He is out of surgery!

A sound heart is the life of the flesh...Psalm 14:30a

Little mr Gerad is out of surgery!! As far as the docters, they were able to do the work they needed to do and Gerad’s corrected heart is pumping blood!!!!!!!!

Marvin and Hannie should be able to see him in about an hour as he is recovering now. They are leaving his chest ‘open’ so that as the heart swells, it can do so with more room. This is normal for baby’s with heart surgery and they usually close it in 5 days. (Right now they have it sealed with bandages)
He is still in critical care, but we are very relieved and thankful he made it through safely! God is Good!

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,

and he shall strengthen thine heart:

wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psa 27:14

Update

A nurse just spoke with Marvin and surgery is proceeding well. It is taking a little longer to get new lines into his veins, as they are small and also from earlier access through these veins. But, Praise the Lord, so far it has gone well.
We can expect another update in about three hours. (3:00 pm Ontario time)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee:

because he trusteth in Thee. Isaiah 26:3

Day 3: Surgery Day

Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father, we come before Thee today to thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed upon us. For the Blessing of a new little life Thou hast given into the hands of Marvin and Hannie. Be with them today as they give their dear beloved child into the hands of the surgeons so they may reconstruct little Gerad's heart. We ask you to guide the doctors hands skillfully and bless the work of their hands. Bless all the nurses and doctors and health care workers for their diligence and care to so many people who need care and are hurting. Reward them for their unselfish love and care. Be with little Gerad, keep Him in the the hollow of Thy Hand, for Thou hast promised in Thy Word that thou healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds. Keep him strong thoughout today, tomorrow and the days to come. Send Thy Peace into the hearts of Marvin, Hannie, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends and loved ones, that we may know and trust that Thou hast a great purpose in the life of little Gerad. That Thy ways are not our ways, and Thy way is Perfect. It will be a long day for us, but help us to stay peaceful as go about our daily duties prayerfully and practise keeping our thoughts in check. Strengthen the hearts of Marvin and Hannie expecially, and surround them with Your Love and tender care. Help Hannie further recover from the labour delivery and restore her, putting a song in her heart for the blessing of being a mother!
This, we humbly ask, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, AMEN!

PICC went well

This afternoon at 2:00 they inserted a PICC line into Gerad's arm and it went very well, taking an hour to perform. (sometimes this can take up to 5 hours)

A peripherally-inserted central catheter is a long, soft, hollow tube that is
inserted through the skin and into a vein in the arm. The tip of the catheter
sits in a large vein above the right upper chamber of the heart.

The PICC line provides access to the
bloodstream. It can remain in place for long-term use. The PICC is used to
administer medications quickly to the heart.

A local anaesthetic is used to "freeze" the area on the arm
where the PICC line is inserted.

Today both Opa's and Oma's traveled the long distance to Toronto. Opa Bos decided to return home while Opa and Oma Neels and Oma Bos are staying in a hotel overnight.

During the nights when Hannie and Marvin would make their way across the street to the other hospital, they would notice the homeless people sleeping on the streets! How blessed we are to have a home and nice warm beds to sleep on!

In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1Th 5:18

Tomorrow will be a hard day for Gerad as they will be doing the Norwood Procedure. The surgeon had yet to meet with Marvin and Hannie, so we don't yet know what time the surgery will be.

Marvin says Gerad is still cute!

FROM the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,

when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:2

Norwood Procedure

Norwood Procedure A complex surgical procedure used for hypoplastic
left-heart syndrome (and similar variants) where reconstruction of the absent or
small aorta is accomplished by using the patient's own pulmonary artery. This
allows unobstructed blood flow to be delivered to the body. As part of the
Norwood procedure, the wall between the upper chambers of the heart is removed
(atrial septectomy), and a small Gore-tex? tube (shunt) is inserted from the
aorta to the pulmonary arteries.

Pictures!

First of all: His name is Gerad!

He weighed 8.03 lbs and is 56 cm long. As you can see on the pictures, he is chunky and sweet!

As of now he is stabelized and doing OK. He is on medication to keep his one valve from closing and possibly on Friday he will undergo surgery which is called the Norwood Procedure.

The nurse encouraged Hannie to add his own blanket and things to his basinet to personalize it more, so she layed a blue, boy blanket close to his head together with a little bear. When we had left the room and we were walking through the hall, we could see the nurse, through the window, wrapping Gerad up again and laying his own blanket overtop of the hospital ones! The nurses are so kind and caring!

Marvin says Gerad is the cutest baby he has ever seen!

Seek the LORD and his strength,

seek his face continually.

1Chr 16:11

He is Here!

Gerard Johannes Neels

Born October 1, 2008 at about 1 am

weighing a little over 8 pounds.

Blessed parents are Marvin and Hannie Neels

After a day of prayerfully awaiting a phone call from Toronto, Marvin called Oma Bos in the wee hours of the morning to announce the blessed news. How relieved we were that Hannie made it through safely and Gerard was born, was stable and breathing on his own!

Marv and Hannie were able to hold him for about 15 minutes before he was taken across the street to the Childrens Hospital for Sick Children. Hannie said he has black hair! They did an echo and we are awaiting the results of that. So far, Gerard is doing good!

Oma and Opa Neels and Oma Bos left this morning to visit. As they came into the hospital entrance, there was Hannie, waiting for them!

A rule is in place that only Grampa's and Gramma's are allowed to see the baby as of now. As I was telling my boys that, Hendrik (3) stood up and declared: "But, I am a Gramma!"

We are getting ready to go and visit them shortly. I hope to update with more info when we come home, and hopefully have some pictures to show!

His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: Great is Thy Faithfulness!

(Lam. 3:22-23)