Joseph is growing up!

with auntie Clare and cousin Olivia on the river Seine boat trip this Summer



with Mummy



..having fun at lunch-time, sitting in his special seat




Feeling proud of my special orthopedic seat!



Dear Friends,
We have been very busy since we last posted news about Joseph.

His therapy involves regular visits to the physiotherapist, speech therapist, hearing specialist and neurologist as well as days out at the park and visiting friends!

He turned one on August 18 and he is now bursting out of his age one clothes and fitting more comfortably in 18-month clothing! His growth is the first in a series of miracles.

After being diagnosed as profoundly deaf in May, the diagnosis has now been reduced to "moderate deafness", which means that he can hear, even without his little hearing aids, and also that he can chatter, which he does a lot. At church if we are holding him standing up on our lap he sometimes waves his arms and "preaches" to join in with the congregation!

He is very lively and aware of people and we were advised to take him to a playgroup a few hours a week, which has so far been a success. He laughs a lot, especially when his big brother, Gabriel does funny things, and the two brothers enjoy each other's company, which is wonderful to see.

We are very pleased that he is starting to control his body better, and is nearly rolling over from his back to his front. Babies born full-term often manage this at the age of 5 months, so Joseph' s timetable is clearly different (he is 13 months), but the physiotherapist is delighted with his progress and even admires his strong will and capacity to do the exercises without complaining. (We know, of course, that Joseph has been sustained and strengthened by a loving God since he was in an incubator, between life and death). He can be held (briefly) standing up, which he loves, and one of our big prayers is that God allows him to walk!

All in all, we are excited and so proud to watch Joseph grow. He is such a strong-willed, fun-loving little boy that there is no doubt in my mind that God is intervening in his life, and in his body, and doing him good. We know that God does good, and is good, and we thank him all the time for having saved Joseph's life and for every step forward he is taking, every day.

We pray for all those who have prayed and are praying for Joseph, that God will bless you for your support. Please continue to pray, that Joseph manages to control his body and legs, and also opens his little fists more and more freely (when he is excited, he clenches his fists and stiffens his legs, but he can relax them at other times).

Thank you again for your support and prayers.
God bless
Michelle for the Fleck family.

Update on Joseph

I have been meaning to update the blog for a long time, I'm sorry it's taken so long. In the meantime we have been trying to contact all our English-speaking friends directly by "snail mail".

The news about Joseph is both marvellous and uncertain...Marvellous because his personality is becoming more apparent, and I thank God that he brings a smile to everyone's face, and is interested in people and the world around him. I also thank God that he loves being cuddled by our friends and I always say "he must know that you've prayed for him" as he seems so delighted to look into friends' eyes and give them his cute little crooked smile!

The news is uncertain, because we are becoming gradually aware of his physical difficulties, as his brain is supposed to start taking more control of his limbs but it isn't doing everything it should. Joseph sometimes gets frustrated because his little hands form a fist instead of opening up to grab a toy, so we have been told to coax his hands open as often as possible. His hips and legs are very stiff and won't let him roll over, although he is trying hard. Again, we have been told to try to relax his legs. He will soon be fitted with a special seat to support his back as he can't control his backbone properly yet, and the seat will help him to do more things, like sit with us in a high chair at the dinner table, otherwise he would slouch and this would be bad for him.

I thank God for the wonderful team of doctors, physiotherapists and pediatricians who are visiting us and seeing us regularly. They seem to have real affection for Joseph and want him to develop well. My prayer is that God rewires Joseph's brain, so that he overcomes the problems mentioned above. We pray that God allows him to develop as much as possible, and even beyond all expectations. The doctors can't be sure of how much control Joseph will eventually have of his limbs, as every child is so different. But we believe that God allowed Joseph to live and we also believe that He has a plan for his life. And His will is good, acceptable and perfect.

Thank you for your prayers for Joseph. I will update the blog the next time we have some significant news. We are awaiting a diagnosis regarding his hearing, as the last test was not good, but we have been told that his brain needs to mature, so they will retest on May 30.

God bless all of you, dear Christian friends.

Joseph is home and doing well, praise God!

