Please Pray

Read Julian's full story here.

We were on schedule to be discharged tomorrow until Julian came down with a fever of 101.6 this evening.  They will take blood cultures from both sides of his hemodialysis catheter (the venous and arterial sides) and begin a slurry of antibiotics tonight, including vancomyacin which is used to treat MRSA, a highly drug-resistant form of Staph Aureaus.
His blood pressure was unusually low last night, and coupled with the rising temperature today there is a concern.  Please pray that any infection of the blood or of the catheter will be taken care of by the antibiotics and that Julian will come out fine from this whole ordeal.
I asked the Dr. on the floor tonight whether or not it was potentially life threatening by saying "It doesn't always go well for the patient in cases of blood infections, does it?"  And she shook her head and said "not always". 
Dave just walked in the door from  his cab ride from the airport as I'm typing this emergency prayer request, and I am going to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House tonight while Dave sleeps here (or doesn't sleep) at the hospital. 
I take Cheryl to the airport tomorrow to go to Denver for a couple weeks. 
Thank you for joining us in prayer on this, we are worried of course.

Julian Xane Phillips

David and Stacy Phillips are long-time friends. My wife and I have been been hanging out with them and serving with them for about 14 years. I love them both. Currently David is living in the basement of our home while he continues to work in Colorado so that he can keep Colorado residency and, therefore, his medical insurance at a reasonable rate. Each week he commutes back to Phoenix or, recently, Palo Alto while Julian prepares for a kidney transplant. Julian is a miracle baby. I smile looking at his picture because he is so unique and special; and, I remember the emotional impact of being at his bedside at Children's Hospital while he looked like a Matrix baby because of all of the tubes and holes he had in him immediately after he was born. Learn his story and you'll learn the kid is a survivor. Please read their story, read the updates and watch a video or two of Julian so you too can smile BIG when you see his picture. Also, please consider donating to help them cover their medical costs. - John

From their Children's Organ Transplant Webpage:

On Wednesday October 13th, 2004, Julian Xane was born to Stacy and David Phillips at the Estes Park Medical Center. He was 6 lb. 4 oz. 19" long. Julian was born with Potter's Syndrome, type 4 variant; the urethral valve, which normally allows urine to exit the bladder, was blocked, distending the bladder and severely damaging his kidneys. Most Potter’s babies die within hours of birth, but due to the hard work by the doctors at the Estes Park Medical Center and The Children’s Hospital (Denver) NICU, as well as healing hand of God, Julian survived and is thriving. His life is a miracle, and has even been acknowledged as such by the doctors who worked on him after his birth. Julian’s current diagnosis is End Stage Renal Failure, and his combined kidney function is in the 10% range – severe enough for dialysis, with the long term goal of a kidney transplant.

So here we are.

With the cost of an organ transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. COTA is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. At present, an estimated $100,000 is being raised by a team of friends and volunteers on Julian’s behalf. If you’d like to make a donation to Julian’s COTA fund, please click on the “Donate” tab above.

Please pass this web address along to those who may be interested in Julian’s story or in making a donation. Check back from time to time, as we’ll be using this web site to keep people informed about upcoming fundraising events, as well as the new home for Julian’s blog and photo album.

Thanks for visiting.

Stacy, David & Julian Phillips

Read their blog and get updates! Julian is pre-op for surgery as I write. Follow on Twitter @dphillips