Finley Paul

A New Family Blog

2008-10-15T19:26:00.002-06:00

Hi All!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started a new family blog to keep everyone updated on both of our boys - and Finley's progress as well. Please check it out at http://www.templintantrums.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to let us know you found it!!! I can't wait to hear from everyone. Hope you are all doing well.

Smiles,

Meredith

2008-04-06T17:13:00.001-06:00

COMING SOON.....

2008-04-06T16:53:00.002-06:00

Well, I have tried to update this blog a few times in the last year and for some reason, I couldn't seem to remember the appropriate information. However, my sister-in-law Melissa just flew in from Colorado to help me get it straight and here it is!!! Okay so she was coming to town anyway and I happened to ask for her help. Same end result. I am going to post some pictures of the boys now and I will post a mega update in the next day or so for those of you who are still interested. Prepare to be amazed as Finley Paul is more than we ever expected or could've hoped for......
Smiles,
Meredith

Benefit Update

2007-06-03T20:02:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

This evening Johnny, Melony, Megan, J.T., Finley, and I hopped in the car and drove to Johnny's Catfish for the long-anticipated benefit dinner for Finn. What a blessing! We met so many families and heard so many stories of the Lord's restoration and healing. Also, this was a great time to get to know our brothers and sisters in Christ that we will be attending church with from now on. I tried to visit every table and personally thank everyone in person, but to those of you who I missed.... THANK YOU!!! We had such a great time and J.T. just had a blast. Finley was in a wonderful mood and smiled most of the evening when he wasn't sleeping. It was such a beautiful day. We started our morning in the house of the Lord, met our Father in his house during a spirit-filled worship service, and ended the day in fellowship with the family of God. It has truly been an amazing day that I will never forget. I wanted to say a special thank you to Mr. Bobby Covington, the owner of Johnny's Catfish, for hosting the dinner; Mr. Ed Copple for organizing the entire event; Johnny and Melony for all of their hard work; Pastor Rick Edmonds and Paul Reyford for their support tonight; and especially to all of those who came and made the evening a huge success. Words will never express how grateful we truly are. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Love,
Meredith

Benefit for Finley

2007-05-30T10:10:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!!! This Sunday, June 3, 2007 the Life on Purpose Sunday School class at our church (Calvary) is hosting a benefit dinner for Finley. The proceeds from this dinner will help pay for previous/ present medical expenses and also for our travel to the Stroke Clinic in Denver this fall. This is a very important visit/ examination for Finley as it will be his first "real" assessment. This visit they will be able to determine where Finley stands developmentally a lot better because he is at an age where he is able to do more. Just to let you know, Finley is smiling all the time now - and it is such a cute smile... he will melt your heart. Also, he laughs and coos and fusses when he doesn't get his way! He is trying to sit up on his own and gets incredibly frustrated when he can't. He just started eating applesauce on his 4 month birthday and I am sad to say he is just like his mother... HE LOVES FOOD!!! Although he was sleeping through the night when we moved back, he is not anymore. The little turkey thinks it is funny to wake up all night long. ( If you don't believe me I would be more than happy to let you spend a night with us and see for yourself.... so long as you get up with him!!! :) I am going to post some more pics of Finley and the boys and would love to hear from you. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support over the past 4 months. We truly appreciate you all. I hope to see you at the benefit on Sunday - I got the day off!
Love,

