Francis, Shirley, Jasmine (8yrs) and Candace (6yrs) were living in Laos as a family when we discovered Shirley was pregnant with our first boy. However, the 20 week scan revealed problems with his bladder and kidneys which were grossly inflated with urine that wasn't draining through the urethra. Doctors at Auckland's Starship Hospital advised us to return to New Zealand where treatment could be provided for this congenital anomaly. We returned to NZ in March 2009, and Samuel James Davy was born on 6 June. He was diagnosed with MMIHS (see link below) - a very rare condition which means his intestine is under-developed and unable to absorb and process food as normal, while his bladder and kidneys are enlarged and poorly formed. So Samuel has been on intravenous nutrition known as TPN (see link) since birth, which runs for 18 hours per day through a central line and involves sterile procedures to connect/disconnect the feed. He has a stoma which empties waste into a colostomy bag, a hole in his uretos to drain urine from his left kidney, and a hole directly into his bladder to drain from the right kidney. Catheters are inserted into both drainage points every four hours to drain his urine. He also has a 'GJ' tube which runs through a hole in the stomach and down into the small intestine, through which he receives gradually increasing amounts of milk formula using a continuous feed pump. His liver was also affected but is now functioning normally, and the kidneys are currently functioning adequately despite their damaged state. Samuel spent 4.5 months in hospital from birth and underwent 9 operations to his heart, bowel, kidneys, bladder, and stomach before he was discharged and moved home on 28 October 2009. Our family have settled in Auckland, New Zealand - Jasmine and Candace attend the local primary school, Francis has resigned from his job managing a rural development program in Laos, and is now working for World Vision New Zealand while Shirley is caring full-time for Samuel at home, with close support from family, Home-care assistants and Starship hospital.
Prayer Requests
For his central line through which he receives intravenous nutrition to remain free of infection
For Samuel's kidneys to continue functioning well despite their damaged state
For Samuel's liver function to remain strong despite the risk of damage from the intravenous nutrition
For wisdom for the doctors to know how to treat his complex condition
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