull it over the mesh and sew it together, making a horizontal line accross JJ's belly.
This is the only operation JJ will need until next year, when once he has grown more, he will have more room for his liver to be pushed in. What a miracle! It is amazing what God is doing, and how these doctors can do these operations.
Thank you so much for praying for us and our precious Jeremiah. We are excited to see how God will use him... he already is!!!
The e-mail I am about to write is unbelievable...unless you believe in the God of the Bible, and that He still works miracles today!
As I am sitting here at my parents house, writing this e-mail, Jeremiah is here, enjoying being out of the hospital! I know you may need to read that sentence again, but go ahead, and know that what you thought you were reading is really what you read! Jeremiah is here with us, out of the hospital, being held and loved by family and friends!
We have been waiting for this day, but are amazed that it is here already! Praise the Lord! He has been so good to us.
This weekend, while Alex was in Maine for meetings, the nurses were teaching me how to do certain things at home. The biggest thing was that he still has a feeding tube in place to have feedings through the night to help him gain weight, and they taught me how to put the tube in, and work the machine that feeds him the milk. So although he's home, he'll be checked up on very often by nurses who come to see him twice a week, and he will have many visits to the hospital...but at least we can have him with us here!! Alex had been planning on being in Mars Hill until Thursday, but when they told us he might come home on Tuesday, he rushed back to be here in time.
It's hard for me to express how I'm feeling; I have learned so much through this already. I'm so grateful for Jesus healing our son. I had been reading the gospels during my pregnancy, and each time I would read of Jesus healing someone, I would think: If only He was here today, I would go see Him, and just maybe even touch His robe (like the woman did) and JJ would be healed. I have learned that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and is The Ultimate Doctor. Also, I've learned that God showed his grace towards us in healing JJ, because during our stay at the hospital, we met a lot of families going through hard times, and having a child in the ICU, and some have heart-breaking stories, and I realize how fortunate I am to have Jeremiah with me today. An other interesting thing I learned was how much it must have pained God the Father to see His Son Jesus die on the cross for the sins of the world. When Jeremiah was in the Intensive care, and God was healing him, I was reading in the gospels about Jesus' crucifixion: One Son dying and one son being healed by that Son. What a gracious God we have.
It's amazing when I look through the pictures we have of Jeremiah's journey, to see how much God has done for Him. Thank you for your prayers, and we will continue to update you with his progress.
Every good and perfect gift is from adove, from the Father of Light! Thank you so much for praying!!! We have excellent news from last night. Last time they had done the test
they had found that Jeremiah desaturated 20% of the night. Last night on his
belly, he desaturated 7% of the night!! An answer to prayer! The doctors
want to make sure it wasn't just a fluke (it's hard to explain and
understand results when God is involved!!!), so they want to do the same
test again tonight to see if they will see the same good results. Please be
in prayer for this, that it will be another good night for JJ! Also, at one of Jeremiah's test appointments, a doctor noticed something in
JJ's throat that could be hindering his breathing, so they will probably be
doing tests on this. I'm not sure when, it could all happen very quickly, so
please be in prayer for that, and that the surgeons and doctors would know
what to do.
We are thankful for all the prayer and support that you show us. It is so
important.
Jeremiah had another great night, and the doctors were very happy with the
results...however, at a test that he went to, they found a mass in his throat that
seems to be the cause of his breathing difficulties.They saw this on friday
afternoon, and the surgeons will have to look at the test results next week
to see what it is, and what they can do. He will probably have surgery to
have it removed. We are very thankful that this has been found, and that now
maybe Jeremiah's breathing will be helped. We are also very thankful that he
won't need oxygen during the night. What an answer to prayer!! We will be returning to the hospital to stay on Sunday night until the
surgery is done, so please be in prayer for us while we are there, as it is
hard on the whole family!! Jeremiah is a lot braver than his mommy, when it
comes to hospital stays!!!
We will try to keep you updated as much as possible,
Jeremiah is doing very well. He is growing so quickly; it's a joy to see him so healthy, and happy! We just got a call from the surgeons office, and they have March 27th as a date for his surgery (as long as nothing interferes with that date), so please be in prayer for him, and his parents for this surgery.
Here are a few specifics you can pray for:
1.God will give wisdom to the doctors to know what and how much to do.
2.As they push his belly in a bit more, that Jeremiah will not develop any complications with his digestive system (or any other pressure related problems).
3.Jeremiah will not have any infections and that his new incision will heal well.
4.Jeremiah will be off the respirator soon after his operation.
