Pray for Baby Kaden

I am not normally one to ask for prayers, but a friend of mine just because a grandma and her grandson Kaden is in for a fight for life. Here is Kaden's story as told by his Grandma, Kim.

Dear Friends and Family;

I have a prayer request that I am sending out as I truly believe in the power of prayer and I have seen first hand the Hands of God at work.

My oldest son John and his wife Elyse were told that they could not have children but…...she got pregnant in January….The baby is a boy and we are so thankful for him.

His name is Kaden Micheal and he was supposed to be born in October (14th), but he has a congential diaphramatic hernia which is a small hole in the diaphragm that allows the abdominal organs to protrude in the chest cavity. This can damage the heart as well as lungs.

When this was discovered at her first ultrasound, the doctors wanted her to abort. John and Elyse were repulsed by this idea and changed doctors……Well, Kaden is doing well…his heart has NOT been affected, and while one lung has not developed all the way, the other one is fine. The liver is fine. In the past couple of weeks the herniated area appears to be getting larger and the doctors are concerned that the intestines might protrude and wrap around the other lung or heart, so they are inducing Elyse on Monday. It seems that the natural birth process helps the baby's lungs to rid themselves of fluid.

John and Elyse live in Knoxville, but due to the circumstances with Kaden, they have to deliver at Vanderbilt University as Kaden will require immediate surgery after birth and will then be on a respirator for 2-3 weeks. The doctors remain optimistic but have told John and Elyse that this is a serious situation.

Please lift your prayers up for Kaden and God's supernatural healing. John and Elsye are young, 25 and 24 and this is really testing them. Elyse is very upbeat, but John is trying to keep from getting so attached as he is more fearful than Elyse is.

This is my first grandchild and I have been praying continually for them. Whatever God's will is is what I am praying for. I am so hopeful that God is going to heal Kaden. Still this is difficult and I cannot imagine what Elyse is going through. TO be told that you cannot ever have children and then to get pregnant, only to have your baby with a major health issue. Yet, as we all know GOD IS ABLE…..so as you pray for Kaden, please pray for John and Elyse as well, that their faith in God remain strong and sure.

John will have to drive back and forth from Knoxville to Nashville on his days off from work and Elyse will remain there with the baby for at least 2 weeks. They do not know anyone in the Nashville area, and Elyse's mother is not able to be with her at this time. So they are trying to figure out what they will do as far as hotel accommodations for that long. I will go down next Friday.

I know that each of you have so many needs, but I ask that you please include this baby with your prayer requests.
Thank you so much. I will let you know how well Kaden did as soon as he makes his entrance into the world!!!

In His Joy-
Kim
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Just a quick update....As of 8am this morning Kaden still had not made his entrance into the world.....Elyse was given an epidural and it has made her very nauseous......Thank you all for your prayers. I will let you know more details when I have them.
I do ask that you continue to pray for them God is good and I have a peace that really cannot be explained, but then it doesn't really need an explanation.

I will be going down this weekend if all goes well, but will be going alone since my sister inlaw is not able to go as planned. I am asking again for your prayers...this time for Tamara, my sister inlaw. She has been very depressed and battling some circumstances that she sees as overwhelming. She has been gone since Saturday and we have not heard from her. I just want her to be safe......When it rains...it pours.....


Again, thank you for your prayers.



Kim
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Elyse is only 4cm dilated.......So it looks like it is going to be tonight maybe???? John has to be at work in the morning in Knoxville at 8am......so he is hoping that he won't miss the birth of his son...........His GM is not able to change the schedule.....


Thanks for the prayers-

Keep them coming....



-Kim
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Thank all of your for your prayers. I wanted to give you an update and ask that you PLEASE continue to pray for Kaden.

Kaden was born yesterday via C-section at 9:45am….He was 6 pounds 19- 1/2 inches long. Considering he was almost 4 weeks early he was a good size! He had a full head of hair!!!

He was placed on an ECMO machine ( external corporeal membrance oxygenation). The doctors told John and Elyse that there is a 50/50 chance of survival. Babies who are placed on this have a lower survival rate.

John is so afraid of getting close to the baby at this point in case something happens….he says that he has to able to be strong for Elyse.

He wants me to just go to Nashville to be with Elyse and see my grandson. He is hoping that he will be able to get some friends to help him move over the next 5 days. I am so burdened for him with the baby and work and now having to move…

John left yesterday to go back to Knoxville as he has to work. He is checking into the Family and Medical Leave Act…..Because he had an extra day off he will have only 2 days off in the next month……So that situation needs prayer as well.

I thank each of you for your prayers. You have no idea how much it means. I know that all of you have needs and concerns as well, so to take time for my prayer request means a great deal.

Kaden needs a lot of prayers right now. Elyse is there by herself until I can get there, and she is scared. And John is trying so hard to be strong, but I know that he is struggling with everything now as well.

I know that God is able…..and while I want to be at peace with that, the mother and grandma in me is aching…..

I wish each of you the best of the day.
In His Joy-
Kim
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Hello, everyone!!!
I am back home after my trip to Nashville to see Kaden Michael!!!
Thank you so much for your prayers!!!!!!!!! I have sent photos of Kaden as well as the machine that is keeping him alive (ECMO).

He had his surgery on Saturday and it went well. The doctors were able to get all of his organs back where they belonged…His heart is on the right side of his chest, but it should move back on its own, now that it has room.

Kaden is a beautiful baby!!! He has a long road ahead of him. Right now, the doctors are keeping a close eye on his lung development and expansion. He cannot stay on the ECMO for more than 10-14 days and so he will need to be able to breathe on his own before he can be taken off. The doctors are going to work on weaning him off ever so slightly each day ,hopefully in the next couple of days. So, thank you again for your prayers. The doctors were fearful of him having a bleeding problem due to the heparin he is on, when he had surgery. But there was not a problem…….

Mom, Elyse, is staying in the family area at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, and is still in a lot of pain. She is there by herself now due to Michael and I leaving Saturday night and driving back to Knoxville where he worked on packing until 3am, and then got up at 9am yesteray and moved, packed and cleaned until I left at 5pm to drive back home. He still had another load of furntiure to get moved, but had a friend coming to help. We had 3/4 of everything done. Michael will go back to Nashville tomorrow after he has everything finished at the apartment. Being alone is the hardest part for Elyse. She can't walk very well, and the NICU is a LONG walk from her room. Since she is "discharged" she doesn't get much help, and so I am praying that the Lord will have someone there to help her until Michael can get back.

His employer gave him his weeks vacation!!!! He was only 2 weeks shy from being with Golden Corral a year, and it seems that the Knoxville News-Sentinel contacted the corporate office about this situation!!!!! So, in the interest of avoiding bad publicity, Michael got his vacation early……

Kaden has a long road, but God has given us so many answers to prayer already!!!! I want to thank each of you for praying and ask that you continue to do so. God is able and I have a peace about Kaden. Sometimes I think it's exhaustion, but truthfully, it's just a peace that He is giving me.

I send my love to each of you and know that I thank God daily for you. I know that many of you have special needs as well, and be assured that I am praying for YOU!!!!!

I will keep in touch as Kaden improves.

In His Joy-
Kim