Noah Update

4yr old Noah, will learn to stay in his seat now.

Today our youngest boy Noah fell out of the van while Deb was driving. He has fractured the back part of his skull, a 3-4 inch break and a ton of swelling. He is stable, there have been no serious side effects that the doctors were concerned about, and is now sleeping the night at the hospital in Kiev.

Our van has a middle isle, all the way to the back hatch door. Deb was pulling out of Mega Market with the rest of the kids in Kiev, and onto a highway of traffic when Noah got out of his seat, somehow managed to push the door open, out he tumbled. Thank God the traffic saw him, and quickly came to a stop. Thank God Deb was not up to full speed. He suffered some bruising on his hip, bum and elbow, I think the way he fell really helped him absorb a potentially life threatening injury to the head.

Deb called immediately, I was at home an hr away, and we decided to get him to the closest private ER (you don’t want public Ukrainian hospitals if you can help it!). As I raced to Kiev, Deb, with a van full of kids and groceries raced to hospital where they did a MRI, as well as other test. He was aware, and could move all body parts thankfully, but obvious trauma to the head. They were most concerned about bleeding in the brain and other side effects of this type of trauma.

Because they didn’t have a children’s ward in this hospital, they informed us they were needing to take him to the closest hospital that could handle neurology. This sounded ok at first, but then as Deb and Noah were wisked away in an ambulance, the thought occurred to me.. “is this a Ukrainian hospital or private hospital?” Too late, he was taken to a Ukrainian hospital, a run down, what would be to most foreigners abandoned building. It took me an hour to find it, and was only 10km away from the first hospital. I called my friend Andrei who met us at the hospital after I put 5 of our other kids on a bus back to RZ. Together we grilled the nurses and generally agreed the best thing for Noah was to rest, get some of the logical meds in his system for swelling and pain relief, and do another MRI (in the basement of this complex they actually did have one). The 2nd MRI was great news, nothing was getting worse, everything is going to be OK.

That’s where we are now, Deb is sleeping next to him, on a single cot sized bed. The hospital is full so they are sharing a room with two other patience, one new born and a young girl that looks like she’s been punched in both eyes. These are primitive conditions for a westerner, but we believe Noah is getting the rest he needs, and in the morning the doctors will have the lab results back from the many blood tests (poor little guy was brave!). We’re hopeful and praying we can bring him home tomorrow if everything is stable, and all he needs it rest.. we can give him (and his pregnant mother) that more here than in that crazy place! I’ve come home to get some clothes for Noah, he threw up all over his, and some breakfast for Deb, heading back in a few hrs after some sleep (it’s 1am here).

The struggle, which we ask you to pray with us about, is getting released from these public Ukrainian hospitals. We obviously want what is best for Noah, but if the swelling goes down, and there is no infection, he should be able to come home and rest. There’s a real feeling that when you are in these hospitals, you are in a prison, and just being in there for a few hrs was giving me claustrophobia. There’s literally 2-3 staff for entire dark dungy floors, unless it’s very serious, you just want to get out into the fresh air.

Pray for:
-Noah’s recovery, swelling to go down, everything to stay on the outside of his skull.
-Deb, she has some health issues too, been sick with this baby, she needs rest tonight.
-Wisdom for us to do the right thing tomorrow.

Thank you for praying with us, we thank God this day has ended so well.

Bruce & Deb