5.Patience and trust in the Lord for his parents. It will be hard to see him go through this again!
Thank you so much for your prayers, it is so encouraging for us to know we are prayed for, and we know that your prayers make a difference!
James 4:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!
And we know also that God, having done so much for us already says:
James 4:6 But He gives more grace.
Praise the Lord for the GRACE He has shown to us, and please pray that He will heal Jeremiah from this upcoming surgery as well!
Jeremiah 32:17 " Ah, Lord God, Behold, You have made the heavens and the
earth by Your great power and outstreatched arm. There is NOTHING too hard
for You!"
We have just heard from the hospital, and we now have a date for Jeremiah's
surgery, it will be monday, December 4th. We are glad to have been able to
have a date for this year (2006) and thank God for His guidance.
Please pray for Jeremiah's health, right now he has a little cold, and they
won't be able to operate if he is sick. Please pray that his cold will go
away before this friday, so he can have this needed surgery!
Please pray for the surgeon (it is Dr. Bouchard, not Dr.Lallier as before,
who will be doing the operation--Dr. Bouchard was the Dr. we were refered to
way back when this all started, and will be doing this operation in
Dr.Lalliers absence), that God will steady her hands, and give her wisdom
thoughout the operation.
Please pray that Jeremiah will have a successful operation, free from
complications, or infections; that he will come off the respirator quickly,
and that he will have a quick recovery.
Pray for JJ's parents, for peace during this time, that we will have
opportunities to witness and "exalt Him also in the assembly of the people"
Thank you for praying!
I'm sorry that I need to keep writing emails to change the info you received, however, the surgery has been postponned again! There was an emergency surgery that came up, so the hospital called us to let us know that the surgery will not be on the 4th. We are still waiting on a future date, they mentioned the possibilities of the 11th, and the 18.
Please pray that one of these dates will work out!
I'm thankful that our God is not restricted by time like we are, and can apply all of our prayers to the actual surgery date!!!
Well, here we are in Montreal waiting for Monday (Dec. 11th) when Jeremiah is scheduled to have his operation. I waited to write this email till we were here in case of any change, but it really looks like we will get the operation this year! Praise the Lord!
Please be in prayer for Jeremiah, for his health, and safety during the surgery. We will be getting at the hospital at 7am, and Jeremiah will be operated on at 9am. Please be in prayer for the surgeon, that she (Dr.Bouchard) will be able to take out all of the mesh, and that every part of the operation will go well. We are thankful to have the operation this year, knowing that it had to be done sooner or later, but now that it is here, please pray for peace during this time. As JJ grows older, we just love him so much more, and it gets harder and harder to see him have surgery.
Thank you so much for your prayers and your encouragement to us. We know that God is answering, and is Faithful!!!
First of all I must thank all of you who have been praying for Jeremiah. Prayers were felt as Lianne and I sat in a waiting room today for over 4 hours. The much anticipated news came to us certainly not to soon that Jeremiah’s surgery went well! The Doctor told us that she was very surprised that she was able to do so much in one surgery. She was able to close Jeremiah’s abdomen completely and she joined muscle to muscle! This is great news and we are so happy that God allowed it to be this year. I had forgotten how often the doctors say things like, I’m very surprised we were able to do so much, or, I can’t understand why he is doing so well. And I know it’s because we have more than just medicine on our side. There is a great physician watching over everything that is going on in Jeremiah’s life.
Now it is 10:00 pm on Monday evening and I am at Lianne's parents' home and Lianne is being a fabulous mother sleeping beside the crib of her beautiful son at the hospital where I will join them once again tomorrow morning. Jeremiah is being monitored for the general vital signs which have been normal up until now, he has an epidural which helps with the pain, and two drains: one for excess blood and another for stomach fluids which accumulate from not having food to digest. Please pray that he would be able to come off of the medications and other machines soon and get back to his normal self. Its hard to describe to you how he is doing since he is sleepy from the anesthesia and in some pain as well, but I was encouraged when before I left Jeremiah picked up his ball with much effort and with all the strength he had he threw it to me. Playing catch is a favorite in our home and I hope to resume that tradition with Jeremiah soon. Thanks and please keep praying.
Tonight I get to write to you and Alex is staying at the hospital! Last night was a long night, and I needed some uninterrupted sleep (which is not possibly done in the hospital!!), to be rested up for the week ahead!
