Your Favorite Damnd Disease's blog: "Updates on baby Kaleb"

Friday, July 20, 2007 Busy! Wow! It has been a busy last couple days! First off early yesterday AM at 3 the home health nurse knocked on our bedroom door. Kaleb's J tube was clogged. She tried everything to unclog it and it would work. So I tried to do it and it worked... or so I thought. Another knock came about 3:45. The tube was clogged again. At this point I decide to call the PICU and see what they say. They told me to put sprite in his J tube... So we did this. It still didn't work. So they told me to page the surgeon. He called and told us to take him to the emergency room ASAP because if his sodium drops he can have a seizure. SO we called an ambulance and they came and picked him up. As soon as he got in the ambulance he KNEW where he was going. I mean he was tense and crying. I MEAN HE KNEW. I was very upset that he had to go back there because I knew that they would stick him. So we got to the hospital and of course they stuck him. He was crying and arching. They finally got the tube unclogged by 8:30 and we were out by 9 am. So needless to say we were tired. The rest of the day Kaleb slept due to all of the excitement in the AM. We worked him out a little later in the afternoon and took our first family photo since we've been home. I will be posting this later. Last night was relaxing and we got a full nights sleep. Kaleb has been fussy today. He is much more audioable now which I love. So we have tried not to mess with him too much because he becomes very rigid and starts posturing. He is sleeping right now and listening to Baby Einstein CD. I know Kaleb will be better. It will come with time and God knows when the time is right for him to progess. I like to think that he sleeps a lot because his brain is doing the healing it should;ve done all the weeks he was on phenobarb. Kaleb is my little angel and I know that he will be a witness for God.

July 2 2007 Kaleb is still doing well. The first day after surgery he was wide awake and moving a whole bunch. But now he seems to be sleepy again. Josh and I seem to think it is a result of the Phenobarbital they have him on. This is a VERY Strong anti seizure medication. It slows EVERYTHING WAY DOWN. Other tahn that though he is very stable. He is no longer on a ventilator and is breathing great on his own. If he keeps this up, hopefully we will be going home soon. I can't wait until he is home. I have been able to hold him more lately. Yesterday when I was holding him he made a baby noise. I got so excited. There is not much more news as of right now. I am just praying that he doesn't get some kind of infection from the surgery. A lot of people are ridiculing me because I seem too "happy" and that I look "cold" in pictures because I am smiling. I AM happy. I am happy to see my little boy making progress. I am happy because I fully rely on God to make everything right. I am not happy this happened to Kaleb. Most of you who say these things have NO IDEA what it is like to walk a DAY in Josh and I's shoes. We, together are trying to get through this the best we can. We trust in God. He knows what happened. He didn't do this to Kaleb, but he let it happen for a reason and I TRUST that he will make good come from this evil. Kaleb has a purpose. He WILL be something big. Just so everyone knows, the "FACTS" of this case are NOT out. What you read in the newspapers and hear on the TV are NOT FACTS. We wish that we could tell you everything we know... but we can't. We have been instructed not to talk to the media. In do time everyone will know. Just trust that Law Enforcement did their job correctly and narrowed down the suspect accurately. Just know that I pray for the person who was charged for the crime daily and I ask that you too pray for her family. Thank you again for all of your prayers and kind words. Whenever we get sad we look at the letters and cards and it brightens our day. I ask you to continue to pray for Kaleb. Also there was another baby shaken named Evelynn, please keep her and her mommy in your prayers also. Going through this is like going througha nightmere set on repeat. Pray that she can rely on God because this is the only think that has kept me from completely losing it. God is a loving God. We trust 100% on him.

GREAT NEWS!~ God has answered one of my prayers!! First off... KALEB IS COMING HOME!!!!! We are so excited! We have been told that he will probably come home sometime next week. So me and my best friend have been CLEANING CLEANING CLEANING my apartment. I don't want any germs to be anywhere in my house and considering that it has barely been lived in in the last 2 months, it needed cleaning. We also had to make room for medical equipment that is coming home with him. I am so excited to have him coming home. The next great thing is that they are taking him off Phenobarbital. YAY! I am glad that I mentioned something and kind of put my foot down on that one. The Neuorologist agreed with us and said that it def. prohibits brain activity drastically which means that it basically shuts it down so much that the brain can not even do its healing. So this is also GRAET NEWS. I hope that everyone had a great 4th! Remember to thank those who have given you your freedom and most importantly thank God for this great nation. I am praying that everything stays on track for Kaleb going home. I am SOO EXCITED! I know it is going to be completely different than before, but I think being home will help his recovery. Home is the place he LOVES most. Thank you God for answering our prayers. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for this day. There are still mountians he will have to climb. He will still be iin and out of Doctors Offices and the hospital, but this is still a HUGE step forward

