Brayden Dowdney

My daughter, Kelli and husband David Dowdney - carrollton TX - were chosen to be adoptive parents of twin boys to have been born in December.
They delivered early Sept 19, one baby boy did not survive. Brayden is the in Cook's NICU. Birth weight of 2.3, now upto 3.3
Their journey in this with all the potential and real problems are on their blogspot, link below.
PLEASE CALL TO PRAYER ALL WHO CAN AND WILL TO PRAY FOR THE DEVELOPEMENT OF BRAYDEN'S BRAIN AND BODY.

UPDATE 11/04/09

ANOTHER BRAIN SONO ON NOV. 19, PRAYERS, PRAYERS FOR HEALING OF BRAYDEN'S BRAIN! HE HAS POLY-CYSTS THAT COULD HAMPER HIS DEVELOPEMENT MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY AND MORE COULD FORM. WE ARE TRUSTING THE GREAT PHYSICIAN TO TAKE CARE OF THIS SO BRAYDEN CAN FULLY REALIZE HOW MUCH HE IS LOVED!

We just got home from an evening with Brayden and it was an amazing night..best we have had! He was awake and just looking and sucking (like a little piglet which all the nurses are saying is a GREAT sign) and snugglin! He took all his feeds with no problems and is completely off oxygen, regulating his own body temp, and SUCKING HIS THUMB! Man, God's creation is beautiful.

UPDATE 11/21/09 (from Facebook posts)

Kelli Overton Dowdney Spent the morning with Brayden! He's up to 5 lbs 3 oz! Getting big. Brain sono showed the same, maybe one more concerning area but couldn't confirm. I just know that God's glory will reign through his life and that he is ours! Everthing else beyond that is part of the journey! We are so very very thankful and blessed that Brayden is ours! In our eyes...he is perfect!!
David Dowdney Brayden's Sonogram showed the same cyst he had, plus a new one and one other that could be a cyst. So, all in all it wasn't the news we wanted to hear, but we know Jesus is in control. It appears the skin-on-skin care Kel and I have been giving is working, and he is gaining weight even with all his other complications
David Dowdney We won't know what these cysts mean until his brain fully develops and he tries to walk/talk/sit up/etc and those things will help us know where he is. Please continue to pray for him and his situation, and for us to rely on the peace of Jesus that can help us along

UPDATE 1/03/2010

Brayden was released from Cook's Dec. 8. He is thriving.........last week's weight 7.4.

Only pressing complication is a double hernia...consultation Dec. 29, surgery imminent.

None of the dire medical predictions have come to pass - seizures, blindness, muscle control, etc.

He was released with no prescriptions, taking his Similac formula every three ounces and loving his mommy and daddy.

We know God's hand has already moved over our little boy, and anticipate more as the miracle of Brayden continues.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRAYERS! May God's good blessings be upon each of you.0

http://thedowdneydiaries.blogspot.com/

Braden Matthew Skiles

Braeden Matthew was born at 11:25am on Sunday, September 13th to Matthew and Shannon Skiles. He was 5 pounds 12 ounces and is currently 5 pounds 16 ounces. He has been in NICU due to some fluid on his lungs and is having trouble keeping his oxygen levels where they should be.

Please pray that God would heal his lungs and help him to begin to breath well on his own.

Kelci and Kaitlyn

Twin girls, Kelci Diane and Kaitlyn Marie were born to Pete and Marci Durrett in late July, weighing 3 pounds 6 oz and 3 pounds 5 oz. They were over two months early, so they were taken to NICU immediately. They discovered yesterday that both girls have a heart murmur.

Last week the parents were allowed to come up and "room in" with the babies. But the babies had to be taken back to NICU. They keep forgetting to breath, so, obviously this is a HUGE concern.

Please pray that God would heal these two little girls and would give their families peace.

Alaina

6.29.09 8:30 a.m.
Baby Alaina was born Saturday morning via emergency c-section. After her mother, Stephanie, labored for several hours, the baby's heartbeat kept fading from the fetal monitors. After she was born, the doctor found that she had been living in a severely significant amount of meconium for about a week. The doctor was able to remove a large amount of the meonium, but the remainder of it is preventing her from breathing properly and has to be dissipated by her body. She is making small improvements, but she still has a long road of healing ahead of her.
Fortunately, every report received form her doctor has been encouraging.

UPDATE 6.29.09 3:50 pm
Alaina’s blood pressure is bottoming out. She is receiving a blood transfusion in hopes of stabilizing her, but if this does not work, Alaina will be transported to Egleston this evening. Please, please pray.

UPDATE 6.30.09
Alaina is moving from North Georgia Medical Center to Egleston Children's Hospital. Alaina has continued to be in stable condition since my last update, but her precious doctor feels that she will receive better care with his mentor in Atlanta.Please be in prayer for the Angel Team from Egleston who are en route to fly Alaina to Atlanta, as well as the medical team that will be responsible for her care until she is able to come home with her Mommy & Daddy where she belongs.

