New pics

I'll go ahead and warn all of you now. I am known for taking a few too many pictures. It has proven to be no different with my nephew....I just can't help myself. Soon, I'm sure little Finn will be posing for me like my own children.

I went over to the Templin household this evening to take them a few things, and of course, to have my Finn fix. It has been a whole 3 days since I saw him last. I think, if it is possible, he may have gotten a bit cuter!

I was able to find out from Meredith that Finn had his first visit to the pediatrician yesterday. Meredith said that after the doctor looked at him she told her that he looked like a normal, healthy, 1 week old baby. Praise God for that! Tomorrow, or thursday Finn will go in for his hearing screening. Pray for a safe drive for mom and baby as I think we may be getting yet another snow storm sometime this week.

I will leave you with a few of the many pics I took of that handsome little boy we have all grown to love so much in the past week. I'm sure he will continue to bring us much joy in the future, and I'll do my best, along with his parents, to capture those precious moments on film.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Finn is home!

Aunt Lissa writes:

Praise God! Finn came home today! Mom, Dad, Aunt Shalane, Uncle Jeremy, Gigi, Nannaw, Papaw, Aunt Lissa and especially J.T. were all there to welcome him home.

What a sweet little boy he is....such a cutie! We were all passing him around trying to get our chance to hold him. I have to admit, when it was my turn, I just couldn't keep my eyes off him. He is so adorable!

J.T. is going to be the best big brother ever! He was so cute with him. He calls him Baby Finn.....and you can already tell that they are going to be best buds! J.T. is sure to be a great helper to his momma too!

John sent me some new pics to post tonight. They are all from when he was in the hospital.....his first bath, him with Cody, his great NICU nurse and two more of him just looking cute! As I get more I will continue to post them. Until then, keep them in your prayers as they get used to the new routine, and life with two boys. They are all doing well, but there are still concerns and I'm sure there will be lots of sleepless moments for weeks to come as they are adjusting. Pray for peace, strength and sleep whenever possible. Remember John asked for each of you to pray specifically for Finn's healing and to claim God's promises for him. May God continue to be glorified through all of this! Please take time to leave a comment when you visit. I changed the settings so anyone can leave a comment now. I know that John and Meredith would love to hear from all of you!

A Letter From Mom and Dad

Friends & Family,

I wanted to express my sincere thanks for all of the support that you have provided for us this week. I think that if prayers were visible by satellite we would have seen an amazing cloud covering the country this week. I can't tell you all the stories that have been relayed to me about entire churches and communities praying for Fin. It has been a great blessing to see the healing power of God in my son.

Over the past week Meredith and I have ridden a roller-coaster of emotion as we rejoiced at the birth of our son, watched as he was revived about 20 times in the first 24 hours of his life, cried when we learned that he had a severe stroke, agonized as he fought to survive, and worried about test results and Fin's future. However, now we rejoice again as Fin has made some miraculous progress over the last 24 hours.

First, some background. Fin's EEG results did conclude that he is having siezures and that he has limited electrical activitiy on the left side of his brain. Fin's MRI showed that nearly the entire left side of his brain was damaged by the stroke. Despite what sounds like terrible news, Fin started breathing on his own last night and was completely removed from the ventilator and all oxygen assistance today. Fin has also begun eating on his own (he is a big eater like his dad), and no longer needs the feed tube. Fin also will have his i.v. tube removed tonight assuming all continues to go well. Fin is also moving the right side of his body and is very active and alert. Long story short, we are anticipating taking Fin home this weekend. What a miracle!

Moving forward, our neurologist tells us that Fin will face some challenges. She says that it is
likely that Fin will have siezures, will be weak or debilitated on his right side, may have trouble
learning, may have deficincies in his motor skills, and may have trouble communicating and seeing. However, our neurologist also says that a baby's brain is a clean slate and that Fin's brain has the ability to shift these functions to other parts of the brain and to create neuron pathways around the damaged areas. In any event, we have registered Fin at the stroke clinic at Children's Hospital so he will get the best care possible moving forward.

In the end, Fin's future is in God's hands and that is a good place for it to be. Especially,
considering the fact that we have a countless number of you praying on Fin's behalf. I ask each of you to pray SPECIFICALLY FOR FIN'S HEALING at this point and to claim God's promises for Fin. It is our hope that Fin's healing will be a glorifying testimony to God's amazing power.

In addition, I wanted to let you know that my sister Melissa (a.k.a. the blog queen) has already
posted a site online to keep you posted on Fin's progress. I have very limited access to the phone and Internet in the NICU at Children's and keeping everyone updated has been a challenge. However, we are very thankful for that challenge :) Also, please do us a favor and forward this message to your church groups, friends, etc. that don't know us but have been praying for us on your behalf. It is our hope that Fin's healing will be testament to the power and faithfulness of God.

Thanks again to each of you for all that you have done.

Sincerely,

John & Meredith Templin

MRI Results

The results from Finley's MRI came back today. The results show that the left side of his brain has undergone some damage. The MRI shows the structure of the brain and lets the doctors know what areas have been damaged. As we all know, different parts of the brain control different areas of our bodies. The areas of his left side that may have been affected include: speech, motor (walking), possible learning problems, and some muscle function. The doctor also said that the seizures may persist, so they will continue to give him the medicine to control those seizures. He has been off the venilator since last night and I have not heard of any complications in that area. The doctor told my brother today that his being able to breath on his own should not be an issue for the future.

