One Week Old

Well today was a trying day in the Lord's grace. I know that sounds bad but our expectations with Isaac have been frustrated. Isaac has basically over the past few days been steady. Thank God he is not digressing however both Lori and I are frustrated that his health is not improving. Today was especially trying because his alarms were going off more than in the past. His blood pressure was going down to an unsafe level and it turned out that his ECMO catheter was leaking or oozing. This caused a blood clot on the exterior of the catheter which, although is unsightly, caused a problem later when trying to diagnose the blood pressure problem. We find ourselves somewhat knowledgeable about what the data means on the equipment however we don't understand it all in context. Thus this creates an atmosphere of just watching and waiting for the numbers to improve and when the numbers go in the opposite direction we are standing on our toes the whole time. So our prayers are that we continue to wait on the Lord and while waiting we are strengthened. I know a lot of you believe that we are being strong and have a great testimony but at times we are week in our own might. Only God can provide us the happiness that we so want right now and we have to be ready to glorify God and not anything else. Please pray for Lori as I believe she is starting to show (expectantly) more emotions than she has before. She is a Mom who just wants her baby to be alright. I know every mom out there understands that. But praise the Lord that He is still sovereign over our lives and His will be done. Please also pray for the baby next to Isaac (don't know name due to privacy) who is having problems with the same hernia Isaac has. She is not on ECMO but we overheard some of the doctors talking and she is not getting enough oxygen as of tonight. Please pray that this little child and her parents will be spared of this trial. I was encouraged to see their pastor praying with them over the baby the other day. I hope to have an opportunity to talk to the father some time soon. Please also pray for my mother who is being a blessing to us by watching our two healthy (praise God) boys while we are at the hospital. She is not used to that kind of duty. She is also taking on a lot of Lori's responsibilities around the house while we are gone. She is truly a godly woman in her testimony. Also we ask you to pray for our sister-in-law, Noemie, who lost here grandmother last week. She knows the Lord though so she is in a better place now. May Noemie find peace during this time when she is not able to go to the funeral with the rest of her family. Lastly today, I still want to thank the Lord for providing Isaac wonderful hospital care workers. These woman work crazy hours and sit at his bedside all the time making sure every vital sign is just right. They also have to deal with parents like us who keep asking "Is he okay?", every time an alarm goes off. I don't know if they know it or not but they are providing a ministry to us.