Jeremiah is doing well, he is much more himself now! He had a hard night because he is more aware of what is going on and isn't thrilled about being tied up to all those machines. He points at them and says 'No' because he doesn't really like them! This morning he woke up in a great mood though, and is getting his strength back. We played, read books, counted, and sang with him, and he is enjoying being with people. He tries to impress the nurses by showing them that he knows where his eyes are! It works!
He will have his epidural till Friday, and the 2 drains he had are out.He is still not allowed to eat, but they will put in a centerline tomorrow to give him more fluids. He doesn't have a fever, and we are very thankful for that. This was a bigger operation than we expected, but we are so thankful that God brought him through it, and that JJ is doing well. We will probably be in the hospital for a little while, but we liked it there today because...
THE MONTREAL CANADIENS hockey team came to visit!!!
JJ was excited (actually he didn't really notice!) but we had a blast, and the picture attached is of JJ with Guillaume Latendresse, who was very nice, and gave JJ a cap and a blanket, and spent some time with us! It was a real treat! Sorry for all the hockey fans who will be jealous to hear this! But seriously, we are very thankful to God for being with us, and for giving us strength, and protecting our son. He has been so faithful to us! May we be faithful to Him!
Well, all I can say is thank you for your ferverent prayer. Jeremiah has been making progress every day since his surgery. They started him on a liquid diet to see if he could keep food down and he's doing great with that. We would like to see him eating solid food tommorrow but the doctor hasn't given the ok yet. Also, tommorrow you can be in prayer as they take out the epidural that Jeremiah would not been in too much pain. If he experiences pain then the doctors will compensate with pain medications. We are praying that he won't need any. We would love to be out of the hospital by Christmas but have not been given a date yet. Please pray for JJ as he is not used to being confined to a small area. He likes to walk and play but the most he has been able to accomplish is sit up and play with toys in bed or on our lap. This is difficult for any kid so pray that we can leave soon.
I'm very thankful to have a powerful God who is in control of every situation. He has been so good to us and we praise Him!
Yesterday, Jeremiah had his epidurale taken out. He is doing well, but experiences some pain when he pushes his food through. Twice yesterday, and once during the night he cried before he had to urinate, and it's hard to see him hurt. However, the rest of the time he is fine, and he is his old self again! Our newest news is that Jeremiah walked down the hall (holding daddy's hands) and can stand up without pain! This morning he had a real bath, which he loved, and slowly, but surely, he is getting better!
Please be in prayer for his digestive system, that it will be working OK soon, it might just take a little time since everything is so tight in there. He is eating well, and that is great!
Thank you for praying for our family, we have been spoiled through all of this by everyone's kindness! We are in His hands!
We left the hospital this afternoon with our precious little boy, and he was thrilled to see Grand-papa and Grand-maman's Christmas tree! We are just so thankful to our Lord for keeping our JJ safe throughout this time. Everything, once again, went so well!!!
We will be coming back to Maine on the 27th,and spending some time with
Pepere and Memere till New Years.
Thank you so much for praying, and please keep checking out the website
for new pictures!!!
We are so grateful to be able to write this letter to you. JJ turned three last month and we had a wonderful time celebrating the life God has given him.
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote you. Our family has had an addition! Seth William Bourgoin was born on January 10, 2008. He is such a good-natured boy, and loves to laugh when his brother plays peek-a-boo with him! He’s quite a big boy, and he’s pretty tough…he puts up with his big brother’s rough-housing!
Jeremiah is growing so quickly. He is quite the handsome little boy! He loves to play in the park, learn from God’s word in Junior Church, and he does so well at his swimming lessons. He is such a monkey too…this summer he learned to climb the fireman’s pole at the park, and he always tries to climb higher on anything he can! He loves to go camping, and play with his cousins.
We’d like to take this opportunity, on JJ’s third birthday, to give glory to God for all He did for our precious boy when he was born. We forget so quickly, and when we look at pictures, or watch our home videos from then, it brings it all back. Our Shepherd, Jesus Christ was with us through it all, and we will be forever grateful. Now that JJ’s body is healed, we are praying for his and Seth’s salvation. Our prayer is that they will grow to love and serve the Lord. Please join us in this prayer. At church this week, JJ learned about the story of Naaman, and how God healed him, and it was a blessing to be able to tell him that God had healed him too, when he was a baby! May he grow to be thankful for what Jesus has done for him!
We would also like to thank you for the part you had in Jeremiah’s journey. Your prayers were so important, and we hope this letter will encourage you, to hear of your prayers being answered. We are also updating JJ’s website, so please check that out at www.jeremiahbourgoin.com.