The countdown has begun The countdown has begun. Kaleb is still doing Very Well. He is so much more awake since they hae started wheening him off of the phenobarb. He moves much more and makes more noises. He still doesn't blink though... It is so weird. They are shooting for Thursday to have him completely off of the Phernobarb. After that he will have to stay 3 whole days to ensure that he doesn't have a seizure. If all goes well, Kaleb will be coming home by next Monday! I am excited, scared, happy and nervous all at once. I think it will REALLY hit me hard when he gets home that he is changed. I mean the last time he was home he was sitting in his Walker and smileling up at me in the kitchen. I miss his smile so much. I thing that being home will help him so much though becuase that is where he was the happiest. He LOVED to be home. I just miss him so much. We have tons of pictures up of him and I look at them and think "God please just give one more day with him the way he was before." I took those days for granted before. But I know in due time that he WILL be back to normal... It may take a couple years, but I am ready for it. I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to rehabilitate him back. He is my full time job now and I will be the HARDEST worker! God will bring us through this... Look how far he has brought us already! I will ask and ask and ask for Kaleb's miracle until he gets it. I will pray with out ceasing. I know it will happen. It will happen in God's time and we just have to be patient. I am sorry if I haven't excepted your friend request. Unfortunately the only way that I can keep people from writing inappropriate and HURTFUL comments on my page is to stop accepting friend requests. We have ebough hurt in our lives already and negative comments just hurt us more. I know it is just a handful of people and I appologize if you have been waiting. Please understand where I am coming from. Like I said the countdown has begun and I am planning on blogging everyday until he gets home (as long as all goes well). Please remember to Pray for him because he still has a long and bumpy road to travel. Also, Please pray for everyone involved in this...

Sunday, June 24, 2007 Progress~! Kaleb is making progress! Friday night a Native American Christian Pastor came up to the room and played the wooden flute for Kaleb... It was absolutely beautiful. Kaleb loved it, he responed so much. He was moing his whole body and opening his eyes. It was wonderful to see such a positive response out of him. So he will be coming back once a week and I am looking forward to this. Early Saturday AM Kaleb had a couple spells of tachycardia (high heart rate) and problems maintaining his tempeture. They've taken the air blower off of him and have replaced it with a heating Pad that is underneath a buch of sheets on his bed. He had periods where he was awake on Saturday. I worked him out and he tried to fight me so that is a good thing. Him showing resistence shows that he is thinking. We talked to the doctors and hopefully he will be making some progress. The menengitis is pretty much gone. They are giving him one more treatment and then they are going to clamp the drain. They will moniter his Cerebral Spinal Fluid for about a week to see if anything grows. They are also going to moniter it there is pressure build up in his head. If there is, they will proceed and put a permenate shunt in (a INTERNAL drain that will drain excess CSF into his stomach). We will also get the results of the pH study they did. This will determine if they are going to do that surgery on his stomach... If they don't they still are going to put a G tube in sometime this week. So there is LOTS and LOTS going on. Kaleb will be a busy boy this week! I had the plessure of meeting quite a few bikers from a bike club this weekend. They were awesome. I wanted to say a special thank you to them for driving all the way from the east coast and especially to "Aunt Teresa". I look forward to seeing you again when Kaleb is out of the hospital. God shows his presence EVERY DAY no matter how much EVIL I am surrounded by. If I stand strong in my faith,he will guide me. Amy & Carrington Donahue wrote a bible verse in a card for me. It was so funny how I am led to read certain things that apply SO much in the following day. "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12 Spiritual Warfare exists and I am seeing it. This will not make my faith go astray because I know God knows my heart and he will give us a miracle. MY FAITH GETS STRONGER DAY BY DAY. NOTHING WILL MAKE IT WAIVER.

June 22 2007 Kaleb is still a trooper. He is peacefully resting right now. He didn't throw up last night at all... The nurse said that he had a pretty good night. He still has some problems regulating his body tempeture but for the most part has been stable. The did another procedure on him today... minor. They inserted a pH probe into his nose like a feeding tube and it is sitting in the back of his throat. It is supposed to moniter the acidic level. They are doing this to see way he is throwing up. They still are talking about doing the surgery on his stomach... I forget what exactly it is called but it is similar to having a lap band put on your stomach. This is supposed to close the opening of his stomach some so that it is harder for him to throw up. He also looks like he is having itsy bitsy seizures... infact I don't know if I should even call it a seizure. His eyes start moving back and forth and his lip quivers at the same time but it is VERY mild... maybe it is just a muscle spasm. But all in all he looks like he is feeling a little better. I know some of you have voiced concerns that Josh and I cannot use your donation for anything except for the medical expenses for Kaleb. Josh and I appreciate your concern and thoughtfulness. The Kaleb Fund was set up according to Fl. Statutes. This assures that your donation will be used in a legitimate manner and not used to buy frugal items such as furniture, cars, clothes, etc. This fund is also managed by an administrator who is not connected to our family to assure that money is properly channeled. Wonderful and caring people who wanted to do something for Kaleb created all donation ideas. Any monies that may be left over will be donated to one of the Shaken Baby support groups. Above all, we appreciate your gracious donations for Kaleb. Kaleb is what this is all about. What started out on "My Space blog" as my plea to my friends for prayer, has spread throughout this country and has brought many people closer to God and this is every Christian's mission…to share the Word. Seems like this is happening. Kaleb is our little disciple because of what happened to him. Kaleb's "silence is golden". His silence has reached thousands of believers and non-believers and only God will know how many lives have been truely touched and transformed because of my little baby. God is def. showing his presence in our lives and we as a family will whole heartedly follow his word. He is our strentgh. Your prayers and support are also a strength to me, Josh and most importantly Kaleb. Thank you ******************

