Donations for Andew - Update

I received this email today from the Impossibly Tall Rowing Woman, Jeanne:

Thanks guys for offering donations for Mari & Eric. In answer to our prayers, Mari's boss has stepped and made a significant donation towards the costs for laying Andrew to rest. So, Mari & Eric are thankful for your support, but would like to see all other donations go to Children's [Hospital (Boston)] or Brigham & Women's [Hospital (Boston)] to support the groundbreaking work that they do. There is a link to donate to Children's on Andrew's carepages website below. Blessings.

Donations for Andrew

For those of you that are asking, I am finding out if there is any kind of donation set up for Andrew's funeral costs. Or any other fund. I will post here when I find out.

Andrew Is With God

It kills me to post this. But you all have been so faithful in your support for little Andrew and his family. I am always blown away by faith and prayers given so freely for strangers. You all rock. Every last one of you.

I received this email from the Impossibly Tall Rowing Woman, Jeanne - Andrew's loving aunt:

Thank you all for all your prayers during Andrew's struggle. He passed away today after big downturn in his condition yesterday. We were able to visit him last night to say goodbye. After seeing how much his condition had worsened, I prayed that God take him to heaven rather than see him suffer like that anymore. I know God is welcoming him into His arms.

Please pray for Mari, Eric, and Will [3 yr old big brother] as they grieve. I can't imagine how hard this is for them. Here is what Mari & Eric posted on his support site:

"Andrew Thomas Haddock passed away today in his loving mothers arms at 2 P.M. in the Children's NICU. He was 4 1/2 months old. Andrew went very quickly and peacefully. We got to hold him and spend some special time with him in the end. Thank you for all the prayers and support throughout these past four months. It was a hard decision but Andrew's care was doing more harm than good. The doctors and nurses and Children's did an amazing job in trying to help Andrew get better but the infections took the best of him. If by miracle his body could recover from the sepsis, his brain had suffered such a tremendous injury he would not have had any decent quality of life. No parent should have to make that decision but we could not bear to see him suffer any more.

"We are so grateful to have had the 10 days we did with him at home and will never forget the footprint he has left on our lives and hearts. He was a very special little boy and we will miss him very very much. He has touched so many people in such little time. Again thank you for all the support and prayers and a special thanks to all the doctors and nurses at Children's and the Brigham. We will update with the funeral services once we have those in place."

Blessings

Keep Praying for Andrew

I received emails from both of the Impossibly Tall Rowing Couple from my Boston small group. Little Andrew - their nephew - is still in very serious shape. I don't think that even begins to describe his condition. So I'm asking two things: 1) pray for Andrew and his parents, Mari & Eric and 2) if you know anyone in the Boston area, please pass on the suggestion of donating platelets.

Here is the latest from Andrew's website:
September 18, 2007 at 10:47 PM EDT Andrew is almost at his limits as far as support goes at the hospital. We have not given up hope yet. He has been a strong fighter and has surprised us all in the past. He has surely pulled through some other difficult situations. Although his situation is quite critical, we cannot believe it is the end and will not give up hope. Some days he looks better than others but when one positive happens, then a one or two negatives follow. He cannot seem to release the extra fluid he is retaining and his urine output is not what it should be to help him with that. He still is fighting an infection somewhere but it cannot be pinpointed. He is on so many antibiotics that none of his cultures are coming back positive but all other signs lead to some infection somewhere in his little body.

We had a big meeting with all the members of his team which include surgery, neurology, neonatal, cardio, renal and infectious disease. They have not used all the tricks up their sleeves but are close. There still seems to be that single digit of hope, it is small but we will take it. They mentioned to us that he may possibly be the sickest baby at Children's and that Children's takes people from all over the world. He was a miracle four months ago and we hope he continues to be that miracle every day. So please still keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you all for praying. It is the most important and powerful thing we can offer.

Again, here is the info for donating platelets:
If you would like to donate platelets to Children's Hospital in Boston, you need to call to make an appointment at 617.355.6677.

Prayers for Andrew Please

I haven't looked back in my blog to be sure. But I think I posted about Andrew back in May. This tiny little boy needs your prayers.

Andrew was born around May 5th - I think he was a 25 week preemie. Andrew is the nephew to the Impossibly Tall Rowing Couple from my small group back in Boston. They are dearly loved by Trish and me and hosts of others. They are fantastic people and I would do almost anything for them.

I am praying big and believing in God's promise of good things. I am asking you all to stand in the gap for Andrew's family who must be having such an enormous struggle to keep it together. They are so swamped with the day to day of their vigil, I'm asking that you pray in their stead.

If you are anywhere near the Boston area, they need people to donate platelets. Even if you're not, you might want to consider donating in your area as it's such a simple thing to give and so critical too someone at some time!

Apparently there is a shortage in Boston and Andrew needs platelets the most. It is a long process and takes about 2 hours but would be most appreciated. You would need to call to make an appointment at 617.355.6677. They cannot be direct donated to Andrew but will be prioritized and unfortunately (or fortunately) Andrew is on top of that list.

Here is an excerpt from Andrew's website:

"They were able to isolate three forms of bacteria today: staff, ecoli and a blood infection that I cannot recall the name of. He is slowly making progress (very slowly) but is still extremely critical. He is having some underlying seizures and they are still trying to figure out what is causing them. He is slowly making urine, which is critical to fighting the bacteria and excreting the excess fluid they are pushing in. He also is beginning to blister from all the excess fluid. It seems as if some of the things they need to do is causing damage elsewhere but they need to prioritize his care and deal with some of the after effects at a later date. They have approached us about certain steps to think about such as dialysis if his kidneys start to fail and a lung bypass machine if his respiratory starts to fail. Both of these options would need some serious thought plus we are not even sure if he can survive the initial procedures. It is going to be a very long road back to a healthy recovery.

Before Andrew came home he had an MRI for a research study which will actually come in handy for the neurologists in examining the before and after effects of his illness. The good news, his brain looks normal after all he had been through being a 25 week preemie but we will now have to wait to see the results after this episode and the effects of the seizures.

Once again, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers the next 48 hours will tell us a lot and we will keep you updated."

Thank you for the prayers I know you're already sending up as you read this.