I personally still feel a miracle can happen here. Finley is only 3 days old, and has not learned any of these things anyway. The power of prayer is a very real power, and it is one that I truly believe in. Please continue to pray for this sweet little boy! We need to all have faith and continue to lift him and his parents up in prayer.

If you did not notice at the right hand corner of this blog there is a way to help! My father, Finn's Pappaw has set up an account in his name for those of you that feel lead to help financially. Thank you again, we love you all!

Pray for Finn

I'm sure most of you have heard that my brother and Meredith welcomed their second son into the world around 4pm yesterday, January 23rd. His name is Finley Paul and he looks just like his older brother, JT.

I was not able to be there right when he was born, but I made it up there about 2 hours after his birth. A few minutes before I got to the hospital I had talked to my brother, and he told me that they had taken Finn back to the nursery for his bath, and while in the nursery he had stop breathing. This was a complete shock to all of us, because for the first two hours he showed no signs of trouble or distress. So, when I finally made it to the hospital (in the midst of all the chaos) they were moving him to the NICU, for further evaluation.

After moving him to the NICU and after more numerous "not breathing" moments they scheduled him for a CAT scan. John and Meredith both were by his side the whole time. The results of the CAT scan came back and after the neonatologist was able to look at them he was able to determine that Finn had actually suffered from a stroke and that there was bleeding on his brain. The actual time of the stroke is unknown, but the bleeding in his brain was what was causing him to stop breathing because it was in the area of the brain that controls his breathing.



This news was not at all what anyone was expecting, especially John and Meredith after spending two wonderful and happy hours with their new son. John and Meredith are very upset and in need of everyone's prayers!

This morning I picked my mom and dad up from the airport and we went straight to the hospital. They had made arrangements to transfer Finn to Denver Children's hospital, for more extensive testing and to meet with a neurologist. John rode with Finn in the ambulance while Meredith was waiting to be discharged.










Wednesday 3:37 pm
As of right now, Finn is at Children's and will be having an uneventful night, until tomorrow when the tests will be begin. Meredith and her mother will be spending the night with Finn, so John can go home to rest and spend some time with JT. My parents will be spending the night with him tonight and helping with JT.

I am praying for a complete healing for Finn, because I know that our God is a God of miracles and healing! I'm believing for it, and I would like for all of you to believe along with me! I am boldly approaching God's thrown and EXPECTING a miracle.....not asking.....EXPECTING!!!!

I will try to keep you all up to date on the latest news and happenings so that you all know how to keep praying. Thank you all for your prayers, calls, emails and offererings, they are very much appreciated!!!! Love you!

Wednesday 8:10pm
I just got back from picking my brother and my dad up from the hospital. They have both been up there all day, along with Meredith and her mother. There was not much done as far as tests today, but my brother was able to talk with the neurologist. According to my brother she is one of the best in the country, so that has been one thing that has eased his mind. She was able to look at Finn and talk a little bit of his prognosis.

First, she said that the damage from the stroke is effecting his right side. A normal, average person would not be able to look at him and notice any kind of effect. She said that she is able to see, because she is experienced and knows what to look for, that his right side is moving a bit slower than his left. Like I said, not a real noticable effect. She will know more tomorrow after they do an EKG and an MRI. She said that he will definitely not be 100%, and may be delayed with certain things, but that she thinks there is much hope for him. She said that a baby having a stroke and an adult having a stroke are two different things. A baby's neurotransmitters and brain function are not as developed and learned as an adult, so those areas that have been damaged will never be, but the others (as they develop) will be able to compensate for the ones damaged. She also said that he will probably be a lefty as he grows up, because that will be his stronger more defined side.

I feel as if I'm leaving something out, but I can't remember what it is as of right now. My grandmother looked up what the name, Finley means and shared it with my mother today.

Finley means : fair-haired soldier

If you know my brother and his wife then you are aware that they both have fair hair, and their children share that same trait. I believe that Finley is living his name right now and fighting just like a soldier!

Thursday, Jan. 25th
I'm hesitant to even make this post, because I'm not really sure I have a whole lot of solid news for ya'll. I spent most of the day up at the hospital hoping to be there for the tests and for the results, but for those of you that are familiar with hospitals you know that they don't really stay on schedule.

I arrived at the hospital as they were finishing up the EEG test on Finn. The results for the EEG test were not back until as I was about to leave around 4:30pm. The test was able to show them that he had one episode of an electrical seizure within his brain. These types of seizures do not necessarily make themselves physically apparent, so the test was the only way we were able to know that it had occurred. After learning this they were able to give Finn some medicine to prevent the seizures from occurring again.

John and Meredith were able to hold him today for the first time since after his birth. They did the MRI after I left around 5:30pm, and we will get the results of that test tomorrow.

I talked to my mom a few minutes ago and she said that they did remove the ventilator tube from his mouth tonight and that they will be watching him closely tonight to make sure that he is able to breath on his own.

Continue to pray for postive results on the MRI test tomorrow and that he is able to breath on his own through the night and into tomorrow. Thank you, to all of you who are praying! Keep it up!