UPDATE 7.31.09
Alaina has made significant progress over the past month. Last night her mom was able to "room in". There are still a few more "hurdles" to jump. Please pray for Alaina's continued progress and pray that she'll be home soon.

http://www.happyhughes.blogspot.com/

Rhyla-Kayte

I received this request this morning...

My little sister is 22 weeks pregnant with a little girl,to be named Rhyla-Kayte, and I went with her for a routine ultrasound on Friday. Everything was normal, except that the ultrasound showed a cyst on 1 of her kidneys. The cyst is approx. 1 cm in diameter, which isn't really big until you remember that the baby weighs 15 ounces right now.So, the ob/gyn is sending her to a specialist in Jackson for a more detailed ultrasound in a few weeks. She said that it was abnormal to see a cyst, but not necessarily something that we need to be concerned about. She said that 1 of 3 things would happen:
1. The cyst would get bigger.
2. The cyst would stay the same.
3. It would go away.
We are praying that it will just go away. We have some kindney issues that run in our family so this is a concern.

We appreicate your prayers.

UPDATE 8-31-09 (FROM AUNT CENA)
I had asked everyone to pray for my unborn niece, Rhyla-Kayte, during the summer and am so thankful for your prayers. My sister went to a specialist twice for an ultrasound. The first time he discovered that the cyst on her kidney was actually a cyst, but no kidney....she only has 1. But he wasn't too concerned since her fluid output looked fine. Still it worried us that she only had 1 kidney. Last week she went back to the specialist and the cyst was gone (PRAISE!), and her absent kidney could possibly be growing, but he wasn't for sure. The specialist was not concerned at all about her only having one kidney. The great news is the cyst is gone, so she would not require any surgery to remove it. If everything goes as planned, the day after she is born she will probably require a MRI and other tests to see exactly what is going on. If everything looks okay, she will probably just require regular kidney ultrasounds.Please continue to pray!Specifically for1) Her absent kidney will grow to normal size.2) If that's not possible, that her 1 kidney will be normal and take over for both.

UPDATE 9/9/09
We definitely need more prayers tonight because my sister is in the hospital experiencing early labor. She is 32 weeks today. She is 2 cm dialated and has been having contractions since 1:00 pm today. Her 1st shot to stop the contractions did not work.....they started up again. She is probably going to get another shot soon. The doctor said that she is not in "seriously active labor" right now, but things can change quickly. The baby is not in distress, but we would like for her to stay put for another 4 weeks if possible.

UPDATE 9/29/09
RHYLA-KATE IS HERE!
Rhyla-Kayte, was born last Thursday (9/24) weighing 4lbs, 9oz. She was 34 weeks.....my sister had been in labor for the last 2 weeks with contractions and leaking fluid, so her doctor tried to hold her off until 34 weeks. She had to stay in the hospital for those 2 weeks to get monitored.The great news is that Rhyla didn't need any oxygen or feeding tubes; she was alert, breathing great, and started drinking 2 ccs of formula every 2 hours. As of today, she is up to 30 ccs every 2 hours. They did an ultrasound of her kidneys yesterday and she does indeed only have one. The neonatologist wants her to go to Jackson to see a specialist in a few months. However, everything seems to be working well right now.

Maclane and Mommy

This is an urgent prayer request as it has just happened this evening and is continuing right now. Kara, a young woman, was induced today, her due date, but had to have an emergency c-section due to Maclane's, her baby boy, heart rate dropping. During the c-section, she hemorraged and had to have a hysterectomy to control the bleeding. They have gone in a second time for the bleeding and it is still not under control, and she has not woken up yet. She lost baby Maclane's twin early in her pregnancy and this is her first baby. Maclane has a hole in each lung, is on a breathing tube, and may have further complications.
Please, please pray for healing for Kara and Maclane, and peace, comfort, and wisdom for Carson (dad and husband).

6/25/09 UPDATE: Kara woke up this morning and is recovering. She had to have 7 units of blood yesterday and almost did not make it. Maclane is stable and better as well. He has tubes draining the fluid from his lungs, but the color of the fluid is clear and they are happy with that.

Thomas Gaines

On March 18th, Brittany Daniel was in Washington, DC on business when her water broke. Unfortunatly she was only 24 weeks along in her pregnancy. At the hospital, she was prevented from going into labor for another 7 weeks. Thomas Gaines was born on April 24th. He has had an extended stay in the NICU, and unfortunately, continues to struggle on a daily basis. Currently, they are trying to determine if the has Chronic Lung Disease or heart failure. Please pray for this little baby and his family. His parents, Brittany and Beau have temporarily relocated to DC to be with their precious son. Their home is in Alabama and they have young pre-schooler named Reed. Obviously, they are anxious for Gaines to get well so they can return home as a family.

http://beauandbrittanydaniel.blogspot.com