Praying for Henry
Donation protected
At 31 weeks along in her pregnancy, Jennifer began displaying symptoms of Preeclampsia. Jennifer and Caleb spent a week at Women's and Babies Hospital trying to keep her blood pressures stable. On the first day of the 33rd week of pregnancy, the doctors deemed it necessary for the safety of Jennifer and Henry that this be the day they meet their son.
Henry was born through emergency C section late September 27th. Henry weighed 3 pounds 14 ounces. After birth, his medical team realized Henry had health concerns beyond their scope and would need to get to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as soon as possible. They whisked Henry and Caleb to Philly while Jennifer stayed in Lancaster to recover from surgery.
Henry has many medical issues. His esophagus was not connected to his stomach, his trachea and esophagus were connected by many passages from one to the other making air go into his stomach. Additionally fluids were getting into his lungs. His aorta is too narrow and also needs to be repaired.
Henry has many battles ahead of him. Each moment and each day we praise God for this miracle.
Day 1 - Doctors complete many tests and assessments to determine their treatment plans for Henry. Henry stops breathing and the nurses and doctors were able to get him breathing again and be as stable as can be. Praise God for his sustaining power over life and timing.
Day 2 - Henry's medical team see that his left lung has collapsed from when he stopped breathing hours before, they insert a tube to keep his lung inflated. Henry underwent surgery where they repaired and reattached his esophagus, separated his trachea and esophagus, separated his lungs and intestine, added a breathing tube into his right lung, and placed a feeding tube into his stomach. This frail baby underwent a 4 hour surgery and remained stable the entire time. At this point, Jennifer was still in the hospital 2 hours away, and she convinces the doctors that she would heal better closer to Henry, so they release her from their care. Praise God for favor with the medical team! Praise God for his healing authority! Praise God for his sustaining power over life!
Day 3 - Henry is doing ok. He is not out of the woods yet. Henry heard his mother's voice and saved a special moment for her to witness...he opened his eyes for the first time! What an amazing God we serve.
As the days continue to pass by they continue to find both little and big things that Henry will need to overcome. What goes in must come out, but Henry is having issues with the output of pee. Which the team will be assessing on what next steps will be. When the doctors deem his body stable enough for surgery, he will have his aorta narrowing repaired.
Please pray:
- For Henry and the doctors & nurses. God has sustained him thus far and we pray for continual power in his tiny life!
- For Jen--She is supposed to be on bed-rest but instead is standing next to Henry’s crib. Her body needs to heal but her heart needs the healing presence of being by her son's side.
- For Jen and Caleb--this is very stressful and they have not been able to hold their son.
How your GoFundMe donations will be used:
- Caleb and Jen will be traveling each day by train to/from their home to Philadelphia, and then taking an Uber to/from the hospital.
- They will need lunches while at the hospital.
- Once Henry can eat they will need to stay closer to the hospital to feed him, so they will look for a place that they can stay overnight.
- Medical bills and other incidentals that pile up as they deal with the challenges of having a premature baby in the NICU away from home.
We praise God for being our Provider, Healer, Creator and Sustainer of Life! He is good! We thank you for being his vessels through which we can tangibly help Jen, Caleb, and Henry during this time.
Organizer and beneficiary
Bonnie Fish
Organizer
Mount Joy, PA
Caleb Fish
Beneficiary