Meredith

Finley Moves to Shreveport

2007-05-07T12:18:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone. So sorry that it has been so long. I guess I should start with our Feb. visit to the stroke clinic. Finley was such a charmer... flirting with all of the nurses! All of the specialists came into our room one by one and "assessed" Finn - as much as you can really assess a 1 month old. However, they all said that they felt that Finley is in a really good place and the best thing to do will be to watch him closely in the future to catch potential "problems" early. After the stroke clinic, Finley seemed to get more and more fussy with every day. Finally, I couldn't do it by myself anymore so on a Monday I got one-way plane tickets and Tuesday morning we all flew to Dallas. I am sure that we were a sight to see. My friend dropped us off at the airport on Tuesday morning and when she drove off, I was standing curbside with J.T., Finley, a double stroller, a snugli, 2 car seats, 4 suitcases and 2 carry-on bags! Ha! We did it and to make it even better the flight attendant swiped her card on the back of all 3 seats and gave us complimentary direct tv and pay-per-view movies because "I think you are really brave." God sure gave us grace that day because not only were my children perfect on the plane, but also on the 3 1/2 hour ride to Shreveport from Dallas. WOW! We spent the next few days with family and visiting friends and then drove to Alabama for a few weeks with my mom. Finn never got any less fussy, but we sure had a few extra pair of loving arms to hold the little screamer with. After a few rashes and J.T. having strep throat, among other things, we got everybody healthy and came back to Shreveport to spend some time with Pappaw and Nannaw before going home. What could be funnier than my scene at the airport curbside? Loading all of our stuff in Melony's compact car!!! Melony still jokes that she had to buy clothes and everything once she got to Denver because of all of our stuff. However, once again the Lord provided because we fit everything that we needed and drove straight through to Denver. We only stopped 2 or 3 times other than gas fill-ups. Amazing huh?
Once we got to Denver, things calmed down for about a week or so. Then, everything went crazy. Long story short, we were going to move back to Louisiana and needed to be there by May 7. I am going to be working at Christus Schumpert in their NICU and John will be transferring with Cintas. Needless to say, we had a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. I thought we had a lot to pack when we moved to Colorado in the first place.... boy was I wrong!!! 2 small children and 1 million toys later, I know that the first move was CAKE! Why is it that a 3 month old baby that you can hold in your lap requires no less than 2 tons of equipment and we won't even talk about J.T.'s requirements. Oh yeah, one other thing.... J.T. was in the middle of potty training. I postponed it for this long with the excuse of having a new baby, waiting for summer, anything really to not have to do it. But, with me going back to work, as a nurse no less, the boys will need to be in daycare at least 2 days a week. This is no small miracle then that I was able to get them both into the same place to start around the same time.... with 1 exception..... J.T. has to be fully potty-trained by September!!! Talk about incentive. However, the Lord came through once again because J.T. is well on his way and in fact had NO ACCIDENTS during our 20 hour drive to Louisiana this past weekend.
Now, we are trying to get settled into Johnny and Melony's house until our rental is ready in July - we are working on trying to rent or sell our home in Aurora. But for now, things are good. I put Finley in the church nursery for the first time on Sunday and you would have thought that I was a first-time mother because it took me a good 20 minutes to work up the nerve to take him in - then I changed my mind and packed up all of his stuff to leave - then I thought I was being silly and just left him, determined to do the right thing. 10 minutes later I was back in the hallway, crying like a "first-timer" but too embarassed to walk by the window to peek in for the umpteenth time. So I did what any rational person would've done at that point. I went and found someone to do it for me. And not just anyone, mind you... Melony! This way I was able to send her in and tell her what I wanted them to know, and I didn't have to show my splotchy, mascara streaked face again. Needless to say, I made it through church and it felt really good. Really good to have a moment of spiritual renewal, good to be able to meet the Lord in His house and worship Him for who He is, good to be back in the church home that I grew up in with the same friendly and loving faces of the family of God that I have always known and will forever love.
I want to end this update by again, thanking everyone who has been praying for Finley and our family. Please continue to pray for us as the effects of Finley's stroke will not be fully known for sometime. Pray that we will recognize any problems early and be wise in seeking the appropriate treatment or therapy. Also, please continue to pray for John and J.T. as they are still adjusting to another male ego in our home! I promise I will post some pics just as soon as I figure out how on this computer!!!!!!

Love,
Meredith

Finn Update

2007-02-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Finley had a neurologist appointment on Friday, February 9. This appointment was for a follow-up EEG (read: brain waves, seizures, etc.) and we are so glad to report that he had a somewhat "normal" report. He will always have an abnormal EEG because of the stroke, but this time there was no seizure activity! What a blessing. The neurologist also said that Finn still has a very impressive and NORMAL newborn exam. He acts just like a chubby little baby should. With all of that said, he started running a fever on Thursday, Feb. 15 and was rewarded by the pediatrician with a first-class ER visit. With babies under 1 month, any fever deserves a nose swab for RSV, blood count, IV, blood and urine cultures, and - prepare yourself - a lumbar puncture... a.k.a. spinal tap! You can imagine how much fun we had that day and to top it all off they kept him in the hospital until Saturday night. However, everything is still negative to date and he is doing well. (the little stinker just demands attention doesn't he?) It's a good thing that he is so cute. Our little sweetie is 9 lbs. 13 oz as of yesterday! (overachiever) I am posting some pictures of the boys when Finley was 2 weeks old and will hopefully be posting some more recent ones in the next few days for anyone who is interested. Just a little side note: J.T. is such a wonderful big brother. He hovers over Finn when he is crying and looks at John and me with the sweetest face of concern as if to say "Do something!" He tells Finley "don't cry baby Finn." And when it is really quiet, we can usually find J.T. standing in front of the baby and talking in the softest and sweetest voice while trying to give him his pacifier..... then he looks up at us and smiles his newly dimpled smile. I am crying just thinking about it. I am so blessed!!!

