More News

First, THANKS SO MUCH to all of you for the love and prayers you are pouring out for us.  We are so thankful for all the community and support we have right now.  Good friends (Kyle and Chrissy) are watching Caleb right now, and my sweet mom has been here throughout all of this.  My dad is getting here tonight.  We're very thankful.

We just returned from being with our littlest guy.  I got to hold him for the first time, and it was hard to let him go.  Brandon is sick with the start of a cold (Caleb's cold), and so he is unable to touch him or hold him.  But, we were glad that he could see him.  It was wonderful holding the sweet little boy in my arms for over an hour.  Soooo good for me.

Last night the doctors in the NICU successfully inserted the PICC line, which is a much more stable way to deliver medicine to Jude's heart.  His platelet level also increased significantly after they did a platelet transfusion.  Thanks for praying.  Please continue to pray that they stabilize.  His blood is also clotting better with some help from medication.  So, that was good news.

This morning, we learned what has been hardest yet to hear.  It appears that Jude has had a stroke...and is possibly experiencing seizure activity (something that might not be obvious in a newborn to an outside observer.)  He was supposed to be getting an EEG now, but he is instead getting an MRI done as I write this.  The doctor just called to inform us.  There appears to be a hemorrhage outside the right ventricle of his brain and some swelling on the left side of his brain.  This might explain the low platelet level...due to the bleeding.  There is still much to learn, and our doctors (neonatologists, pediatric cardiologist and surgeon, nurses, and now a pediatric neurologist) are working hard to determine what is going on and what is the best course of action.  The heart surgery (which we found out is not an open-heart surgery) is being postponed until they can learn more about what is going on in his brain. 

The possible long-term repercussions of the issues with his brain are scary.  Friends of ours have walked through similar circumstances, and so we're familiar with what the possible outcomes are.  We don't know what tomorrow will bring...or even what the next hour will bring (as has been the case since yesterday morning).  By the time we go to bed tonight, our world may very well be rocked once again.

While God has done so many good things lately, I have struggled today with thoughts such as "Lord, why aren't you answering prayers as we've asked you?"  He just continues to remind us of His love, His sovereignty, and that His ways are not our ways.  Our prayers may not be being answered as we would want, but He is answering us by giving us more of Himself.  He is meeting us in ways we would never have experienced otherwise.  We need Him desperately...and so does Jude and so does Caleb...more than anything else...even more than a clean bill of health.

He is the One who is writing this story...and while it isn't what we would have chosen, it will be better than anything we could have written.  Please pray that we would trust Him as we begin the next chapter.

Please pray: 

that his platelet level would continue to stabilize.

that the MRI would reveal good things.

that the repercussions of what is going on in his brain would be very minimal and mild.

 for Caleb and his adjustment.

for Brandon and Caleb to heal...and that I would avoid sickness.

that we would trust God with our whole hearts and draw near to Him. 

that He would continue to unify us in this process.