Please Pray for Alex!

From me: I have a BIG prayer request for all my faithful prayer warriors, and ask that you please pass this on to all your respective prayer groups as well.

A friend of mine from many years ago, Brian Junes, has a prayer need for his youngest son, Alex. I would have posted this sooner, but unfortunately, I did not see the messages until last evening. So, let's get everybody on board & start praying hard for this little boy & his family!

Below are copied bulletins from Brian, with his permission, to bring you up to speed on the situation. Please do follow the links provided. They are safe, and they will give you a brief explanation of the medical condition as well as the seriousness of Alex's state.

From Bri: 04/12/08 6:10 p.m.-- Alex has a communicating hydrocele. They are going to go after his infection with aggressive antibiotics. So they are not going to operate right away. Going to monitor him closely the next 3 days then go from there. Alex has been incredible! His ability to deal with adversity is absolutely amazing. He had a new Iv just installed and got a shot of morphine. So his pain is manageable. His temp is still spiking but the staff is right on it. My understanding is that fluid from his Appendex removal is draining through the tube that his testicles descended down. Normally after the testicles drop the tube closes. Alex's for some reason remained open. They do not want to go in and drain the testicles for fear of infection. After his body is rid of infection. There is a simple out patient surgery to repair the hydrocele. Below is a link for some medical explanation.



http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/0200/0227.asp?index=4312

___*UPDATE*___

From Bri: 04/13/08 6:16 a.m.-- It has been another long night for Alex. His fever has subsided but his pain has been horrible. They have been working really hard to manage his pain. One of the hardest things for Alex is having to show everyone his testicles. This has began to really bother him. So i have become Alex's ball monitor. I have been using my Iphone to take pics to show to nurses and Dr's(how's that for a Iphone commercial). At about 245am I noticed that there is no more room for growth. The hospital brought in a ultrasound. Yet again Alex had to have a person examine his testicles. His testicles are so sensitive that the slightest touch makes him very uncomfortable. He was given morphine before they started the procedure. Even with the morphine Alex was in a ton of pain. So this ultrasound shows an abcess of the epiditymitis. He is back unable to eat or drink till they decide whats the best action. Here is a link for some medical explanation. I will continue to update. Thanks for keeping Alex in your Prayers. Oh one other thing......I know Alex can handle anything that is thrown at him.

We are here for a fight! So bring it! And we will deal with it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epididymitis



___*UPDATE*___

From Bri: 04/13/08 11:30 a.m.--Alex is pain is under control right now. The surgery team has decided not to operate.They want to give the meds a chance to work. A urologist is coming to give results of ultra sound. Alex's incision site has become infected. So they are going to remove his staples and clean the wound. They are going to leave wound open so it can drain as it heals. So his wound will take longer to heal because it will heal from the inside out. Alex is a little down today...Which hey who wouldn't be. I asked him if he wanted me to tell everyone anything. He said "Tell them I'm OK.". Alex likes that so many people are following his recovery. I told him he is popular. He said "I know". Update more later .............Thanks everyone.........Our friends and family are amazing! We truly appreciate all your support.



___*UPDATE*___

From Bri: 04/13/08 5:24 p.m.-- So first of all I have to say the glass is half full. Alex's morning started a little rocky. His wound site had become massively infected.They decided that it would be best to remove his staples and clean the wound. Lets just say Alex was not excited about this. They gave him morphine which once again didn't seem to work that great. It was an intense 10 mins while they remove his staples and cleaned things out. What i saw I was not expecting. What looked irritated and red on the outside.........Was green on the inside. I was absolutely shocked. The whole time Alex was in lots of pain. Once again he amazed me as he sucked it up even though it was hard. They are not going to stitch him up. They are going to allow the wound to heal from the inside out.

After the cleaning he was exhausted and fell right asleep. When he woke his mood seemed so much better. Anna Scott Nicole and Izzy came by for a visit. They stopped at sporting good store and picked up a supporter for A lex. He showed off some serious guitar hero skills and watched the Lakers win(which i don't think sits well with a couple nurses)......

When everyone left Alex and I looked at his side. I didn't seem as red and he claimed didn't hurt as bad. So we decided to try and get up and walk. Getting up for him is an event that takes time. I noticed that he moved a little faster then the past. We put on his supporter which helped with support. He was very stiff at first. He hasn't been up for 2 days. Once we got going it went good.

His spirits have lifted cause he feels a little better. As i am writing this the lights are turning on and off(he has a control attached to his bed). Its the little things that make u smile! Thank u everyone who has sent flowers and balloons. He lights up when he reads the cards. Have to go I have a request to find some pretzels.......



___*UPDATE*___

From Bri: 04/14/08 9:19 a.m.-- Alex had a great evening last night. He felt pretty good. For some reason though nights are really hard for the poor guy. Once again he ran a small fever. He went 7 hrs with out any pain med. At 2am his pain level was unbearable. He was really tired but couldn't sleep. Its 9 am and he ate some rice krispys and is snoring logs. Its a new day. So when he wakes mom and grandpa will almost be here. Have a dressing change this morning that he is not looking forward to. After that we are going to try and get him out of bed lots today.

Thanks everyone your support is felt!



___*UPDATE*___

From Bri: 04/14/08 4:07 p.m.-- Another tough day for the boy. Yesterday they stuffed his wound with gauze. They shoved gauze up into his abdominal cavity. Today the removal of the gauze was excruciating. Alex was given morphine for pain but said it felt like he was being stabbed in his stomach.

He was able to get a little rest after but remained in pain. Mom and grandpa got here for a visit. He was very happy to see mom and grandpa. It was time for Him to get out of bed. Today was the hardest day for him to get out of bed. It was very painful. Once again with tears flowing he was able to force himself up. He is a trooper. He was unable to walk very far today. His pain was mostly in his testicles.

We got back to the room and he watch Night at the Museum. Which gave him many laughs. Alex's has been having cramps in his legs. Mom rubbed his legs with lotion and I washed him up with a wash cloth. I think this made grandpa jealous. He said he didn't get care like that when he was in the hospital.

He has walked twice today. Going to try for one more today! Thanks everyone for supporting us.

________



From me: Okay, so let's lift them up in lots & lots of prayers! Brian, Tina, Brandon & (especially!) Alex Junes.......... Thanks everybody, and I'll post updates as I hear more!