On a different note, we are going to the Stroke Clinic on Friday. Please pray for the physicians and specialists that we will see while we are there and also for Finley as he will be donating even more blood at this visit. Also, as always, please pray for the health of both of our children as it is always risky to go anywhere during the cold and flu season. (If you aren't sick when you come, you are sick when you leave!!!!)

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Meredith Templin

A Letter from Mom

2007-02-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I am sorry it has taken me this long to update everyone myself.... but if you know me at all, you know that I don't answer my phone or check messages on a good day!!! Anyway, I wanted everyone to know that I sincerely appreciate all of your prayers and concern for our family over the past few weeks. I will never be able to express how grateful we truly are because there just aren't enough words.

Today, Finley and I went to the hospital where it all began and he had his hearing screen. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until the audiologist told me that he passed the screening in both ears and I was completely overwhelmed. I immediately started crying and hugging Finley and thanking the Lord. Of course the audiologist thought I was completely psychotic - it is a routine hearing screen - but for me it was so much more. My little boy has gone through so much in such a short time already and this is the first "test" that he has passed - no exceptions - just PASSED! Next, we were off to the Children's Hospital for some blood tests to make sure that his anti-seizure medication is in a "therapeutic range". PASSED! Okay, so I know that isn't really a test-test but we'll take what we can get! While we were at this appointment, the nurse drawing his blood told me that her daughter, at the age of 23, was in a car accident that left her in a coma and on life-support. All of her doctors told her that she would never leave the hospital - but this nurse has a 13 year old granddaughter today that was born to her precious child who had learned to walk, talk, and speak again. Immediately after telling me all of this she picked Finley up and began praying over him for healing and restoration! What an amazing day.

Anyway, what I really wanted to say in this letter is that our God is a miraculous and wonderful God. While I was praying in my car on the way home this evening, just after J.T.'s shoe hit me in the back of the head and just before I slid on a huge patch of ice in our neighborhood, I realized something amazing. As scary and emotionally trying as these past few weeks have been on me and my family - I am happy. I am the happiest that I have been in a long time. I have two beautiful and HEALTHY boys, a wonderful, handsome and supportive husband that I love, a family who loves us all, and a God that is able. My God has given me a peace. I have a peace that no matter what the outcome, we are all going to be okay. "I waited patiently on the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cries. He lifted me out of the pit; out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth; a hymn of praise to our God. Many people will see and fear and place their trust in the Lord." Our God is a God of kept promises - He keeps his word. I am thankful for His word and for all of you who have been praying for us and reminding us of His love and His promises. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love,
Meredith Templin

A Poem for Finley

2007-02-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

This poem was written by Finley's great-grandfather, Papa.

FINLEY PAUL

God’s tiniest “fair-haired soldier” boy
felt alone in the crib where he lay.
He, somehow, knew he was special . . .
he had waited nine months for this day.

His mother and father were jubilant.
They were, both, as he knew they would be.
Even now, he could only hear their voice . . .
those voices had arms which held lovingly.

He knew he was destined to break new-ground
in this family that God had ordained.
A mother, a father, a brother
who loved God, and never complained.

Such were the qualifications
of a family who would rear a son
who was born to change the fabric of love
between four, whom God would mold into one!

His name is Finn. He was touched by God.
He is different, but no-one’s to blame.
God touched Finn’s heart and soul from within;
(whoever God touches is never the same)!

Finn will forever be one-of-a-kind.
God creates only the VERY BEST.
Sometimes it takes a fair-haired soldier
to mold in His likeness . . . ALL the rest!

Finn, you have changed us forever.
We will nevermore be the same
You are to us a light in the darkness
that calms every storm in God’s name.

Jesus does always know what to do
(where potential is high, but zeal is low).
At times like that, comes a fair-haired one
with a flair to make earthly things grow.

PAPA

© John F. Templin
2-1-07

New pics

2007-01-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-01-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

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!