A step back I want to thank everyone for all of the support and attention that Kaleb has received however, it has become WAY too big for me and Josh to handle right now. Kaleb is starting to get better and now is the time for us as parents to be proactive in his treatment and rehab. We are very tired and weary at this time. All of our strength and focus needs to be on Kaleb & our family. We are EMOTIONALLY drained as well as physically. My blog posting is going to considerably decrease from this point forward. My words are being misconstrued and taken out of context by some. I have to take a step back in the interest of Kaleb. I guess you could say that we are taking a step back to take a step forward for Kaleb. I still however would love for Kaleb to still be in your prayers. This is ALL we need from anybody. This is all I wanted in the beginning but received SO much more from all of you wonderful people. Obiviously all of our prayers are working and I would be heart broken if all of them stopped. I will be posting updates here and there, but not everyday... We want to GRACIOUSLY thank all of you! You have touched us in so many different ways. Please understand where I am coming from and please do not be offended by this. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I could type it a million times and it still wouldn't represent our feelings accurately. Please keep Kaleb in your prayers.

Like any responsible parents, Kristy and Josh Schwade wanted what was best for their only child, Kaleb. They did a background check on their day care worker, and even interviewed her in her home for two hours. Kristy was even willing to drive 20 miles out of her way to provide, what they thought to have been, "optimum" care in a good neighborhood. On May 9th, 2007 their worst nighmare was brought to fruition. After being in the care of this home day care worker only five times, Kaleb was picked up by his Grandmother and Aunt. They noticed that he was lethargic and experiencing obvious breathing abnormalities. The caregiver told them he was ill, but Kaleb had just visited the doctors the day before and was given a "clean bill of health". When Kristy arrived at her mother's home to pick Kaleb up, she described him as "having no life in his body". She tried repeatedly to wake him, but with no avail. She and her father got in the car and rushed to the hospital. While in the vehicle, Kristy lifted Kaleb's little eyelids. She noticed that his pupils were different sizes. Being the wife of an EMT, she knew immediately that this was the sign of a head injury- Kaleb needed IMMEDIATE care. They stopped at the nearest firestation. The ambulance took him to the nearest hospital, and he was classified as a "trauma alert". He was then life-flighted to Tampa General Hospital, and was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). He was diagnosed as having Shaken Baby Syndrome. They also discovered that he had been SMOTHERED! Kristy is not currently working, and she and Josh spend every possible moment by their young son's side. Medical bills, cost of gas, lawyer fees (I assume they will begin building), and general living expenses are mounting. When something happens to your child, your world STOPS. Suddenly it doesn't matter that your "roots" are growing out and you are getting split ends. It doesn't matter that your neighbor is parking his dumpy car in your parking spot. You no longer care that someone cut you off on the highway, or that someone jumps infront of you in line at the grocery store. Nothing else matters but your child. Kaleb is their world. The doctors. The PICU. It's all that matters now. This family is not asking for anything other than your prayers. However- PLEASE, in addition to PRAYING for this family, PLEASE consider supporting them financially. Whether you can give $1 or $10,000- no gift is too small or too large. You can ONLY be blessed by giving. This situation has become widespread because a friend of Kristy's decided to forward her bulletin asking people to pray for the family. PLEASE support them by spreading the word about this page. The more people who are aware, the more people who have the opportunity to bless this family. Thank you for viewing this page, and for supporting Kaleb and his family. Oh, and many of you have been concerned whether or not the sitter has been charged. YES charges have been pressed, but she is currently out of jail on a $5,000 bond. Below is Kristy's original bulletin posted shortly after the incident. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hello everyone... I write you this message in grief in faith. My son Kaleb was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room on Wed. after we picked him up from the babysitters house. At UCH they determined that Kaleb had a SubDural Hematoma (His brain is bleeding). He then was Bayflighted (helicopter) to Tampa General Hospitals Pediatric Intensive Care Unit on a Trauma Alert. Doctors determined that Kaleb was shaken while at the homecare he goes to. He is suffering from Shaking Baby Syndrome. When we first arrived at the hospital they put a pressure gage into his head to moniter the Intercranial Pressure (The pressure that the brain is under due to swelling and Bleeding). He wasn't doing too well all day yesterday, his pressure in his head was ranging between 29-40 and the normal pressure is between 5-20. So doctors decided that the best thing to do was to put a tube into his brain to drain spinal fluid from his ventricle. This procedure was a sucess and brought the pressure down. Today however, they did a Cat Scan and saw that Kaleb is now suffering from a stroke and has formed a new bleed in the brain. I beleive in Miralcles! I believe that prayer works. I am asking you, all of my friends, whether you know me well or not to PLEASE pray for my little boy Kaleb. He needs a miracle and we need your help! I know some of you may not believe in God... But he exists! And he's already performed one miracle. Please I ask you, I beg you, to Pray for my little boy and my family. He is my everything.