Dear all,
I spoke with Isaac's doctor last night about whether it is possible to transfer Isaac to a hospital closer to us now that he has graduated to GCU and unfortunately, the doctor is not supportive of the move. He believes its better for Isaac to stay at Toho University because the doctors and nurses at Toho know Isaac better.
Unfortunately, he also believes that Isaac will need to stay in the hospital for another 2-3 months because of his severe CLD, which was worsened by his PDA. Its very unfortunate because we will need to continue to deal with this hospital's policy towards limited visiting hours and kangaroo care. Therefore, it seems that the best solution to this is if all of you can join us to pray really hard for the miraculous healing of Isaac's CLD and all the scars in his lungs so that he can recover a lot quicker than expected and can come home sooner with us. Also, please pray that even though Isaac is not allowed to receive kangaroo care, that the Holy Spirit is whispering to little Isaac and prompting him to remember to breathe and to breathe in deeply so that our little Isaac can receive kangaroo care directly from the Holy Spirit.
For those of you who have been asking why we are not advocating harder or pushing back on the hospital harder for Isaac with respect to things like kangaroo care and our "rights", I think it is difficult for people outside of Japan to understand Japanese culture and also the Japanese approach to doctor-patient relationship and even the Japanese approach to parenting. There are quite a few things that we think are best for our children (including in NICU care as well as in general parenting) that Japanese do not agree with. If we are not careful as how we are "pushing" for things, we can end up in a much, much worse situation than where we are now. Both Jong and I have personally been burnt by trying to go about things in a too-American style in other situations we have had to face in the past 3.5 years we have lived in Japan. Japan actually has a very good record with preemie care (viability is actually 22 weeks in Japan as opposed to 24 weeks in the US) so I am also trying to put my trust in God that everything is in His Hands. There was not a doubt that God wanted Isaac to be in this particular hospital, since at the time Isaac and Rachel were born, there were no other NICU beds available in Tokyo that were willing to take us in. One of the reasons I can think of as to why we need to stay at Toho longer is God wants us to plant more seeds for Him there.
Please also pray for wisdom as to how we interface with the hospital staff with respect to Isaac. I am afraid that there has already been a lot of misunderstandings and they may have misconceptions of us because of the differences in culture and language barriers. Now that we have to stay here for even longer, it seems more important that we are able to know how to deal with the hospital and still get the best for Isaac. And I have to admit that sometimes its hard for Jong and I not to feel frustrated, discouraged and lose our patience.
It seems that when things are getting better and better, I start to lose patience. Please pray for me to continue to have the patience to wait for the Lord and to trust in Him with all of my heart and not to lean on my own understanding.
Thank you very much,
Sonia
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4 comments:
o Lord, bless this family who has sought you so desperately, whom You love so dearly. You have placed them in Toho for Your purposes, Lord- may they rest in You and trust in Your unfailing love when everything else seems to fail them. thank You for giving them Your eyes to see the situation and helping them to interpret it all in light of Your good and perfect will. please make their stay at this hospital the perfect length to accomplish what you want to accomplish through jong, sonia, and isaac. not a day more, nor a day less. bring to resolution the misunderstandings with the hospital staff-- enable jong and sonia to communicate respect and appreciation to the staff and love them in ways they can receive it. give them patience to endure through the cultural differences that wear at their very core, and refresh them whenever they feel that they've had enough. give them smooth times when they need it most, and strengthen them to the ministry you call them to here when You call them to do so. heal isaac in every way to bring him home to mommy and daddy as soon as possible, but in the mean time, thank You for providing the best kangaroo care possible through the whisper of Your Spirit. cushion baby isaac with Your love. cover Him with the groanings of the Spirit, crying out for his breathing and his soul to all glorify the Lord. draw near to him in every way, and breathe new life into little Isaac. may sonia and jong not despair for long when things get hard, but help each other up when they fall down. encourage them as they need encouragement, and fill them with Your love most powerful. fill the empty hole in their heart that feels like it won't be filled until little isaac is home with them.
You are good, Lord, great, and worthy to be praised. hallelujah!
Sonia, I am so glad that you are being wise in how you handle cultural differences and doctor-patient relations. I am so sorry that you are getting pressure from all sides in regard to this KC issue. I pray that the heart of this doctor and the policy of this hospital will be changed by the hand of God, and you will be able to KC very soon!!!
For those who don't know about Asian culture, if you cause a doctor to 'lose face' by challenging his way of treating a patient it can mean the difference between a good working relationship and getting little 'favours' (like being allowed to hold your child), and working with a brick wall who never allows you to have any privileges. I have friends who almost lost their son because they pushed too hard too many times to get things done the 'western way', and the doctor just began to block them out and even stopped coming to the bedside as often. Yes, that's an outrage and it's wrong, but it's a reality of working with a hospital in Asia.
So, Sonia, I am praying for you and Jong, that you'll have wisdom to know how to deal with your doctor and your nurses. And who knows, if we all get behind them in prayer, and they lean on the wisdom of God and not men, and they do things in a way that gives respect and honor to their doctor, this family might just be able to begin KC, and change a policy for others that come after them. But that will only happen with patience and doing things the "Japanese way".
Sonia and Jong,
I am praying like crazy for you. I know and trust that you have wonderful instincts for what is necessary for Isaac to get the best care possible. You are wonderful parents and one day this will be far behind you and you will be very proud with how you handled everything!
Hugs,
Susan
Sonia I'm praying for you and Jong and especially Isaac. Praying for understanding with the doctors and that kangaroo care will somehow become a possibility!
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