THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Dear Prayer Warriors,

It is with great joy we announce that our second child has arrived! Nathan was born on the 27th of July, a shy two days after his father turned 33. What a great gift! With very little fanfare, the little man took his own sweet time to arrive in this world. Leaving his parents semi-trapped in the labour ward for more than 20 hours. (We got so impatient by the tenth hour, we told doc to burst the water bag, but our son had his own plans.) Thankfully, active labour was a sprint and pushing ended with a flourish in only eleven minutes.

Only family was allowed to visit those 3 days we were in the hospital. But for many of you who sent your love and well wishes, please know that we appreciate you.

You may be wondering about the radio silence on our end. And also why we have been turning you away when you offer to babysit, bring meals or visit. In this post, we hope to share the painful reason with you and a sincere request for prayer -

Nathan was discovered to have a heart murmur on the morning we were meant to be discharged. His paediatricion, a very god-fearing doctor, assured us these were very common but called a specialist friend to come have a look. (This friend would turn out to be one of the best, if not THE best paediatric cardiologist in Singapore.

When Dr W came, it was way past discharge time. He was clearly a seasoned veteran, but the news he bore gave us little comfort. Through an ultrasound, the murmur turned out to be something more complex. With a detailed sketch he explained very simply the condition of VSD. The hole, of moderate size is situated right below the valve opening. Rather than between muscle tissue which has a higher chance of closure, his is a thin membrane. A hole of this size could cause the left side of the heart to swell, or the heart to work extra hard due to the 'leakage' of oxygenated blood but we won't know the damage until his lungs mature about a week or so from now.

The worst case scenario is severe breathlessness, exhaustion and finally growth failure in which case there is only one solution - heart surgery. But we are praying for the best result - that the pressure difference will be so low to the point of insignificant such that it will not affect his daily life at all.

In light of all the above, we would like to tell you we are assured of a miraculous healing and at total peace with the entire situation, but we are not. Watching his little chest heave each time he breathes and hearing him cough in the middle of the night scares us. The very thought of surgery on his tiny body frightens us.

And so, we ask for your prayer and understanding as we retreat into our little haven called family. While family has never stopped being precious to us, it has become acutely more so this last week or more since he has been home. We have decided to do all we can to ensure he gets the chance to grow as well as possible without any additional stress. We are also holding off having guests so our family of four has time to adjust to one another, even in this time of crisis, to treasure one another.

Even with our fears expressed, we want to say that we have full confidence in the hand of God in this entire situation. We might not understand, but we trust He has the best plan for our lives. Thus, we await to see how He will glorify Himself through it all. In Him we find our peace and the strength to love and be loved abundantly each day.


Grateful,
Jonathan, Amy, Mya and baby Nathan