We arrived home in France on 19 November - the date Joseph had been due to be born! Since then he has been thriving, and now weighs 3.300 kg, about average for a newborn baby. According to the pediatrician who examined him last week he has normal muscle tone and eye control - we just thank God for His grace and encouragement; our hearts are filled with hope, no matter what the future holds we know that God is GOOD and is in total control of Joseph's life. We are delighted to have him home - he is so full of life, and I just love looking at him and thank God for all He has done to save our little Joseph.
We are so grateful to all our brothers and sisters for their prayers and christian love. I believe that the Lord continues to fight for him and I thank you all so much for your support from many miles away. God bless you all and Merry Christmas to all of you!

To watch a video which summarizes the early days and shows Joseph leaving the hospital on 7 November, click here.

November 4 2007 - Joseph will soon be home

Dear friends in Christ,

During the last few weeks Joseph has steadily gained weight (he now weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces) and improved his breathing abilities and the doctors are now ready to let him go out into the big wide world!
He had an MRI scan this week, but we will be told the results after we leave the hospital, as it would seem that it is extremely complicated to analyze a brain scan of a premature baby, and it will take a while to prepare the report.
We prefer, however, not to dwell on what is happening inside Joseph's brain, we are just overwhelmingly happy that we have our little baby son and can enjoy cuddling him and feeding him. The prospect of taking him home is almost unbelievable and I can only say 'Thank God' for bringing us to this happy point after the trauma of the early days. When I look at Joseph as he was in August he seems like a different baby compared to the chubby one I see today. It is clear that God has intervened in his life and I pray He will continue to lead him, and us, on a daily basis.
And, we will never forget the immense support we have been given from our brothers and sisters in the States and elsewhere and we will never tire of thanking God for your faithful prayers. Praise God for what He has done and for what we hope He will do in Joseph's life! And many many thanks to all of you for your continued prayers for Joseph and his development.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 corinthians 12:9

Tuesday, October 23

Dear faithful friends,
I have just returned from a long, happy day at the hospital, feeding Joseph, on demand and cuddling him. He no longer has the tube in his nose and the nurses are coaxing him to take all his nourishment orally. He is a bit weak still and had to have a blood transfusion today, but I managed to cuddle and breastfeed him while he had the blood dripping in via the intravenous line in his little arm!
Despite all he has been through he is a responsive baby and seems completely aware of everyone, and I am convinced that his progress is thanks to God's intervention after hearing so many prayers from you all and our brothers and sisters in France and elsewhere.
We are starting to make serious plans to go home - we haven't been told a date yet, but we think it might be in a couple of weeks!!!
So, praise the Lord, and thank you all for your prayers for Joseph, we will post a photo or film of him next time!!

Every day we hear the doctors and nurses say "Joseph is doing really well".
He is learning to take more milk from the breast and the bottle without tiring, and his monitoring is now reduced to an apnea monitor and occasional use of the monitor on his foot to measure oxygen saturation and heart beat. He loves his cuddles as much as we do, and we are starting to think about the very real possibility of taking him home, one day in a few weeks' time...
We thank God for his progress and we have committed Joseph's future into the Lord's gentle, loving hands.

Here is Joseph having a little look round and a smile!
Click here: Joseph 10 October

Thank you and God bless you for your continued prayers. God hears them all.

October 7 - Joseph leaves his incubator

Joseph is 7 weeks old today, and to celebrate the nurses moved him out of his incubator and into a little cot, still connected to his monitor and still with his nasogastric tube, but now out in the warm air of the room !!! The reason for the move is mainly because he has put on enough weight - he now weighs 4 pounds and 4 ounces - the extra body fat will allow him to regulate his body temperature.
We are delighted and joyful and I thank God for the care He is taking of Joseph and for all the prayers from our brothers and sisters. We are truly privileged to have such prayer support for our son and I am sure that he would not be sleeping in a cot tonight if it had not been that God has had mercy on him and has lent His ear to all your prayers in favor of Joseph. So, a big thank you to you and please continue to ask the Lord for healing for Joseph in his head.

The photo on the right of the screen was taken today.

With love in Christ

Michelle